Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)

Commentary: The Case of the Misunderstood Bailout

Currently, it's hard to find a federal program more unpopular than the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the bank "bailout" passed in the waning days of the Bush administration. Poll after poll shows that the public does not support the bailout, and politicians, especially ones up for reelection, have picked up on this trend and frequently denounce the program. And yet, by many objective measures, the bailout could be considered a success: it helped avert financial calamity, it will cost a fraction of its original estimates, and TARP’s bank provisions will likely end up earning a profit for the government. While TARP could have done better, the public perception that TARP failed is not consistent with most data.

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The End of TARP to Be Met with Controversy

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) began with a single, basic idea: prevent imminent economic collapse. With that premise, then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson convinced Congress and President Bush to authorize $700 billion of emergency spending to undertake actions to avert such disaster. Now, with economic catastrophe averted but with the nation's economy still struggling, a new report turns policymakers' focus to the end of TARP.

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House Moves to Give More Access for GAO, SIGTARP, and the Public

While the attention of many transparency advocates has been focused on the first round of recipient reporting under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Recovery Act), the House has been working on two financial transparency measures dealing with the Federal Reserve and use of the Wall Street bailout funds.

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