OCTOBER 3 2008 – US CONGRESS APPROVES $700 BILLION BAILOUT FOR BANKS

2008 – US CONGRESS APPROVES $700 BILLION BAILOUT FOR BANKS
Congress passes and President Bush signs into law the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-343), which establishes the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The largest US banks were bailed out by US taxpayers since they were considered “too big to fail.” Main Street businesses and side street homeowners facing foreclosures (due in large part to the speculative practices of major financial institutions) received no such support. Many of these major banks were major political campaign contributors/investors in the 2008 political campaign. The final bailout legislation was a revised and slightly better version of an original bill proposed by Sec. of Treasury Hank Paulson that was literally only a few pages in length. Massive public anger resulted in a flood of calls, emails and visits to congressional offices. The original proposal was defeated by Congress.