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Former Special Investigator General of TARP and “Bailout” author Neil Barofsky says he was surprised to see how much Wall Street influenced Washin...
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-- directed and he's deeply offended by the fact that you don't.
You don't want -- him in this book as I love this clip because you're part of welcome part of what I talk about this book.
It's almost how to a tax -- guide to how to know when your government is trying to deceive you.
It try to go through all the different deceptions that that the government does to to portray its message and secretary Geithner sort of ticks through a few of them in this this clip.
First the fake outrage is sort of a running joke in the book how often treasury officials tell me how deeply and personally there offended by whatever imagined slight that they see.
Second -- -- straw man on and hear what he did was he took a lie.
Rite -- he'd misconception.
By suggesting that I it was a person who who at some point said that TARP -- cost trillions of dollars of losses something that I never said.
But again presenting that as a straw -- to knock it down but what's really funny about this is that on page a 163 in my book I looked it up after I heard it.
Our talk about how treasury tried to push that exact same lie back in 2009.
-- -- -- -- they're following the playbook they can't even come up with new ways to try to trick the American people.
So you know.
I think it's but it is a lost opportunity we should be engaging in a debate about the very very serious issues that are raised in this book.
I'm you know -- -- doesn't contest any of the facts that are in the book nor candy because it's all true.
But instead you have it's almost.
Juvenile game of deception a trying to hide the ball to try to distract people from focusing on these really important issues.
You wrote about and forgive -- -- forget the name of the man was it -- -- somebody that.
You were going head to head with.
And and said hey Neil let's go over to -- such restaurant have a drink.
And so you so you meet him kind of off off.
That the field and in that meeting he said do you.
Neil let me tell you how -- is -- an older man he's been around a long time.
You wanna future do you wanna career you don't wanna make a lot of people mad you're making a lot of people -- I was I was harming the interest of myself and my family yes because I didn't have the appropriate you're going to be unemployed for the rest of your life if you keep going as such they got back -- -- achievement but just about.
And this was the assistant secretary treasury herb Allison.
He said that if I change my tone.
In other words played volatile bit great things could happen you know maybe that giant pot of gold could be waiting for -- the end of the Wall Street rainbow or maybe even something like a judgeship.
And you know this is the problem this is what faces so many of our regulators in Washington.
And it's one of the real problems -- try to identify in the book and why there's so much deference to Wall Street.
For all faced with that same question that same dilemma I think it's -- usual that it was said so explicitly to me.
But there are facing that when they're doing -- Wall Street play ball pull your punches big payoff.
Be -- be noisy be angry.
And it could really hurt you in the long term that's one of the things we have to change about our regulatory -- so there's a good booking theater going on there is a giant revolving door.
On that -- back and forth money is the name of the game.
And look there are other people who don't play that game he knew who are good and try to stand up.
But I have to tell you those interest -- because from the the wealthy executives who come to government and bring all that.
Wall Street ideology with them and then the people that are within government who -- wanna go through that revolving -- the other way and get those big box.
I mean that is essential part of the problem and something I really try to lay out in this book so people could understand bottom line.
When when you look at all of this -- people say we will never know that part should have been done.
There's another group that says it should have been done but it should have been they bought the toxic assets and taken him away from the banks.
-- opposed to just -- the preferred stock what's your overall reaction to how this.
Was done and and -- I think we're gonna faces again that the sometime in in the future I don't know -- -- we're absolutely going to face in the future.
But the problem here is that -- -- and that we're in a crisis.
And I do believe that because of we haven't fixed the problem before we created this giant problem too big -- banks.
On that we had to rescue them in one form or another a -- they bring down the entire financial system this year fine with.
Did with the bailout.
I'm fine with the premise about what I'm not -- with is that congress required and treasury promised they would do more than just shovel hundreds of billions of dollars into the bank look it's not that complicated you put trillions when you consider the other money that was provided as an act.
And they don't fail.
I think that's no reason for a victory lap I mean that's not all that complicated that's why congress required treasury promised they weren't just going to do that.
It's gonna help homeowners whose gonna help the broader economy we're gonna restore lending.
And the decisions in the policy it was adapted by treasury.
Both the bush treasury and the Obama treasury what to ignore.
A word -- basically.
In competently pursue those goals all they were really concerned about was the first part saving the banks.
And that is why I -- -- overall as a failure because it failed to meet those goals and all you have to do was look on at unemployment.
Record poverty rates highest in fifty years and it housing market which continues to just be.
Pummeled pummeled and so many people -- unnecessarily suffered to say that that TARP has been a failure.
Well I had 300 more questions but I'm out of time it -- the book is a great read -- it's it's my favorite book.
Of all of those that have been done about what happened with the with the bailout so Neil -- -- -- it did congratulations your radar.
