Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Mitch issues false attacks on Wall Street reform

Media Matters catches Mitch McConnell in a fib:

A day after FoxBusiness.com reported that Sen. Mitch McConnell met with 25 Wall Street executives and hedge fund managers, McConnell took to the Senate floor to spout false attacks on Democratic efforts to hold those bankers accountable.

Sen. Mitch McConnell on April 13, 2010: "Everybody agrees on the need to protect taxpayers from being on the hook for future Wall Street bailouts. This bill would all but guarantee that the pattern continues.... The way to solve this problem is to let the people who make the mistakes pay for them. We won't solve this problem until the biggest banks are allowed to fail."

...Contrary to McConnell's remarks, the biggest banks are allowed to fail. The bill creates an "Orderly Liquidation Authority" that does not bail firms out, but safely dismantles "any failed financial company" that threatens the entire economy. This dissolution fund is financed NOT by taxpayers, but by fees levied on financial companies.