The Coming TARP Debacle

Way back when -- President Bush, Secretary Hank Paulson, and the spendthrifts in congress were trying to sell us on the "Troubled Assets Relief Program." They told us it would only be about $700 Billion.

Suckers -- It's now up to almost $3 Trillion!

The good folks at the Powerline blog take a look at what's happened in TARP: The Looming Debacle:

On April 21, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Act of 2009--"SIGTARP"--submitted his quarterly report to Congress on his office's activities in relation to the TARP program. The report is a disquieting document that should be read by every American--certainly be every taxpayer.

The Inspector General's report documents the stunning and at least partly illegal expansion of TARP from the $700 billion originally allocated by Congress to what is now a $3 trillion complex of programs. This chart shows the various programs that are now included within SIGTARP's oversight, and how they have expanded from the initial $700 billion. Note that some of the programs are still incipient; $3 trillion is by no means a final number.

They also include this graphic:




As they say: READ THE WHOLE THING!

(posted by Robin Juhl with the permission of Gail)