From Naked Capitalism:
Apologists for government bailouts push two main myths: 1) That all of the bailout funds have been repaid. 2) That the bailouts helped the average American.
But the official government overseer of the Tarp bailout program – the special inspector general for TARP, Christy L. Romero – has debunked both myths. Today, Romero wrote the following to Congress:
“After 3½ years, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”) continues to be an active and significant part of the Government’s response to the financial crisis. It is a widely held misconception that TARP will make a profit. The most recent cost estimate for TARP is a loss of $60 billion. Taxpayers are still owed $118.5 billion (including $14 billion written off or otherwise lost)…”
You can tell just how far to the Right the Republicans have gone when they call Obama a “far Left” president.