GAO Report: Lies, Failures, And TARP

We already knew all this, but now it's official, per the Government Accountability Office (h/t Ace of Spades):

In his 256-page report to Congress, Barofsky notes that the Treasury Department's failure to implement anti-fraud measures, or even to require TARP recipients to report how they used the billions Congress and the Treasury Department gave them, makes it highly unlikely that the $317 billion outstanding -- nearly half the TARP total -- will ever be returned to taxpayers. Barofsky also threatened to subpoena documents relating to the Treasury Department's "less-than-accurate statements ... concerning TARP's first investments in nine large financial institutions," as well as its subsequent refusal to report what hundreds of other TARP recipients did with the funds.

So there you have it: Treasury officials lied to Congress and the public, and refused to demand even a basic level of accountability from TARP recipients while borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars that taxpayers will eventually have to pay back, plus billions in interest. Incredibly, just Wednesday, President Obama announced a new TARP-like program for small businesses and community banks. The madness in Washington won't stop until the people completely clean house at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

So how does Obama and the Democrats respond?  Why, another round, of course! 

And while we're on the subject of spending vast amounts of money on wasted efforts:

In mid-February, President Obama signed the massive $787 billion stimulus bill into law. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a net of 3.6 million jobs have been lost since Obama was sworn in. In addition, the numbers show that the unemployment rate has risen from 7.6 percent to 9.8 percent …  a 26-year record high.

Now, the latest news on the impact of the stimulus bill is that 49 out of 50 states have seen more job losses.

That's right. In a recent report from the House Ways & Means Committee, only the state of North Dakota has seen net job creation with a total of 1,800. The state hardest hit by the stimulus bill is California with a total of over 336,000 jobs lost. Taken collectively, the nation has seen 2.7 million jobs disappear.

Are we starting to see now just how dangerous to America this administration is?

There's my two cents.