A Test of Recent Historical Events

A number of people don't score well on questions regarding ancient history(defined as 10 yrs ago, or more). A number of Republicans, and assorted T-baggers, don't even do well on events which occurred in the last 2 yrs. Try the following questions.
1. Which administration initiated the "Bank Bailout" program?(Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP)
2. Who was the Secretary of the Treasury then, and who appointed him?
3. Who was the President who pushed this program through Congress?
4. Is the economy in better shape now(Sept,2010) than it was 2 yrs ago(Sept,2008)?
Two yrs ago Lehman Bros., and several other major Wall St. financial institutions failed. They declared bankruptcy, thus did not have to pay off their creditors. This created the possibility of a domino effect where financial institutions and banks couldn't pay their creditors because they were unable to collect from their debtors. This is what happened at the start of the the Great Depression, continuing down to the level of your hometown bank. When you went to your bank to withdraw your deposits, you typically received an I.O.U., which was worthless. Eventually the F.D.I.C. was created(how many anti-government types would like to eliminate this gov't agency"). The TARP, despite some missteps, appears to have prevented a catastrophic financial collapse from occurring.
Answers to questions:1. The George W. Bush administration. 2. Henry(Hank) Paulson, appointed by George W. Bush. 3. George W. Bush. 4. Two yrs ago the economy was on the verge of a total collapse.
Many people found that their 401K's, and similar plans, had declined by 50%. Only a few wingnut economists would now claim that there is any immediate danger of such a collapse. Most retirement plans have recovered 75-80% of the value they lost. Regardless of your employment status, the economy is in much better shape than it was 2 yrs ago.