We've been working hard over the past six months to keep tabs on the billions flowing from the Treasury Department. But as the government's response to the financial crisis has grown and scattered, it's gotten harder and harder to lay it all out for readers.
The site we're unveiling today will hopefully make all that a lot easier. It gives readers plenty of ways to break down the data: You can see every recipient of bailout money and the programs the money is being funneled through. We've done our best to translate the Treasury's bureaucratese to plain English (e.g. "Targeted Investment Program" really means "More Money for Citigroup and Bank of America"). Here's a full list of what we have:
- A breakdown of every taxpayer dollar, every recipient, and every program.
- A map that charts all the bailed out companies.
- A timeline of major bailout events.
- Breakdowns of the Treasury Department's bailout programs without confusing government acronyms.
- Links to the latest must reads on the bailout around the Web. (It's the bottom box on your right.)
- And of course, the latest on the bailout from our blog from yours truly.
One note on our methodology: We've included the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in our database, because even though it's not part of the $700 billion TARP, it's part of the broader bailout of the financial industry.
