As you know, earlier this week I voted against the Congressional bailout. While some changes were made to make the bill more acceptable to House Republicans, I simply could not bring myself to support it today. It's not that I don't believe that we are in a financial crisis. We are. But putting these problems on the back of the taxpayers is not the answer. My worry is not just with the amount of new debt being foisted on the taxpayer (more than $10,000 per household), but the problems going forward when the federal government owns such a large stake in so many banks and businesses. How would you like to be a business competing with a business partially owned by government? It's just going to create problems we aren't thinking of right now.I've enclosed the text of my speech I gave earlier this week on the House floor. I hope you'll take a few moments to read it.
Best regards,
Jeff Flake
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this bailout, not because I don't believe we face a financial crisis in this country. I rise in opposition to this bailout because I know we're in a financial crisis, one that will be prolonged with this legislation.The premise of this unprecedented government intervention is that the free market has failed and that government must come to its rescue. In reality, the crisis we now face is a result of government intervention in the market. We are in this predicament largely because implicit, and eventually explicit, federal guarantees in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shielded the financial services sector from market discipline.Mr. Speaker, those who believe they can control and direct the market's invisible hand will eventually be slapped by it.
That's the painful and embarrassing situation we find ourselves in today.We don't have enough money in the federal treasury, nor can we responsibly borrow enough money, to keep the market from finding its natural bottom. Now is the time to act on the free market principles we profess to believe in. Let's vote down this bill and instead pass legislation that is consistent with those principles.
I yield back the balance of my time.
2 comments:
I LOVE this guy!!
But AIG's problems were not caused by government intervention. Bear Stearns' problems were not caused by government intervention. Neither were the problems of Lehman Brothers, WaMu, Wachovia or the numerous financial institutions and businesses that relied on derivatives like CDO's, CDF's, etc.
They were the result of being in thrall to Jeff Flake's laissez-faire philosophy of letting the market work its magic and keeping government regulation out of the way of this.
Jeff Flake's ideology is more responsible for the financial crisis than anything else. He has taken thousands of dollars in his million-dollar campaign PAC from the very bankers and Wall Streeters whose irresponsible and greedy actions triggered the current financial meltdown. They gave to Jeff Flake because they know he will "get the government off their backs."
Unfortunately, Jeff Flake is a man of the past. He is too rigid to lead us forward into an era when we need sensible government regulation and intervention.
But he makes a good-looking relic. Too bad such a bright guy has chosen to be irrelevant.
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