Uncle Sam in Pinstripes: Evaluating U.S. Federal Credit ProgramsIt is a long held perception that America is a nation where the government typically stays out of day to day business activities. Yet the U. S. federal government is in many ways the biggest and most influential financial institution in the world, with $10 trillion in federal guarantees and loans going to the private sector. Even before recent implementation of massive interventions meant to stave off financial calamity, the federal government