Wall Street Bailout: Too Big To Collect?

"In light of the recent S&P downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating, the nation suddenly looks more dire financially than before the downgrade ( (at least psychologically, as the country still has the ability to borrow at its pre-downgrade low interest rates.) So it would make tracking down Wall Street bailout money still outstanding a good start to reclaim some of the lost treasure.

However, more than two years after the bailout, there never seems to be a straight answer to these two questions: (1) Where has Uncle Sams' bailout money gone? (2) Has the money been paid back yet? The Treasury Dept. already declared milestone reached in June, 2010 when "Repayments to Taxpayers Surpass Tarp Funds Outstanding." New York Times and CNNMoney both keep stattistics of the bailout and tell a different story from the government's account.

NYT says fund outflow has amounted to $550 billion, funds returned is $70.1 billion, that leaves amount outstanding $480 billion. CNNMoney data suggest $475 billion out of the door, $118.5 billion returned, netted to $357 billion still needs to be collected. Pro Publica also keeps track of a bailout list including the $700 billion TARP program, and the separate bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to Pro Publica,

"Altogether, accounting for both bailouts, $580 billion has gone out the door—invested, loaned, or paid out—while $273 billion has been returned. The Treasury has been earning a return on most of the money invested or loaned. So far, it has earned $67 billion. When those revenues are taken into account, $239 billion is the net still outstanding as of August10, 2011."..."

at  http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/wall-street-bailout-too-big-collect