Washington never met an acronym or a program it couldn’t
throw at a problem. If the problem is big enough, the remedy seems to be to
throw more acronym laden programs at it; not in an effort to fix the problem,
but more often than not to merely appear like the problem is being addressed.
Neil Barofsky was nominated as the SIGTARP that was
nominated in the waning days of the George W. Bush administration in an effort
to ensure against waste, fraud and abuse in the $700 billion TARP program. In English,
Barofsky was the lawyer charged with unenviable task of trying to prevent
politicians and Wall Street types who were largely responsible for creating the
economic circumstances that created the financial mess that necessitated the Troubled
Asset Relief Program; more correctly labeled the Wall Street bailout.
In Bailout: How
Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street Barofsky tries
to valiantly to detail the machinations and internal struggles he faced in the
push and pull between Washington and Wall Street. The incestuous nature of so
many former Wall Street investment bankers retiring to move over to government
side of the street to take on high level roles in presidential administrations
screams with a fox guarding the henhouse cartoonish quality.
The picture that is painted by Bailout and so many other Washington insider books really makes it
crystal clear why the American people have it right when they show an ever
increasing distrust and disgust with everything happening in our nation’s
capital. Forget about the best and the brightest we are saddled with lowest of
the low; people more focused self-preservation and self-promotion than with
truly doing what it best for the country and its people.
The insights that Barofsky offers about the nomination
process should sicken any taxpayer concerned with our future. Battling against
the odds Barofsky, did his noble best to prevent total anarchy from setting in,
in a scenario that had the potential to be fraught with fraud and abuse.
This should be treated as a clarion call that in order to
truly clean up the mess that has been created by politicians and Wall Street
insiders would be to bring in outsiders who are skilled not in the workings of
Wall Street/Washington axis, but folks that are skilled forensic accountants
and investigators who are focused on bringing real change to real problems. I’m
not sure if I should commend Barofsky for his efforts or question his sanity
for taking on this insurmountable challenge.
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