"Oversight"

by: David Sirota

Wed Oct 08, 2008 at 12:21


As King Henry Paulson and Prince Neel Kashkari start doling out fat bailout contracts to their friends on Wall Street, we're hearing a lot about "oversight" from Democrats who voted for the bailout. But don't be fooled. As I wrote in my newspaper column last week, there's almost no oversight. And you don't have to trust me - trust the corporate lobbyists like Steptoe & Johnson's Scott Sinder who are about to get rich off the scheme:

Lobbyists' immediate focus is influencing how Treasury implements the massive bailout bill, a process that could be make or break for some financial institutions struggling under the weight of bad debts. "Treasury can do pretty much whatever it wants, whenever it wants and however it wants," said Steptoe's [Scott] Sinder. (emphasis added)

He's unfortunately right. We are going to have to mount public pressure on King Paulson and Prince Kashkari to use the little-noticed provisions in the bailout bill that provide the only modicum of hope that this financial crisis will be properly managed. Stay tuned for more on that in my newspaper column on Friday.  
David Sirota :: "Oversight"

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"Oversight" | 2 comments
Public Pressure? (4.00 / 1)
90% of the public (including most of those in the know) were against the bailout.

They didn't just pass the original atrocity, they made it 150 billion dollars worse.

You have to go back to 1917 or 1789 to get the kind of public pressure we need.

world opinion (0.00 / 0)
It's going to take public pressure from other world leaders, I'd say. Gordon Brown's move in England today is going to gain steam, mark my words, and may just light a fire under Paulson in the U.S. and others elsewhere. Whether it will work or not, I don't know, but it is in line with what prominent economists have been calling for.
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"Oversight" | 2 comments
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