July 23 (Bloomberg) -- In the year since I stepped down as
the special inspector general of the Troubled Asset
Relief Program, the sadly predictable consequences of the
government’s disparate treatment of Wall Street and Main Street
have only become worse. As the banks amass size and power, Main
Street continues to get pummeled.
Part of the current economic malaise can be traced directly
to Treasury’s betrayal of its promise to use TARP to “preserve
homeownership.” The Home Affordable Modification Program has
brought little meaningful improvement, with fewer than 800,000
ongoing permanent modifications as of March 31, 2012, a number
that is growing at the glacial pace of just 12,000 per month.
