Sam Johnson condemns bailout culture
Washington,
Apr 22 -
“The Democrats should realize it’s time to stop playing CEO with taxpayer dollars.”
As the Democrats in Congress advocate permanent bailouts for Wall Street by institutionalizing “too big to fail,” U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) took aim at the bailout culture on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Under pending financial legislation backed by the Administration, the biggest Wall Street firms would become eligible for preferential treatment, including taxpayer-funded resources unavailable to smaller firms. These special big bank perks include exclusive access to a pre-existing bailout fund, a Treasury-backed line of credit and a government guarantee for any debt, among other things.
Remarks as prepared for delivery:
“With all this talk about another big bank bailout and protecting companies that are too big to fail, I think we need to bring things back into perspective -- the government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers - especially not at the expense of the American taxpayer.
“America was built on freedom and free enterprise. Our Founding Fathers never envisioned a big brother government so entrenched in the private sector that it would prop up companies like Fannie and Freddie, rescue Wall Street, bailout AIG and own car companies.
“What incentive does a corporation have to be responsible to its employees, customers, communities and shareholders if it knows Uncle Sam will be there to pick up the pieces when it falls apart?
“With unemployment at 10% and companies hesitant to hire new workers, the Democrats should realize it’s time to stop playing CEO with taxpayer dollars.”
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