With the federal government coming off a $1.42 trillion deficit (“roughly twice individual income tax revenue“) and Washington already another $292 billion in the red, the president and his allies are determined to ramp up government “stimulus” spending even more and turn the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) into a slush fund for politicians.
But Republicans are fighting to shut down the TARP slush fund and return the money to taxpayers. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) called the Democrats’ plans “the worst idea I’ve ever heard of” and signed a letter by Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) calling on the Treasury Secretary to allow TARP to expire. According to Bloomberg News:
“More than 100 House Republicans asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to let the Troubled Asset Relief Program expire at the end of the year. …
“In a letter to Geithner signed by 103 House Republicans, Neugebauer said Congress approved $700 billion in TARP spending last year as an emergency move to stabilize the teetering financial system. Any unused or repaid funds should be returned to taxpayers, he wrote.”
‘The federal government does not need a dedicated support fund for the financial system,’ Neugebauer wrote. ‘The emergency has ended, and TARP must end as well.'”
When President Obama outlined his plan to turn TARP into a slush fund yesterday, Politico says he “carefully avoided saying how much the new plans would cost.” Perhaps that’s because it’d be on top of a costly government takeover of health care, a jobs-killing “cap and trade” national energy tax, and new financial regulations that force taxpayers to finance a “permanent bailout.”
Republicans have better solutions for helping small businesses create new jobs without increasing government spending or adding to the deficit. You can learn more about these plans here.
READ MORE:
- Sweeping Democratic Regulations Create “Permanent Bailout,” Threaten Jobs (12/8/09)
- Boehner Blasts Dems’ Tax Hikes, Says TARP Funds Should Be Used to Pay Down Deficit (12/4/09)
- GOP Jobs Roundtable Asks: “Where Are the Jobs?” (12/3/09)
- Boehner: GOP Solutions “Will Help Small Businesses Keep and Hire New Workers” (12/3/09)
- Jobs-Killing Obama-Pelosi Agenda Adding to the Economic Crunch (12/3/09)
