This article fails enormously to address who specifically was in power during this troubled process. In the comments below the article you have the usual bashing of Democrats for being socialist which is amusing since the last time I checked, Bush and Paulson were in charge of this process in 2008. If the Teabaggers want to label Bush and Paulson socialists, that's fine (and indeed warranted) but don't blame Obama, Geithner and the Democrats for a disaster that they inherited from the Republicans. As critical as I may be about Geithner's term, this report is about Paulson. Other than for political purposes, it's not clear why the AP failed to mention that key point.
Unless O'Donnell waved her wand and cast a spell to put Obama in office at this time, this is a Bush/Paulson failure.
The bailed-out mortgage companies hired by the Treasury Department to manage its main program designed to prevent foreclosures probably weren't up to the job, and tapping them may have increased taxpayer losses, a new watchdog report says.
Failed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac relied heavily on subcontractors to manage a program aimed at lowering borrowers' monthly payments, according to a report Thursday from the Congressional Oversight Panel monitoring the $700 billion financial bailout. The job probably detracted from their efforts to right themselves financially and minimize the size of their bailouts, which total $148 billion and are likely to grow, the report says.
Treasury hired them despite their history of mismanagement, the report adds. It says they have misreported key data and missed important deadlines.
