Trump’s Slush Fund (Bail Out) for Big Businesses
President Trump and Senate Majority Leader McConnell want a $450 billion slush fund for big business. They want little to no accountability, limited to no transparency, and few if any strings on the funds.
As we all recall, the US auto industry was bailed out during and after the 2008-09 Great Recession. The industry was under strict guidelines; they worked, and the federal loans were repaid. The auto industry was on pace to producing more fuel-efficient transportation until the Trump Administration repealed the fuel efficiency standards.
The financial industry was also bailed out; the guidelines were less strict to non-existent. Wall St. financial titans continued to line their own pockets while foreclosing on other people’s homes. The financial markets were reformed under the Dodd-Frank bill. Those loans were repaid with interest. The Trump Administration has done whatever it can to undercut Dodd-Frank since taking office. It has been hard to find much to praise about the naked greed and irresponsible misbehavior of the financial industry in the lead up to and immediate aftermath of the 2008-09 Great Recession.
At the other end of the political spectrum, Senator Elizabeth Warren has suggested some fairly tough conditions on major corporate bailouts:
· Maintain payrolls
· No stock buybacks
· $15 minimum wage
· No executive bonuses or dividends until the loans are repaid.
· One seat on the board for worker representatives
· Collective bargaining stays in place
· No political campaign contributions without both board and shareholder approval
The Trump Administration wants to bail out the airline industry, the cruise ship industry, the hotel industry, the fossil fuel industry, and apparently even his own golf courses and hotels. Given the Trump Administration’s history of corruption and lack of transparency, its utter incompetence, the favors for friends and the punishments for perceived enemies, we should be careful about giving him even a spare discretionary dime, let alone a $450 billion slush fund. The funds, however they are conditioned, must be administered by an entity entirely insulated from the President’s own personal and political agendas.
Prepared by: Lucien Wulsin
Dated: 3/23/20