Neil Barofsky: 'The banks dictated the terms of their own bailout'

According to a new report out this morning from the Office of the Special Inspector for TARP, hundreds of bailed out banks are still struggling to repay taxpayers.

More than 700 banks received taxpayer dollars from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and about half have repaid the Treasury.

A new book by Neil Barofsky, the man charged with overseeing TARP, says the bailout program was anything but a success.

"When I got to Washington I was shocked to see how much power a handful of Wall Street banks have over our government," Barofsky explains on Starting Point this morning. "The banks dictated the terms of their own bailout."

Barofsky continues, saying, "The Treasury complained to us that they were actually afraid that if they got tough with the banks that they'd walk away from the program, which shows you where the level of power lies between the banks and Washington."

Regarding the book's criticism of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Barofsky explains that he has nothing personal against Geithner, but that he thinks that the Secretary "put the interest of the banks over homeowners and main street at every juncture."

Barofsky also responds to the backlash his book has received, saying that regulators are faced with the choice to "do your job and be tough and you'll cause harm to yourself and your family or play ball and get a big pot of gold at the end of the Wall Street rainbow."