During the 2008 election, President Obama’s campaign falsely claimed that Heritage Foundation analysts supported his tax plan. Now his administration is claiming that Heritage supports his financial reform plan as presented to the Senate by Chris Dodd, D-Conn.
Heritage has offered no such support, and in fact contends that the Dodd bill would establish a permanent TARP bailout. They seek to clear the air in an e-mail today:
…Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Neal Wolin…told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce summit this week:
“As David John of the Heritage Foundation has said, “Taxpayers should never again be forced repeatedly to bail out financial services firms like AIG because a company poses a risk to the entire financial system and regulators lack the necessary tools to close the company safely.”
The quote is accurate…but it is 100% false to insinuate that Heritage believes the bill written by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and passed out of committee this week is the solution to that problem. Here is, in fact, what John has written about the Dodd bill:
“The Senate Banking bill proposes to create a new $50 billion fund to be used in “emergencies” to close or restructure failing financial institutions or those perceived as being in danger of default. This fund is certain to be used for bailing out any politically significant financial institution and is nothing less than a permanent TARP program.”
…In other words, not only does the Dodd bill not prevent future taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts, it virtually guarantees them forever. Just as the original $700 billion TARP fund quickly devolved into President Obama’s personal slush fund, the Dodd bill empowers the Treasury Secretary to take over and liquidate any financial firm at any time, and no one can stop him.
“As David John of the Heritage Foundation has said, “Taxpayers should never again be forced repeatedly to bail out financial services firms like AIG because a company poses a risk to the entire financial system and regulators lack the necessary tools to close the company safely.”
The quote is accurate…but it is 100% false to insinuate that Heritage believes the bill written by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and passed out of committee this week is the solution to that problem. Here is, in fact, what John has written about the Dodd bill:
“The Senate Banking bill proposes to create a new $50 billion fund to be used in “emergencies” to close or restructure failing financial institutions or those perceived as being in danger of default. This fund is certain to be used for bailing out any politically significant financial institution and is nothing less than a permanent TARP program.”
…In other words, not only does the Dodd bill not prevent future taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts, it virtually guarantees them forever. Just as the original $700 billion TARP fund quickly devolved into President Obama’s personal slush fund, the Dodd bill empowers the Treasury Secretary to take over and liquidate any financial firm at any time, and no one can stop him.
