Essay --

Podcast Paper: Troubled Asset Relief Program Name: Institution: The Global Financial Crisis and Troubled Asset Relief Program In 2008 the global economy experienced its worst economic turmoil in 2008 since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The effects of the crisis started to show in mid 2007 and by September 2008, the situation was out of hand. The world stock market had plummeted, huge financial institutions had collapsed and the government in the developed economies had put in place measures to rescue their economies from disintegrating. The first clear indicator of the crisis was in 2007 when the high prices of homes in the United States nose-dived and there were massive defaults on mortgages. The US financial sector soon started trembling and before long the world’s financial markets were in tatters. The US financial sector was the main casualty and the effects were felt by many businesses and people that rely on credit. The auto industry was on its knees with a number of players in the industry filing for bankruptcy; indeed, they only stayed afloat through government bailouts. Indeed, every se ctor of the global economy felt the stinging impact of the crisis with the US bearing the blunt effects. Even though massive fiscal and monetary policies prevented the US economy from collapsing, recovery has been very slow. The government policies were not applauded by many Americans who believed that the government was bailing out the same institutions responsible for the crisis. Among the government programs initiated during the recession was the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It was created by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act to address the biting financial crisis that was at its peak in September 2008. The trea... ... captured by the interests of Wall Street that usually do not serve the welfare of the American people. In fact he pointed out that no single presidential candidate had the willpower to streamline the operations of the financial systems. However, he states that since there are Members of Congress, who severed relations for the sake of the economy and its people, the same people can be the driving force towards meaningful reforms. The American people should never be subjected to such humiliation by a few large financial institutions that have the material resources to influence the decision makers in the economy. In fact, if political will as well as proper legislation and regulation existed, the American people would have reaped optimum returns from the bailout program. Equity stake at the collapsing huge banks would have given the taxpayer greater returns.