Bailout : an inside account of how Washington abandoned Main Street while rescuing Wall Street / Neil Barofsky.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-257) and index.

Fraud 101 -- Hank wants to make it work -- The lapdog, the watchdog, and the junkyard dog -- I won't lie for you -- Drinking the Wall Street kool-aid -- The worst thing that happens, we go back home -- By Wall Street for Wall Street -- Foaming the runway -- The audacity of math -- The essential $7700 kitchen assistant -- Treasury's backseat driver -- Too big to succeed.

In Bailout, Neil Barofsky, the former Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), provides a behind-the-scenes account of how the U.S. government handled the 2008–2009 financial crisis bailouts.

Barofsky reveals that instead of helping everyday Americans, the Treasury Department prioritized saving large Wall Street banks—with little oversight or concern for fraud. Efforts to implement consumer protections or anti-fraud controls were met with fierce resistance from Treasury officials, particularly under Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Despite trillions being spent to stabilize financial institutions, only a small fraction of the funds—around $1.4 billion—reached homeowners facing foreclosure. The book highlights the political pressure, Wall Street influence, and bureaucratic dysfunction that made the bailout process deeply flawed and unjust.