Our government is telling troubled financial institutions that they need to de-leverage to guarantee their long-term solvency, and we have helped by using taxpayer TARP dollars to buy preferred stock.  Our government is also telling these same institutions that they should use the TARP money to lend.  I'm sorry, but those are conflicting demands, as Dwight Cass points out here.  What part of the TARP money should be used to de-leverage and what part should be lent out?  Who should decide?