U.S. stimulus not enough, TARP bailout misused: Soros
The stimulus plan the U.S. government is currently considering is necessary to help American citizens, but it will likely not reverse the country’s economic decline, hedge fund manager and billionaire philanthropist George Soros said on Monday.
“It is not enough to turn the situation around,” Soros told the U.S. Conference of Mayors about the $850 billion proposal to increase spending and cut taxes.
The plan, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last week and will likely be passed by next month, will help state and local governments balance their budgets and preserve important social services, Soros said.
At the same time, the $700 billion financial bailout known as TARP for Troubled Assets Relief Program had been carried out in a “haphazard and capricious way” and “without proper planning,” he said.
“Unfortunately it was misused and the way it was done has poisoned the well. It has created tremendous ill will toward putting up more money,” Soros said.
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