CNSNews has a rather frightening report on the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program’s report to congress.
In short the report says that although Congress limited the Treasury Dept. to spending only $700 billion on TARP the program’s partnerships with the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation could bring the total cost 2.9 trillion:
(CNSNews.com) – For many Americans, the $700-billion financial bailout was a tough pill to swallow, but the cost to taxpayers could reach $2.9 trillion – nearly on par with the entire federal budget – according to the watchdog agency charged with oversight of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).
Although the Treasury Department is only authorized to spend the $700 billion approved last year by Congress and signed by the president, the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will invest up to $1 trillion each in partnering with the Treasury Department’s TARP.
So the “total projected funding” for TARP is estimated to be between $2.47 trillion and $2.97 trillion, according to the TARP special inspector general’s report released on April 21. That’s not so much less than the Obama administration’s proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2010 of $3.6 trillion.
Related
- TARP: The Looming Debacle – John Hinderaker, Power Line