The New York Green Party has joined the Manhattan Libertarian Party and the Matos for Congress campaign as a co-sponsor of the Bailout Facts Coalition. The Coalition has asked Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney to help organize at least two town hall meetings to explain the bailout to voters. The coalition also includes Ron Paul’s Campaign For Liberty, Bill Buran for Assembly and the Queens Libertarian Party.
Libertarians and Greens differ greatly on many or perhaps most issues. However, we agree that the voters need to know the facts and that elected officials, both Democrat and Republican, need to show some accountability before the election.
“Both the Democratic and Republican parties shamefully killed the American Dream, an essential part of which is the right to own one’s home”
said Michael O’Neil, secretary of the Green Party of Brooklyn.
“Instead of passing a real rescue bill that would have saved homeowners and reformed Wall Street, they have only ‘rescued’ their wealthy backers.” Indeed, the bipartisan bill that Congress passed is in some respects worse than the one that initially failed, as it raises the dubious $700 billion bailout “ceiling” by another hundred billion, and lards the legislation with the most egregious and laughable pork. The new law rewards Wall Street criminals and punishes honest, hardworking middle- and working-class citizens by not allowing them to keep their homes and free themselves from debt.”
“It’s ironic,”
added O’Neil
“that Friday’s vote did not lead to a stock market rally. Investors are quite rightly unconvinced that the new measure will solve the economic crisis. This will surely be the first of many bailouts — and the end, unless we prevent it, of any significant spending on social programs. But this crisis also represents an opportunity. Opposition to the bailout crosses all ideological and geographic boundaries and will not end with the passage of this bill. The Green Party in NYC believes that town hall meetings in communities all over city, with local elected representatives present, is the way to find out just what the bailout means for “Main Street” and what “Main Street” really thinks of the bailout.”
The Democrats and the Republicans in Congress and the Senate have rolled over and played dead while the future of the economy has been handed over to a small group of unaccountable insider special interests. The ongoing bailouts have fixed nothing even while they cost the taxpayer unknown trillions. Our elected officials need to explain to us why they have taken these steps and we need to hear some new answers from some new sources. These new answers won’t come from the same old Democrat and Republican sources. They will have to come from alternate sources such as the third parties.