Monday, September 22, 2008

NOW IS THE TIME: OBAMA MUST PROVE ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP




Barack Obama's economic game plan is sound, but in the coming days he faces the most important vote of his Senate career--choosing whether to support or to oppose the Bush administration's $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street banks.

Obama has widened his lead in the polls recently, as voters have increasingly placed their trust with him on economic issues. Understandably so. The GOP is profoundly out of touch with the Main Street economy. Even in recent days, as the U.S. economy teetered on the brink, the White House announced its opposition to "The Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights," a house bill that would limit the ability of credit card companies to raise interest rates on consumers.

But the danger here is that Senator Obama will take advantage of his lead to take a soft stance on the massive, unprecedented bailout plan that not only adds a trillion dollars to the national deficit, but also undermines the very principles of free market capitalism.

Contact the Obama campaign, toll-free, at (866) 675-2008. Demand that these three common sense provisions be added to the bailout plan.

  • Executives of companies who seek government assistance should forfeit performance bonuses and "golden parachute" severance packages until the companies are stable enough to repurchase the "toxic" assets.
  • Asset purchases by the U.S. Treasury must absolutely be subject to review by the courts.
  • Government assistance should be limited only to those companies headquartered in the U.S.
Forward this to any other supporters you know. Obama may have a comfortable lead over McCain on economic issues, but this is an opportunity for him to demonstrate true economic stewardship. The stakes could not be higher. Every one of Obama's ambitious policy plans, from tax relief to health care to public education, is contingent on a healthy federal budget. A $700 billion bailout for Wall Street would be the sort of budget buster that could cripple the Obama administration well into his second term.

Click below for Barack Obama's blueprint for changing the economy. It's a good start, but now is the time for more than tough rhetoric.

Posted by Christopher Arnold at 11:01 PM

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