This would be an input-output audit. It would include accounting for every penny of the trillions of dollars spent in any aspect of the bailout. It would involve accounting for how the bailout money was spent, who received the bailout money and how recipient banks and Wall Street firms used the bailout money.



For example, if banks were given zero-interest capital from the Fed, and loaned that capital through credit cards at 30 percent interest, taxpayers have a right to know this. If banks were given huge sums of zero or low-interest capital, and did not loan that money as intended, and then used that money for speculation or excessive compensation, taxpayers have a right to know this, too.



In this input-output audit, we take the Ron Paul idea and apply it to those portions of Federal Reserve, FDIC and other agency policies directly tied to the bailout, and then we apply it to the recipients of that money, to determine how it was spent.



Financially this is rational and sound. Politically this should gain bipartisan support, especially uniting legitimate conservative and progressive populists and guardians of the taxpayers’ money. This is a reasonable and manageable proposal that would have a sweeping impact assuring transparency, integrity and fairness to taxpayers.

