Opinion: President Bush’s speech leaves Club for Growth cold
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Expectations will be high when President Bush convenes his White House meeting today with congressional leaders, Barack Obama and John McCain that the session will produce at least the framework for a government plan to ride to the rescue of the financial sector.
But Bush and the others could work all night and into the weekend and not bring some critics of their efforts on board.
That includes the Club for Growth, an anti-tax group known for helping fuel bedeviling primary challenges to Republicans deemed soft on strict fiscal conservativism. Following Bush’s nationally televised speech Wednesday night, the club’s president, former Pennsylvania congressman Pat Toomey, had this to say in a statement:
We understand the political temptation to take quick and decisive action, but a multi-hundred billion dollar taxpayer-funded bailout is the wrong answer. President Bush is predicating the need for a government bailout on the assumption that the credit markets are ‘frozen,’ but we see no evidence of a general freezing of credit markets. ... While certainly some financial institutions are under great stress, 18 months into this financial crisis their problems have not spread widely. The economy continues to grow; productivity growth is strong; and unemployment, while increasing, is not close to levels it has routinely reached in past recessions. The bailout plan is fundamentally unfair to American taxpayers and responsible borrowers and lenders. The bailout misallocates capital, risks massive inflation, invites political manipulation, and sets a bad precedent for future bailouts down the road. Already we are witnessing other industries lining up for their share of the government’s handouts. Instead of acting rashly, Congress needs to take a deep breath and enact pro-growth policies like a stable dollar policy and lower taxes on capital gains and corporate income. ... We encourage all members of Congress to reject a massive bailout plan.
Some Republican lawmakers, to be sure, will take note.
-- Don Frederick