It was about a year ago that we were covering the big financial services bailout plan known as “TARP,” for Troubled Asset Relief Program. See the post “Your Family’s $1,000 Bailout Bet on the Stock Market,” for example.

Here’s some news that shouldn’t surprise: The Inspector General for the TARP program calls it “unrealistic” to see much of that money paid back. Go figure.

$317 billion remains unrefunded. That’s about $3,220 per U.S. family, or $1,000 per person.

I learned a phrase early in my time in Washington that applies here: “That money was stolen fair and square.”

Robert Brodsky at Government Executive reports: “[T]he rich are getting richer. During the past five months, 17 of the largest government contractors have won more than $1.6 billion in Recovery Act contracts—more than all small businesses combined.”

His analysis shows that 17 companies among the top 100 recipients of government contracts in fiscal 2008 won more than $1.62 billion in stimulus funds.  The 1,137 small businesses that have received stimulus funds have received less: $1.45 billion in contracts.

Just under $7 billion has been spent so far. That’s about $70 per U.S. family, or $22.50 per person.

There is a logic to this, of course. It’s easier to spend big money with big companies, and it’s easier to spend money on existing contracts than to create new ones.

But it also illustrates that Recovery Act spending is hitting targets that the government usually hits, while other segments of the economy have to recover on their own.

Kudos to Brodsky and Government Executive for doing this research.  It seems like another example where people other than the government are doing a better job of tracking where the money goes.

Seeing this report gave me some ideas, and I spoke to the Brodsky briefly about collecting more data in the future and mapping it like we’re doing with earmarks. To be continued!

Yesterday, the administration issued a document called “Recovery Report: 100 Days 100 Projects“:

In the first 100 days since President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, we have obligated more than $112 billion, created more than 150,000 jobs and helped communities and tribes in every state and territory. But recovery is more than just a compilation of statistics; it’s the return of hope and optimism about the future that comes with making life better for communities and families across the country. And it’s proof of America’s vast capacity to create real progress in the short term as we emerge from an economic crisis that was years in the making.

Well, I feel better already!

For perspective, $112 billion is just shy of $370 per person or $1,150 per U.S. family.

Where do you line up on Recovery Act spending? Are you one of the 150,000 who have a job today because of it? Is there a project in your town that wouldn’t have happened without it? Or are you just one of the poor suckers whose tax bill or debt burden have gone up or stayed up to support this spending? Do you at least have a sense of hope and optimism from it?

“What are they doing with our money? I mean, are they just giving it away? This is our money!”

So asks one woman, who received a $250 check made out to her father. He passed away 35 years ago.

And the answer is, Well, yes! That’s what the economic stimulus is all about – giving away money. The idea is to prime the economy by making people feel like they’ve got money to spend.

The fact that its hidden debt is something people are supposed to miss. The economic stimulus bill cost the average U.S. family about $3,300, and it raised the national debt by about $7,700 per family.

More than likely, the millions that went out in checks to dead people is just a drop in the bucket. Billions and billions will go out to living people. But, again, the economic stimulus bill gave money away, money that has been or will be collected in taxes. Did you think something different?

We’re overdue here to discuss the big announcement this past week about how the government plans to sort out the “toxic assets” that have been preventing new lending and slowing down the economy.

Now, first things first: “toxic assets,” which were first referred to as “troubled assets,” will now be called “legacy assets.”

See? Things are better already. From troubled, to toxic, to legacy. Soon, perhaps, we can switch to calling them gardenias – so sweet that we kind of want to keep them around. No, that’s not true.

But this is the Troubled Assets Relief Program or “TARP” from the financial service bailout law finally being actually used for troubled assets – hurrah! (Recall that the first thing done with the TARP program was investing in financial services firms, not addressing troubled assets.) (more…)

TPMMuckracker published a nice summary of the collapse of AIG on Friday. If you’re interested in Congress’ role in creating the disaster, here’s a key line: “In 2000, Congress passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which further reduced the already weak regulation of derivatives like credit default swaps.”

Back in October, in a post called “Did Your Representative Cause the Financial Crisis?,” we featured the Senators and Members of Congress who voted to bar states from regulating credit default swaps under gambling and “bucket shop” laws.

If you’re from any of the states listed below, your Member of Congress may have helped cause the financial crisis with his or her vote. Click on your state to see which representatives helped create today’s economic problems: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, or Wyoming.

See all House votes here. The people listed are House Members who were still serving in the last Congress and who supported the Consolidated Appropriations Act with the AIG loophole, as well as Senators who were up for reelection in 2008 who allowed it to pass (plus a couple who voted for it in the House).

The Wall Street Journal has finalized their interactive summary of the stimulus/deficit spending bill. (I wrote about it here.)

Check it out. Click around to see what ended up in the bill. Most of all, have fun.

Friday afternoon, the White House blog announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was posted online for public comment.

According to a campaign promise the President made, a promise repeated on his Web site, the bills that are sent to him will be posted online for public comment for five days before he signs them. This is an important step forward for government transparency and citizen involvement. Unfortunately, press reports indicate the President may sign the bill on Monday without waiting the five days he promised.

So go to Whitehouse.gov and submit your comments now!

Update: President Obama will sign the bill in Denver on Tuesday, February 16th.

The Congressional Budget Office has produced a cost estimate for the conference agreement on H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – the version of the bill being debated in both the House and the Senate today.

Our number crunching comes up with the following results: The bill costs the average U.S. family about $3,300, and it raises the national debt by about $7,700 per family.

Let’s go through that.

The bill spends about $5,500 per family, or $1,750 per person.
It reduces taxes by about $2,200 per family, or $700 per person.
Total cost (using our methodology): $3,300 per family, or $1,050 per person.
Added to national debt: $7,700 per family, or $2,450 per person

These are net present value figures. That means the value today of the spending and tax reductions in the future. In terms of spending, for example, it’s the amount you would have to put in the bank today to fund spending over the next ten years (which is as far as the cost estimate goes). And for tax reductions, it’s the value today of tax savings that will accrue over the next ten years.