Speaking Out Against TARP
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was established by the United States government in response to the subprime market collapse the rocked the global economy earlier this decade. “The point of TARP”, says Kristy Sinsara who heads the Consumer Advocacy Group, “was to ’stimulate the economy’ by giving money to ‘big businesses’.” Ostensibly, it was hoped that by bolstering the failing financial institutions, the benefits would trickle down to distress homeowners.
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,” says Kristy Sinsara.
Kristy Sinsara and her associates with the Consumer Advocacy Group maintain that, “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. These lenders have essentially been given a blank check by our government that we as tax payers must pay for.”
“There are specific guidelines that must be met by each participant of the TARP program and these guidelines are NOT being adhered to,” says Kristy Sinsara. “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.”
As part of their push for change, Kristy Sinsara and the Consumer Advocacy Group have been raising public awareness of how TARP funding has actually been spent by lenders. Kristy Sinsara points out that financial entities receiving TARP moneys have turned around to purchase or bail out other financiers like Countrywide and Meryl Lynch, rather than used to benefit individual homeowners struggling to hold on to their homes in the wake of the subprime market collapse.
Not only are these flagging financiers being bailed out, but many of the executives of these collapsed institutions are being provided with substantial exiting packages. These much discussed “golden parachutes” are being provided at taxpayer expense via TARP funds, says Kristy Sinsara. Meanwhile, organizations like the Consumer Advocacy Group are left scrambling to try to help faltering homeowners as best they can.
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.
For more information on Consumer Advocacy Group visit us at our site. Additionally you can get more information about Kristy Sinsara’s work.