Kucinich: Bailout opened 'financial whirlpool of insatiable greed' RAW STORY

Published: Monday October 6, 2008





Print This Email This Dennis Kucinich opposed the $700 billion Wall Street bailout that went into effect Monday, and now that the stock market continues to fall he's warning that the attempt to rescue the economy missed its mark.



The Ohio Democrat says any government efforts need to focus primarily on putting more money into the pockets of middle- and lower-income Americans struggling to keep their homes and jobs, not to Wall Street institutions.



If Wall Street does come back for another bailout, we must be prepared in advance to say NO, Kucinich said in a press release Monday. The bailouts of Wall Street must stop. It will never be enough. When the Federal Government gets involved in picking winners and losers on Wall Street, we open up a financial whirlpool of insatiable greed."



As the government began enacting its financial rescue program Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much as 800 points during the day before settling down around 350 points at closing. The Dow dipped below 10,000 for the first time since 2004.



The fundamental problem that led to the credit crisis is that millions of homeowners are in jeopardy, and millions of people are out of work. Congress rushed to bail out Wall Street but sits on its hands when millions of homeowners are at risk, he continued. The only way to prevent another bailout is to take action which will directly impact the market stress at its root - - the millions of homeowners who face default on their mortgages. This is the path toward market stabilization.



Kucinich says he is preparing a bill to "prime the pump of the economy" by giving the government controlling interest in mortgage backed securities to allow homeowners to renegotiate the payments, interest and principle loans they are unable to pay.



We are now facing the perfect financial storm. The elements are the deficit spending for the war ... the lack of serious investment in our country and now $700 billion to Wall Street. We are being hollowed out," he said. "We are going to see more unemployment and more people losing there homes. ... Now we must invest in homeowners to prevent any additional bailout.



