Nothing like ending the year on a hopeful note, eh? It's been six years since the federal government spent more than $700 billion on the Troubled Asset Relief Program - not a popular move around here but probably necessary to prevent the impending implosion of the entire financial system. That was an emergency brought on by a lot of forces, including federal policies that encouraged far-too-easy mortgage lending for people who couldn't repay. But at least you can say that it was designed to see the government recoup most of the money, and in fact that largely happened.
