Earlier I posted excerpts from a letter against the Paulson Plan from BB&T Chairman and CEO John Allison. The link to the full letter appears to be broken. Here’s an alternative source, a South Carolina blogger who has posted the main points.

Also, to answer a couple of common objections from NRO readers:

1. Allison does not appear to be saying that in the best of all worlds, he would favor a new federal tax credit for home purchases. He is saying that such a response is an example of a policy with greater upsides and fewer downsides than having the federal government buy bad mortgage debts directly, as is proposed, presumably because such an intervention would boost housing prices (with salutary effects on lenders with mortgage exposure) without requiring Washington to possess superior skill at assessing the value of mortgage-based securities than market actors.

2. Allison is certainly speaking in the interest of his shareholders and employees. So are Wall Streeters. The difference is that he is not asking for a federal bailout. He is objecting to a federal intervention that unjustly reduces the punishment his competitors are receiving in the marketplace. The sugar producers lobbying for the sugar program and the candy companies lobbying against it are both acting self-interestedly. But the former are demanding government intervention to prop up sugar prices, to the detriment of taxpayers and consumers. The latter are demanding an end to such intervention. If you ask me which side the general public should trust more, no contest.