In 2008, the U.S. government opened its wallet for a bailout to financial institutions to purchase $700 billion of “troubled assets” under the all-encompassing TARP or Troubled Asset Relief Program bill, setting forth a precedent that would never truly be reined in. Today that program, in a lesser and more sterile way, was reincarnated as a bailout of the Silicon Valley Bank and the lesser-known Signature Bank.

Is it now no longer a surprise to everyday Americans that we assume all of the risk and provide the government with powers (many of which were never assumed under our own Constitution) to provide such air cover to large “financial institutions”? All the while, executives and corporate entities live a life free of the repercussions that everyday Americans must shoulder. “The bailout” resides as a failsafe.

Gone are the days of fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities. The government made this clear in 2008 in coining the term “too big to fail.” The question is now being answered as to “How much do these bailouts truly cost?” The American taxpayer is paying the price at the pump, at the grocery store and when their energy bill comes due. The loss of purchasing power may not be the same as inflation, but it may as well be. More bailouts are not good for the American consumer, the American citizen or the American experience.

The American family, aware of this or otherwise, is starting to feel the repercussions of this new reality.

What happened to fiscal and personal accountability?

Andrew Piantidosi
Cape Elizabeth