Shortly after the Federal Reserve arranged for JPMorgan Chase to purchase Bear Stearns in March 2008, the Wall Street Journal recounted the events that led to the extraordinarily low price that JPMorgan paid for Bear Stearns: “The bank was mulling a price of $4 or $5 a share. ‘That sounds high to me,’ Mr. Paulson said. ‘I think this should be done at a low price.’”
a. Why did Treasury Secretary Paulson want Bear Stearns to sell for such a low price?

b. Why was the Fed’s decision to orchestrate the purchase of Bear Stearns so controversial?