Dear Michael:Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns regarding government assistance to distressed financial institutions.I absolutely agree with you. That is why today I opposed H.R. 3997, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, and the House rejected it by a vote of 205 to 228.I do not believe that it is the responsibility of Congress to bail out financial firms experiencing loss because of a lack of regulation, a lack of oversight, the greed of financial executives who often make sums in excess of 250 times the income of the average American worker, and bad judgment.I have the gravest reservations over this proposal, and I am appalled at the President's arrogance to suggest that Congress act within ten days to undo a disaster that has crescendoed over the last ten years and enriched countless Wall Street executives and speculators while impoverishing multitudes. Enclosed, please find a copy of the remarks that I submitted for the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 3997.The problems in our current financial system are not temporary aberrations in an otherwise healthy system, and may not be so easily addressed. As I write, it is not known whether similar proposals will be considered in the future. However, given the gravity and systematic nature of these problems, you can be assured that I will examine any future proposal with the same care and deliberation I exercised with H.R. 3997.Thank you again for contacting me. Do not hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.Sincerely,Peter J. ViscloskyMember of Congress
It's heartwarming to me to know I've got good representation.
3 comments:
That letter cheered me up.
I put some charts on my blog you might find interesting....
I suggest reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression, especially what caused this event. I don't know if its better/cheaper to do nothing but I certainly don't want a Second Great Depression...
The Great Depression had a number of causes, the greatest of which was the lack of regulation of leverage used to invest in the markets. We had laws to protect us from a repeat of this which were systematically destroyed by both parties since the Carter Administration.
The depression turned into the Great Depression because of the actions of Government, including the Smoot-Hawley tarrif act... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot-Hawley_Tariff_Act
This destroyed trade and bankrupted many small farms, which were crucial to the economy.
Goverment action made the Great Depression... we need to learn from history and not repeat it.
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