25th Congressional District Candidates on the Bailout
WSTM Channel 3 (NBC), Syracuse NY
Matt Mulcahy
September 25th, 2008
WSTM 3 (NBC), Syracuse
Thursday, September 25, 2008
http://wstm.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=198030
Video: http://wstm.com/news/video.aspx?id=198030
SYRACUSE -- The three candidates for the 25th Congressional District, which covers much of the Syracuse and Rochester areas are all, are getting their message out about the economic bail out plan being negotiated in Washington. Democrat Dan Maffei, Republican Dale Sweetland and Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins all criticize the greed of the Wall Street and the lack of proper oversight by the government. But, each has different ideas about solutions to the most fragile moment for the United States economy since the Great Depression.
Democrat Dan Maffei said the problems start with the Bush administration saying, “I think it's the culture of greed and a lack of oversight over the last eight years. Congress and the administration and that has led to Wall Street gone wild and that we have to reverse." Maffei wants a deal that protects the average homeowner having a hard time paying the mortgage and keeps corporate executives from padding their bank accounts with bail out money. In fact, Maffei challenged CEO's to forego salary until the crisis is resolved.
Republican Dale Sweetland points his finger to the financial industry for trading risky mortgages as if they were a tangible commodity. He says the system has removed the local connection to a homeowner who might be struggling to pay the mortgage. Sweetland says the government must step in saying, "I support a bail out that is the correct number. I don't want it to be just to bail out the people who played fast and loose to make a lot of money in this."
Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins says the inflated housing market put the national economy in jeopardy. He does not want to continue to prop up the existing system of investment banks saying, "sooner or later the bubble will deflate. Now we're bailing out the rich and the average taxpayer should not do that." Hawkins wants the government to act as the bank of last resort from homeowners in distress. He also wants a major investment into the national infrastructure using green building standards to give the economy a real boost.
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