Earth to BofA: Give the money back

Remember the old Christmas chestnut “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”? It included the line, “Should we open up her gifts or send them back?” followed by the response, “SEND THEM BACK!”

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis should take that same advice.

This week, Lewis told the Financial Times that his Evil Empire should never have taken $20 billion in government bailout money back in January. He is now calling taking the money, which was used to help acquire Merrill Lynch, “a tactical mistake,” one that he says made his Evil Empire look as weak as Citigroup.

So why did he take so much taxpayer money? He called it a monetary “cushion.” Instead, Lewis says he should have taken just $10 billion for the Merrill Lynch buyout.

Bank of America actually got a total of $45 billion of taxpayer money – and Lewis says paying all that money back could take up to three years.

Well, Mr. Lewis, whether or not you even deserved just $10 billion is questionable. But since you now say you should not have taken that additional $10 billion, I have an idea. In the words of Elmo & Patsy, “Send them back.” Now!

American taxpayers could certainly use a “cushion” of $10 billion.