Maffei Outlines Opposition To Massive Wall Street Bailout and Proposes Alternative Plan

Press Release

MAFFEI OUTLINES OPPOSITION TO MASSIVE WALL STREET BAILOUT AND PROPOSES ALTERNATE PLAN

Congressional candidate Dan Maffei today said he strongly opposes the proposed Wall Street bailout, saying it lacks adequate oversight and charging that Congress paid lip service to cutting the greed on Wall Street making it a rare possibility to restrict executive pay.

"Last week I outlined four steps I felt needed to be taken in order for any proposed bailout plan to be successful," said Maffei. "Unfortunately what we have is a rushed plan that contains very little help for homeowners while providing a massive bailout to Wall Street big banks. As the New York Times has reported, there is no guarantee this will work. And, perhaps worst of all, we are depending on the big banks and same Bush Administration officials that got us into this mess in the first place."

Maffei said that the proposed legislation does not address the underlying problem that got the financial markets into this mess - complete mismanagement and lack of oversight on the part of the Bush Administration that rewarded a culture of greed on Wall Street. The proposal's provisions for oversight, accountability, and limits on executive compensation all depend too much on the Administration implementing them.

"This legislation simply gives President Bush too much discretion, and we have seen the disastrous effects of these kinds of policies in the past with this administration," said Maffei.

Maffei said that while bad debt assets are being purchased, the deal contains no guarantee that more lending will happen in the future. He said a better plan would include:

• More help for homeowners. They need a simple way to restructure their mortgages to help them stay in their homes.

• A $100 billion infrastructure fund to pump money into the economy. If Wall Street has been helped, it's important we keep American workers on the job.

• Restrictions on greed. The greed on Wall Street won't be restricted without a way for the U.S. Government to eliminate the ability for CEO's to make huge bonuses without regard for their companies or the economy as a whole.

"The bottom line is that we need the plan but we have a responsibility to make sure it works for the American people and is not rushed for the sake of politics," said Maffei. "We can't afford to not get this right, and we need to put the needs of the American worker and homeowners first and foremost."

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