by Suzia Van Swol & Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
In a Senate Budget Committee hearing today Secretary Treasury, Timothy F. Geithner, addressed the crisis involving financial and housing markets. On Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, Geithner proposed establishing a Financial Stability Plan that will restart the flow of credit, provide aid for homeowners and small businesses, plus strengthen the financial system.
Geithner stated that in order for this plan to work it will utilize resources from the Government and from the Congressional Emergency Economic Stimulization Act. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL.) stated, “In the Paulson-Geithner, Secretary of Treasury new world, decisions allocating huge sums of money, picking some private companies as winners and others are seen to be made behind close doors. There is no hearing, there is no transcript that I know of and little justification for how those decisions are made... This goes against, I think, the American heritage of law, individual responsibility, congressional oversight and accountability, limited government and free enterprise.”
The Financial Stability Plan proposed by Geithner, is made up of a financial stability trust which will be set up to manage the government’s investments in US institutions, a public/private investment fund which will be designed to bring private sector equity contributions to make large-scale asset purchases and a website that will be available to the public so that taxpayers will have the right to know whether these programs are succeeding in creating lending and financial stability.
“I also believe there is no escaping this, if we are not forceful now it will be harder for us to get our fiscal position back into a sustainable position because we will suffer from a greater loss of productive capacity, a greater erosion of our revenue base, and all those challenges will be more difficult to solve. We’re starting of course from a deeply, just a huge deficit and a hugely damaged system. But the most fiscally responsible course now, i believe is to try to move aggressively to address those problems because ultimately it will be less costly to the American people.” Geithner said.
Geithner: Where is the money going?
In a Senate Budget Committee hearing today Secretary Treasury, Timothy F. Geithner, addressed the crisis involving financial and housing markets. On Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, Geithner proposed establishing a Financial Stability Plan that will restart the flow of credit, provide aid for homeowners and small businesses, plus strengthen the financial system.
Geithner stated that in order for this plan to work it will utilize resources from the Government and from the Congressional Emergency Economic Stimulization Act. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL.) stated, “In the Paulson-Geithner, Secretary of Treasury new world, decisions allocating huge sums of money, picking some private companies as winners and others are seen to be made behind close doors. There is no hearing, there is no transcript that I know of and little justification for how those decisions are made... This goes against, I think, the American heritage of law, individual responsibility, congressional oversight and accountability, limited government and free enterprise.”
The Financial Stability Plan proposed by Geithner, is made up of a financial stability trust which will be set up to manage the government’s investments in US institutions, a public/private investment fund which will be designed to bring private sector equity contributions to make large-scale asset purchases and a website that will be available to the public so that taxpayers will have the right to know whether these programs are succeeding in creating lending and financial stability.
“I also believe there is no escaping this, if we are not forceful now it will be harder for us to get our fiscal position back into a sustainable position because we will suffer from a greater loss of productive capacity, a greater erosion of our revenue base, and all those challenges will be more difficult to solve. We’re starting of course from a deeply, just a huge deficit and a hugely damaged system. But the most fiscally responsible course now, i believe is to try to move aggressively to address those problems because ultimately it will be less costly to the American people.” Geithner said.