Some feel the government’s response to the financial crisis may hurt the U.S. economy in the long run. At least that’s what an independent watchdog at the Treasury Department warned.

The problem is that the issues that spawned the financial crisis have not been addressed — it has been more than 15 months since the beginning of the downward spiral, and though promises of reform have been made, there has been nothing instituted that will help prevent another crisis from happening in the future. Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the troubled asset relief program (TARP) said:

“Even if TARP saved our financial system from driving off a cliff back in 2008, absent meaningful reform, we are still driving on the same winding mountain road, but this time in a faster car.”

Since the $700 billion bailout by Congress, those financial institutions in the spotlight have grown even larger and have failed to scale back enormous executive pay. Some, including Barofsky, feel that because banks were bailed out in the past, they may take on even more risk, knowing the government will once again come to their rescue.

Barofsky also had some words concerning the government’s role in propping up the housing market:

“The government has stepped in where the private players have gone away. If we take government resources and replace that market without addressing the serious (underlying) concerns, there really is a risk of” artificially pushing up home prices in the coming years. The report warned that these supports mean the government “has done more than simply support the mortgage market, in many ways it has become the mortgage market, with the taxpayer shouldering the risk that had once been borne by the private investor.

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Many housing experts are worried that once the cash infusion from the government runs out, the housing market will taken an even harder hit than it already has. And though the financial aid the Obama administration has offered has helped the housing and financial markets tremendously, a correction of underlying problems is seriously needed, though it doesn’t look as though reform will take place any time soon.