After a miserable start to his Kansas Values Tour in Baldwin & Ottawa (a grand totally of six fine folk in Baldwin!), former Congressman Jim Ryun spent 20 minutes with Raubin and Megan on Topeka's WIBW AM580.
And, Lord, did he unload some things he's going to wish he hadn't said.
He obviously has taken a page of John "I don't really know much about the economy" McCain, because our "fiscal conservative" knows just what to do to fix everything: Let the souring market eat financial institutions alive!
Oh, and you know that stimulus check you're getting from the government? If you were happy with $1,200, how about ten times that?
Ryun: Let me just say this- if the amount of money coming back, lets say to the to the typical average family, if $1,200 was good, why not $12,000? You know, let's really stimulate the economy and make it go forward.No kidding "confidence," Jim. Why don't you just buy them a new car while you're at it? How 'bout some free land and a donkey, too?
[...]
You really need to give a sense of confidence to the market and to families.
Then this exchange:
Raubin: Shouldn't the federal government have stepped away and allowed Bear Sterns to falter?This from the self proclaimed "fiscal conservative" in the race- let's give everyone a government handout of $12,000 and then let the failure of a huge investment bank have a market-driven ripple effect all over our already devastatingly weak economy. That'll fix everything!
Ryun: I would have liked to see that in the sense of "let the market take it's place" you know- the back and forth which is what this county is mostly, is dependent upon and it's been the best success for this country. The market is where, the market forces are what really helping our country in terms of determining our future.
Ryun was quoted in the Ottawa Herald saying this:
There’s a need for more market-based solutions for economic problems, he said.Really, Jim? Market-based solutions? Opposed to the efforts at the Fed to stave off financial collapse?
Ryun said he’s opposed to efforts by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernacke [sic] to provide federal financial packages for large mortgage financial institutions.
Fed Chairman Bernanke said this today before Congress:
He said that "the damage caused by a default by Bear Stearns could have been severe and extremely difficult to contain."But Jim Ryun disagrees. As the economy grows weaker, and as the talk of a recession intensifies, Jim Ryun says we need to just let the market play out- just let it alone and we'll all be fine. Sure, short tern you'll all go bankrupt, lose your homes and your jobs, but, really, in the long run...
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"We did what we did because we felt it was necessary to preserve the integrity and viability of the American financial system, which in turn is critical for the health of the economy," Bernanke said.
Someone page Herbert Hoover.
