As with many books I
have read, I first heard of the book BAILOUT while watching an interview
with the author Neil Barofsky on the Daily Show. Barofsky was intriguing as he bantered with
Jon Stewart, showing a sense of humor that failed to cover up what appeared to
be a sense of moral indignation.
Though I had read a number of books and
articles trying to understand the recent economic collapse in America, I had
not read any from a government insider till this one. It is subtitled, "How Washington
Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street."
Of course, I had to purchase the book, and when
I received it I tore into with relish and my iridescent yellow marker. I found it to be not only informative, but in
a sense, inspirational; it is one of the most significant books I have read
recently. And Barofsky writes in an
entertaining style; I found the book hard to put down.
The book is a first person narrative of Neil Barofsky's
experiences as Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program
(TARP), the government program designed to bail out those in distress caused by
the mortgage crisis. The program was
initiated under the Bush administration and continued and expanded during the Obama
administration. The Inspector General's
responsibility was to investigate and prosecute frauds which might come up
during the actual dispersal of funds. As
well, the Inspector General served as a sort of a conscience or "back-seat
driver" to the Treasury Department in the administering of these funds
Barofsky was apparently chosen for this position
as being well qualified because of his background as Assistant United States
Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
In that position, he had successfully prosecuted mortgage fraud and even
spent some time investigating and prosecuting drug lords and FARC guerillas in
Colombia.
But what Barofsky ran into in the world of
Washington power politics was something quite different. He tells us early on of the warnings he
received; to quote one such warning:
"Mister Inspector General, you have a wonderful opportunity
here. An opportunity not too many people
get. The opportunity to make a real
difference. An opportunity to serve the
American people in a true and meaningful way.
And if you do this job the right way, you'll never be able to get a job
again" (page xxiii).
The politics he struggled with was not the
party politics of Democrat vs. Republican, but the power politics of the
Treasury Department and other turf wars.
He had to serve under an uncooperative Treasury Department and at the
same time to be answerable to Congress.
Barofsky is unafraid to name names and to
affix blame where blame is due (and occasionally credit where credit is
due). There are a few good guys and
plenty of bad guys, though once in a while some shine. Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury,
definitely does not come across as one of the good guys; Elizabeth Warren, Chair
of the Congressional Oversight Panel, does.
Ironically, the members of Congress (Republicans and Democrats), especially
those of the various House and Senate committees, usually come across as good
guys.
There are many reasons, I suppose, for
picking up and reading this book, some good, some not so good. If one reads it just to be informed, this is
the book. The author not only explains
his role and the role of TARP, but also gives a clear description of the
financial manipulations that brought about the mess in the first place.
If, however, you're looking for fodder to
reinforce your political prejudices, right or left, you'll find enough blame to
go around. One administration allowed
the financial collapse to occur, the other intensified the crisis by wrong-headed
attempts to cure it. Take your pick.
If you're one of those who believes that
America is going to hell in a hand-basket, you'll also find plenty of data to
reinforce that view. As the author tells
us, "the entire crisis was unleashed by the greed of a handful of
executives" (page 19). The United
States' government, the banks and those who ran the bailout program were all
apparently working together to guarantee the United States' taxpayers
"cover the losses" for any risk these greedy executives took.
Of course, if you believe as I do in the
biblical doctrine of original sin and/or Paul's maxim, "The love of money
is a root of all evils" (1 Timothy 6:10), you'll find plenty here to
reinforce those beliefs.
But although reading this book could make the
reader extremely pessimistic and discouraged, I found it, as I said above,
inspirational. Here is a man who, if we
are to believe him (and I do), is a man of integrity and who had the moral
courage to resist and oppose the power politics he had to deal with. Though he doesn't present himself as a hero,
he comes across as a David enforced by his own moral convictions, standing up
against the Goliath of Washington politics.
A few of Barofsky's mantras continually came
out throughout his story:
-- "Do the right thing, not the easy
thing." The temptation was and is
always there to just go along to get along.
This was an answer to the question.
"What would Sullivan do?"
Richard Sullivan had been Barofsky's chief and mentor in prosecuting
narcotics cases in his previous job.
Sullivan is described as "a tall intense deeply religious and who
never touched a drop of alcohol in his life," and who "worked
tirelessly."
-- "... the only way to do this job was not
to think about what I would be doing next." This assignment was a dead end. As he had been warned, he would make more
enemies than friends. This was not a
step upward on the career path.
Fortunately not long after Barofsky finally resigned, he received an
offer from his alma mater, New York University School of Law, to teach. I only hope he continues to teach and impart
ethics to coming generations of lawyers.
-- "The worst thing that happens, we go
home." Though he made enemies they
could do no permanent harm.
I have, in my long life been confronted many
times with power politics. So has my
wife Uni. Undoubtedly some who read this
have or will. I found myself identifying
with the author in his struggles. I have
seen the same or similar power politics in the office, engineering department,
college, even the churches I have pastored.
Private turf wars as those in power are more concerned about their own
territory or sphere than about simply doing the right thing.
The book does not end on an optimistic
note. Matters have continued and still
continue from bad to worse. I felt left
with little hope for improvement in America's situation.
Yet Barofsky had the satisfaction that he had
done his job well; he and his department had prosecuted some frauds; and some
of his input had kept matters from being even worse.
I was encouraged that there are some who want
to simply "do the right thing."
Isn't that what every one of us should desire? Especially those who claim to be followers of
Jesus? Shouldn't this be my desire?
