Financial bailout proposal avoids accountability, fosters secrecy
The proposal to bail out the financial industry with up to $700 billion in our money provides little accountability and fosters secrecy, including even from the courts. Section 8 of the Legislative Proposal for Treasury Authority to Purchase Mortgage-Related Assets allows the Treasury Secretary to avoid scrutiny or accountability from the courts.
Secrecy and lack of accountability are what got us in this mess in the first place. Secret companies making secret deals encouraged greed and little public accountability. Now the government wants to act the same way? With our money? That's outrageous!
Let's put this in a little perspective. They want to use up to $700 billion of our money to help these private financial institutions. Imagine winning the $1 million lottery. Now imagine winning the lottery 700,000 more times. That's how much money we're talking about. That's more than $2,000 for every man, woman and child in our country. Now, regardless of whether it's likely to work or not - it might - I would still like to make sure those who have this kind of power are accountable in case it doesn't work.
If the government is going to front that kind of money - our money - then I think we ought to be able to know what they are doing with it and hold them accountable if they further mess things up. We at SPJ aren't the only ones concerned. A broad range of groups are alarmed at this secrecy, including the American Library Association, National Taxpayers Union, and Liberty Coalition. Stand up and fight for transparency and accountability.
Contact your U.S. senator and representative and urge them to strike section 8 and Section 2(b)2 (provides total authority to the secretary "without limitation") from this proposal. It's our money, it's our business!