Now that he’s confirmed that the massive government intervention known as TARP is a debacle, we’ll see how long Neil Barofsky lasts in his job as the Inspector General for TARP. I encourage you to read this entire story, print it, and keep it as a reminder of what occurs when central planners interfere in the economy. What an incredibly frustrating and sad story this is for all the former franchisees and their laid-off workers. (emphasis is mine)
The Treasury Department failed to consider the economic fallout when it told General Motors and Chrysler to quickly shutter many dealerships as part of government-led bankruptcies, a federal watchdog found.
A report released Sunday by the special inspector general for the government’s bailout program raised questions about whether the Obama administration’s auto task force considered the job losses from the closings while pressuring the companies to reduce costs.
Treasury didn’t show why the cuts were “either necessary for the sake of the companies’ economic survival or prudent for the sake of the nation’s economic recovery,” said the audit by Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the $787 billion stimulus program known as TARP.
“Treasury made a series of decisions that may have substantially contributed to the accelerated shuttering of thousands of small businesses,” investigators said.
