Congressman Dennis Kucinich warns of the effects of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout as the stock market is plummeting around the world. "The bailouts of Wall Street must stop. It will never be enough. When the Federal Government gets involved in picking winners and losers on Wall Street, we open up a financial whirlpool of insatiable greed," said Kucinich on Monday. "If Wall Street does come back for another bailout, we must be prepared in advance to say NO," the Ohio Democrat said in a press release.
Last week, the US Senate approved the bailout bill to provide $700 billion to buy bad assets from banks and other institutions to shore up the financial industry but did not propose any solution for the wider US economy. The congressional approval did help ease fears on Wall Street, but failed to calm global stock markets or give hope to Americans worried about their financial future.
Kucinich also says any government efforts need to focus primarily on putting more money into the pockets of middle- and lower-income Americans struggling to keep their homes and jobs, not to Wall Street institutions.
As the government began enacting its bill Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much as 800 points during the day before settling down around 350 points at closing. The Dow dipped below 10,000 for the first time since 2004.
European stocks fell even further, a day after European governments rushed to save major collapsing banks on the continent.
"The fundamental problem that led to the credit crisis is that millions of homeowners are in jeopardy, and millions of people are out of work. Congress rushed to bail out Wall Street but sits on its hands when millions of homeowners are at risk," said Kucinich. "The only way to prevent another bailout is to take action which will directly impact the market stress at its root - the millions of homeowners who face default on their mortgages. This is the path toward market stabilization," he added.