Last year our government, in a bid to “bail out” big business, decided that it was a good idea to fork over 700 billion dollars to failing companies and banks as according to the Government, if they failed then the rest of the economy would go with them. What was the money spent on? How did it go? Was there any nefarious activities by anyone? In all seriousness I don’t have the time to cover everything. Instead I will suply you with a couple quick examples:

1) Regarding Paulson, the guy who wrote the bill – “There was concern that the current plan created a conflict of interest for Paulson. Paulson was a former CEO of Goldman Sachs, which stood to benefit from the bailout. Paulson has hired Goldman executives as advisors and Paulson’s former advisors have joined banks that were also to benefit from the bailout. Furthermore, the original proposal exempted Paulson from judicial oversight. Thus there was concern that former illegal activity by a financial institution or its executives might be hidden.”

2) Regarding how the money was tracked- A December 31, 2008 Associated Press article stated, “Government officials overseeing a $700 billion bailout have acknowledged difficulties tracking the money and assessing the program’s effectiveness.” Furthermore – “A January 29, 2009 article from bloomberg.com stated, “Bloomberg News asked the Treasury Department Jan. 26 to disclose what securities it backed over the past two months in a second round of actions to prop up Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. Department spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said Jan. 27 she would seek an answer. None had been provided by the close of business yesterday.”

3) Was it a good set of investments? - On February 5, 2009, Elizabeth Warren, chairperson of the Congressional Oversight Panel, told the Senate Banking Committee that during 2008, the federal government paid $254 billion for assets that were worth only $176 billion.

4) But the money spent wisely by those who received it righ!?!?! – “Bailout recipients spent $114 million on lobbying and campaign contributions in 2008″ AND “A February 2, 2009 ABC News article titled, “Bailed Out Bank of America Sponsors Super Bowl Fun Fest” stated that Bank of America sponsored a Super Bowl event at a five star resort in Palm Beach, which was described as “… a five day carnival-like affair… 850,000 square feet of sports games and interactive entertainment attractions for football fans…” Although the bank refused to answer ABC News’ questions about the cost of the event, a confidential source told ABC that the cost was approximately $10 million.”

5) But it was all spent on good stuff….. right? MMMM no. In fact “For instance, Citigroup Inc, which received $50 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, made an $8 billion December loan, not to an American entity, but to a Dubai public sector company, according to a newly released Monday memo by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the House Domestic Policy Subcommittee.” 

Oh and read this.

What’s the point? Obama, Bush, its really whatever. The plan has been flawed from the get go, and it will not fix these companies. Hold on tight kiddies, it is going to be one hell of a bumpy ride.