Bank Bailout (TARP) Czar-Herb Allison

According to a 262 page report released by the inspector general of the TARP, Neil Barofsky (here's the link to the report: http://www.sigtarp.gov/reports/congress/2009/July20 09_Quarterly_Report_to_Congress.pdf ), the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department are guilty of obstructing justice by not cooperating with efforts to ensure that they maintain transparency in the bailout program. The Fed (Bernanke) and the Treasury (Geithner) are playing with fire here, as Barofsky is only one of three monitors of the TARP funds who has the power to file criminal charges without having to go to the Justice Department first. Herb Allison is one of the other three monitors, but Barofsky is more independent than the other three. When the Treasury Department was not forthcoming about who received funds under TARP, Barofsky simply went around the government and obtained the information directly from the banks. Geithner said such an accounting would be "impossible" and a "waste of time". Ye... Read more

So... we give somebody control over the distribution of a shitload of money and virtually no oversight? Nice.

Herb Allison, former head of the NY Stock Exchange AND the Federal National Mortgage Association (know as Fannie Mae, which engaged is such risky and sub-standard mortgage lending as to place the entire banking industry in dire jeopardy, AT the direction of the US Government) looks loke a pretty capable guy, if you like yes men. Which Obama does. The oversight placed on the TARP funds, by Congress and the Bush administration, is laughable at best and his job of overseeing its disbursement on only worthy and legitimate causes is simply impossible. So much has already gone to assist large banks in swallowing up small, profitable banks, it's ridiculous. Wasn't there a campaign promise or two about transparency? Right, the Obama administration wouldn't think of utilizing the murky water to advance their own pet causes with the built-in obfuscation and lack of accountability. And this guy is a CZAR. Good thing we got the team that fights corruption in power.