Government Wants More: May Convert Bank TARP to Equity

True, banks are in the process of reporting much better than expected earnings this quarter. True, the government already has a pretty good return (8%+ when factoring in warrants) on its preferred bank investments, but now it wants even more.

The Obama administration wants to convert its TARP funds into common equity so that it can participate in the upside and therefore generate billions more in returns.

Why not just force every company in the country to give the government an equity stake for nothing? That's the way the mafia used to do things.