Yesterday, Paul Tonko, the Democratic candidate to succeed 20-year veteran Rep. Mike McNulty (D-Green Island) released the following statement on the unprecendented financial crisis hitting Wall Street and New York State. He echoes much of what Governor Paterson said yesterday, but tailors the message to the Capital Region specifically from the angle of his own experience with de-regulation.
Paul Tonko Statement on Financial Crisis
"In the last 24 hours we have seen several historic and troubling developments from the financial industry. Lehman Brothers, a firm with a 150-year history, collapsed and filed for bankruptcy on Sunday. Merrill Lynch, which was once one of the largest Wall Street firms, has been sold for only half of what it was worth just a few months ago. The American International Group has requested a $40 billion line of credit from the Federal Reserve to prevent that firm from imminent collapse. This comes only a week after the Federal Government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in the largest government takeover in history.
"These developments will have far reaching repercussions that will be felt around the world and especially here in the Capital Region. These firms are a significant source of tax revenue for New York State, much of which goes to pay for education and healthcare. We must, as a matter of prudence, look at these failures in a context that provides insight on how to plan for the future.
"This crisis highlights the importance of forward thinking, responsible regulation that both protects investors and prevents the bankers from burning down their own house. Many are responsible for the current financial meltdown, from the mortgage companies that issued large loans with no proof of income to the financial firms that bundled them into securities to the rating agencies that gave misleadingly high ratings to mortgage backed securities. This is yet another example of how the politics of de-regulation has failed to protect both consumers and business."
During the primary campaign, Paul Tonko had to respond to several charges about the de-regulation process of New York's energy industry while he was Chair of the Assembly Energy Committee. Now that Democrats are in general election mode, whether one agrees or disagrees with his stance on the energy de-regulation is a moot point; Tonko knows a thing or two about de-regulation, and his experience in this field will go far in Congress. Also, as 20% of state revenues come from Wall Street, the crunch is likely to hit state workers rather hard, and there are more state workers in the 21st Congressional District than any other district.
Tonko's Republican opponent Jim Buhrmaster released a laughable chart trumpeting de-regulation, saying Buhrmaster "Will bring real-world business experience and private-sector management principles to Washington to fight for permanent tax relief and less burdensome regulations." Right...the kind of Bush tax "relief" and de-regulation of businesses that go us into this mess in the first place. It should also be noted that for all the chatter in the blogosphere about the historic nature of the primary, other more Republican-leaning blogs have said in the past that Republicans are excited about this open seat as well, saying it's the first time in 50 years that Republicans have a chance to recapture this seat...
...and leave us with only one of the big five investment banks, I reckon.
The 21st needs a Democrat who understands this issue, and may end up needing more help than we realize.
On The Web: Paul Tonko's ActBlue Page. |
