The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve lied to the American public last fall when they said that the first nine banks to receive government bailout funds were healthy, a government watchdog states in a new report released today. Full Story »
Posted by Michael Bugeja
This breaking news story concerns lies that former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the Federal Reserve made in reference to banks receiving taxpayer dollars. The banks were said to be sound, but were failing, and on the word of Paulson, the government acted, giving those institutions billions. In the end, as the story notes, it helped Wall Street, not Main Street.
“The lesson is straightforward,” the watchdog advises. “Accuracy and transparency will enhance the credibility of Government programs like TARP and restore taxpayer confidence in the policy makers who manage them; inaccurate statements, on the other hand, could have unintended long-term consequences that could damage the trust that the American people have in their Government.”
Unfortunately, “government transparency” is an oxymoron, no matter what the Democrats and Republicans claim on that count. This is why we need a free press and why NewsTrust reviewers should focus on the journalism and lose the politics.
If you read the series of reviews I did on TARP for NewsTrust, calling the program the "Traitorous American Robbery Program," you'll note how journalism--which this site stands for--could have come to the truth, if publishers didn't downsize the press corps. Instead, we learn about these things from government watchdogs rather than the public ones of the Fourth Estate.