Hi folks - I'm running for congress out here in Cleveland. I called a press conference for Tuesday, during which I hope to draw more attention to the folly of this mega-bailout plan. If you have any friends in the media, please spread the word!

Sean H. Ryan
www.seanryanforcongress.com
www.freedomride.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9/21/2008

“Plan for a new RTC may screw U.S. taxpayers twice – congressional candidate to hold press conference on the steps of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank: Tuesday, September 23 at 2 PM.”

Statement from Sean H. Ryan, candidate for U.S. Congress:

After a week of unprecedented government intervention in what can no longer be called a competitive free market, the Bush administration is now seeking unfettered power to totally socialize our financial system. Members of congress are being urged to rush passage of legislation granting Treasury Secretary Paulson the authority to purchase $700 billion of junk “mortgage-related” debts from any financial institution “having its headquarters in the United States” or with “significant operations in the U.S.” or fitting conditions of “broader eligibility” that will set by the Secretary himself. Paulson’s use of this and other vaguely-defined powers will be “non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” In other words, one man (and his Federal Reserve collaborator) will directly control our financial system for a period of up to two years. This massive bailout will be funded by the creation of more government debt, at a time when the U.S. is already bankrupt. Eventually, this debt will be the responsibility of U.S. taxpayers. The American worker is being tasked with rescuing a gang of financial thieves that were unable to perform their jobs competently – but who are now holding our country hostage: by refusing to lend in a volatile climate of their own creation; by demanding that we socialize their risks so that they can then go back to privatizing their profits; by insisting that they are “too big to fail,” when the risk of failure is the only effective future deterrent to their unsound and immoral business practices.

I am opposed to this coercive attempt by our government to foist the bad debts of bankers onto the shoulders of working men and women, many of whom are already struggling to pay off debts of their own. However, I realize that this legislation will be almost certainly be enacted, probably in a matter of days. Therefore, I demand the inclusion of language guaranteeing that taxpayers will benefit directly from the Treasury’s use of their money. Unless this bailout plan has a “sunset” provision requiring all financial institutions that are involved to loan out the money they receive from the government to small businesses and taxpayers in need of credit, the U.S. taxpayer will not receive the benefits that supposedly justify this new law. If we allow banks to hoard our money – if they do not do their jobs and ensure the flow of credit – we will soon experience the worst recession in memory, and very possibly a serious depression. An economic collapse of this order would devastate poor and middle-class Americans, the very people who are being forced to pay for this plan, through a stealth inflation tax and a devaluation of the dollar. In order to prevent this worst-case scenario, the sunset clause would provide a 6-month deadline on the use of taxpayer money. Either use it or lose it: if banks aren’t willing to play by the taxpayer’s rules, they are free to fend for themselves.

On Tuesday, September 23, at 2 PM, I will deliver a more detailed address from the steps of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. I will tell the truth about our money system, about how a fiat currency and the policies of central bankers have resulted in the current crisis, and demand that the Washington phonies who got us into this mess be held accountable for their actions. I will ask the voters of District 11 to send me to congress, to act as their watchdog against further thefts of taxpayer dollars. Finally, I will discuss coordinated actions that will be available to citizens, in the event that the bankers and the irresponsible political leadership in Washington fail to hear our call for justice.

Sean H. Ryan
Candidate for Congress, Ohio 11th District

List of invitees:

Hon. Ron Paul, U.S. Representative, Texas District 14
Sandra Pianalto, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Henry L. Meyer III, Chairman and CEO, KeyCorp
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Financial Times
Wall Street Journal
New York Times
Washington Post
WCPN (Ideastream)
WRUW (Case Western Radio)
WKYC (Channel 3)
WEWS (Channel 5)
WJW (Channel 8)
WOIO (Channel 19)
WUAB (Channel 43)
WBNX (Channel 55)