TARP Lives!

I've been seeing a lot of cheer leading on liberal blogs lately claiming that TARP is a great big success story. Ha! Here is a revealing video on TARP by Larry Kudlow:

1) $460 billion of commitments were doled out.
2) $386 billion were paid out to banks.
3) $200 billion has been re-paid.
4) $70 billion is still owed by GM and Chrysler.
5) $100 billion was lent to AIG of which $50 billion is TARP funds.

Was TARP really necessary? Kudlow suggests that 1) FDIC loan guarantees for all bank debt--short, medium, long--calmed markets even before TARP and also 2)The Feds money market guarantee eased market fears.

Wow! What a surprise!!

A new study found that banks that received bail out funds had strong political ties and great lobbyists. I'm shocked.

TARP Is Ripe For Fraud

Now don't you all worry your pretty little heads about government bailouts or "stimulus" packages because you should feel that your tax dollars are going to be spent efficiently and wisely. Afterall, if you can't trust the government who will you trust? (Snicker, snicker.)

The U.S. government's rescue of the financial system is vulnerable to fraud that could potentially cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, government watchdogs warned lawmakers Tuesday.

Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, told a House subcommittee that the government's experiences in the reconstruction of Iraq, hurricane-relief programs and the 1990s savings-and-loan bailout suggest the rescue program could be ripe for fraud.

He also said fewer than 5% of banks receiving government aid have responded to a request about what they have done with their bailout money.

The comments come as the Obama administration prepares to pour more money into the financial sector. Federal banking regulators begin a series of "stress tests" at the largest U.S. banks this week to determine whether they need greater infusions of government funds to survive a worse economic downturn.