The Debate Over TARP

In 2006, when the subprime lending market began to implode, it sent shockwaves throughout the U.S. economy and eventually lead to a global economic decline. The effects of this financial catastrophe are still being felt today. In an attempt to bolster the economy and promote lending, even in the face of this disaster, the U.S. government created the Troubled Asset Relief Program to supply lenders with needed funding. "The point of TARP", says Kristy Sinsara, President of the Consumer Advocacy Group, "was to 'stimulate the economy' by giving money to 'big businesses'." But has the Troubled Asset Relief Program succeeded in its aim?

Many groups such as the Consumer Advocacy group, represented by Kristy Sinsara, say that TARP has failed in its objective. "We believe that the lenders have proven that they can NOT be trusted with the Troubled Asset Relief Funds set aside by the Obama Administration," avers Kristy Sinsara.

Kristy Sinsara and the Consumer Advocacy Group have spoken out against TARP, claiming that lenders such as Bank of America have demonstrated an unwillingness to use TARP funding as it was intended. "The lenders (Bank of America especially) have proven that they will only use the money for their own personal gain and have absolutely no individual homeowners' needs in mind," says Kristy Sinsara. "These lenders have essentially been given a blank check by our government that we as tax payers must pay for."

If this funding has not been used to the benefit of suffering homeowners, how has it been used? Kirsty Sinsara and the Consumer Advocacy Group claim that TARP funds have been used to retain stability within the financial community at the expense of homeowners and taxpayers. These financial entities, says Kristy Sinsara, are using TARP funding to bail out or buy up crumbling financiers such as Meryl Lynch and Countrywide, rather than to benefit individual homeowners.

An even more startling revelation lies in the fact that many of the heads of these floundering institutions are being provided with "golden parachutes" in the form of high dollar exit bonuses. Kristy Sinsara and the Consumer Advocacy Group are very vocal about their disapproval of the fact that those responsible for the economic crisis are being bailed out, while the true victims, the homeowners, are left to reap the whirlwind.

Kristy Sinsara notes, "There are specific guidelines that must be met by each participant of the TARP program and these guidelines are NOT being adhered to... Bank of America used MILLIONS of dollars from government funding (that WE [the taxpayers] are all paying for) and gave it directly to the 'chosen few' they selected to receive 'bailout' funds. And now, if you as a homeowner call them for help, they will tell you why they 'can't' help you."

It is because of this seeming misuse of TARP funding that Kristy Sinsara's Consumer Advocacy Group and other similar organizations are beginning to speak out. These homeowners advocates are lobbying in Washington in the hope of changing the Troubled Asset Relief Program so that relief is felt by those who truly need it most, the distressed homeowners.