Bad News: We can’t tell how much our fire department contributed to putting it out versus the other 3 towns’ departments. Likewise its possible the building owners might have shown up and put the fire out themselves but when they saw all the lights they decided to turn tail and head for the border.

Cost: Due to a fluke in the property title, the town now owns the building. No one will know what the cost is until the property is eventually resold and that amount compared with the overtime we paid the fire department.

Good news: The fire department put out the fire.

Bad news: The fire department from the neighboring town was on their way, they could have put the fire out if they had gotten there first. Or the fire could have just burned out on its own.

Good news: The fire department put out the fire.
Bad news: The damage assessed is indistinguishable from the damage if the fire had just taken its natural course, and the fire department bill alone requires a 30 year mortgage to pay back.

“…any changes attributed to TARP could well be changes that: would have occurred anyway; can be attributed to other policy interventions, such as the actions of FDIC, the Federal Reserve, or other financial regulators; or were enhanced or counteracted by other market forces, such as the correction in housing markets and revaluation of mortgage-related assets

Let’s imagine this was a fire.

Good news: The fire department put out the fire.

Bad news: The fire department from the neighboring town was on their way, they could have put the fire out if they had gotten there first. Or the fire could have just burned out on its own.