| Last week, Congress voted to spend $800 billion of the taxpayer’s money to bailout Wall Street. I voted no. While I hope and pray that this unprecedented action will work, I fear that Congress failed to adequately address the problem.
There is no doubt that the reckless actions of Wall Street have put our economy at risk. However, bailing out Wall Street only rewards the criminal and morally reprehensible behavior that created this mess.
It is our families and small businesses who are paying the price for the recklessness of Wall Street. I have talked to constituents who have seen their retirements lose value and small business owners who have had their access to credit dry up. It is clear that Congress needed to act. However, Congress needed to fix the problem, not hand out a blank check to those responsible for causing it.
Washington’s only response to this crisis has been to pour taxpayer money into bailouts. With our nation facing an economic crisis, Congress failed to consider any alternatives that would protect the taxpayers and prevent a future crisis. At a time when Main Street needs help, Congress took care of Wall Street and the special interests. Instead of rolling up our sleeves and working in a bi-partisan manner to solve the problem, Nancy Pelosi simply packed the bill with billions of dollars of pork.
I pray the bailout works, but given the track record of Congress, I fear we may have set ourselves up for bigger problems in the future.
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