Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street

"Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street" by Neil Barofsky. covers the author's appointment and experiences as the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). They discuss the challenges Barofsky faced in providing independent oversight of the Treasury Department's implementation of TARP funds, highlighting political pressures, resistance from Treasury officials, and perceived failures in addressing fraud and helping homeowners. The excerpts also touch upon the origins of the financial crisis, the government's broader bailout efforts beyond TARP, and the perceived shortcomings of subsequent regulatory reforms like Dodd-Frank in truly reforming the financial system and ending the "too-big-to-fail" problem. The narrative includes personal anecdotes about Barofsky's prior career as a prosecutor and the influences and relationships that shaped his approach in Washington.