Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie on Federal Bailout Controversy

Mychal Massie, the chairman of the Project 21 black leadership network Project 21, has this to say about our nation’s current financial mess and those willing to do anything but let free market mechanisms bring things back to normal:

Our nation’s current financial turmoil should be no surprise to those charged with overseeing our financial system, yet those yelling the loudest about our not being prepared seem to have been the ones with their heads in the sand the longest.

Case in point: When the Bush Administration suggested a regulatory overhaul of the housing finance industry in 2003, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) said: “These two entities – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – are not facing any kind of financial crisis. The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.” (Source: “New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae,”New York Times, September 11, 2003) The Fox News Channel is broadcasting a similar pronouncement by Frank made in 2005.

At the time, Frank was the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. Today, he is the chairman. He is part of the crowd seeking the bailout that will probably cost taxpayers well over a trillion dollars to correct. It could and should have been prevented by something he refused at the time to acknowledge.

To add further insult to this epic fiscal injury, lawmakers and members of the Bush Administration are seeking ways to game the free market to correct the very problem that government negligence allowed to happen in the first place.

It is unwise for the government to presume American taxpayers do not have a breaking point. It is a misrepresentation of that which is being proposed to portray this – as they are – as a “recovery plan.” It is a “bailout,” and a wholesale bailout of industries ad nauseam at that.

It is simply unfair and unjust for taxpayers to essentially be the financial safety net for those responsible for foreseeable economic misdeeds on a gargantuan scale.

This post was written by National Center for Public Policy Research Executive Director David Almasi. To send comments to the author, write him at [email protected]. Please state if a letter is not for publication or if you prefer that it be published anonymously.


The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.