| Our country is facing an unprecedented economic challenge because of the recklessness of Wall Street. It is a situation that demands action to ensure that retirements, pensions, and 401Ks are protected. However, I want to make sure that we aren’t just moving Wall Street’s debt to Main Street.
Washington’s first and only response to our economic crisis has been to pour taxpayer money into bailouts. We have already bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which I opposed, at a cost of $200 billion. Now, the Administration says that it will take another $700 billion to rescue our economy. As was the case then, I am not convinced that spending more taxpayer money will solve the problem.
The Administration’s proposal would add roughly $2300 to our debt for every man woman and child. Before we ask the taxpayers to spend up to $700 billion, we need to make sure that we are protecting their money and not writing a blank check to Wall Street. The consequences of our actions will be with us for years to come. We need to make sure that we don’t rush into a bad decision.
We need to make sure that greedy Wall Street speculators never put our economy in this position again. I believe the plan Congress adopts should not give any more money than is absolutely necessary to Wall Street. Congress should also act to minimize the risk to the taxpayers, and prohibit the CEOs of failed firms from receiving lucrative severance packages.
Above all, Congress needs to take the time to ensure that we get this legislation right.
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