TARP was only a very small fraction ($700 billion) of the total bank bailout. It's estimated that the total money committed by the federal government to help the banks is over 12 trillion dollars. So to imply that the bank bailouts (which most people conflate with TARP) didn't contribute to the current debt is just plain false, though I'm sure banks and politicians would be happy if you believed that line.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/economy/the-true-cost-o...