HARD TO ARGUE WITH A 23% RETURN

At least we're getting something for propping up the banksters.

Goldman Sachs Payments to U.S. Produce 23% Return (Update1)
By Christine Harper
July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s repayments to the government of last year’s bailout money, including an agreement today to repay warrants, generated a 23 percent annualized return for U.S. taxpayers.

Goldman Sachs agreed to the Treasury’s request for $1.1 billion to repay warrants the government received when it invested $10 billion in the New York-based firm last October. The payment is in addition to $318 million in preferred dividends.

We could've gotten a better deal, though, like the one Warren Buffett made:

Berkshire Profit on Goldman Sachs Passes $2 Billion (Update2)
By Erik Holm

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett’s option to buy shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., part of an agreement reached at the depths of the credit crisis, has earned a profit on paper of about $2 billion, a return of more than 40 percent.