Barr says giving Washington more power is no solution

The Libertarian candidate for president stands up for taxpayers with his opposition to corporate bailouts. Quoting from some recent releases from the Barr campaign:

It's not good enough to say the bailouts are acceptable as long as there are regulations attached. Taxpayers will still be on the hook for a trillion dollars the government doesn't have, and the government will still be interfering in the market—neither of which are acceptable.

Capitalism involves losses as well as profits. When government tries to insulate businesses and investors from paying for their mistakes, we all lose.

A vote for this bailout package, in whatever form it comes in, is a vote against the American taxpayer, and a vote against the free market.

In an article on the Huffington Post, Barr writes:

The financial crash is … the result of foolish federal policies manipulated by private interests -- precisely how Washington always operates. Giving Washington more power is no solution.

He also cites an extraordinary provision in the proposed bailout bill:

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

About that provision of the bill, Barr writes:

The secretary would be able to decide which assets to buy from whom at what price and in what manner. Both the Republicans and Democrats would benefit from Treasury's unreviewable power to hire consultants and choose firms to implement the bailout. This is a prescription for extravagant waste, incompetence and abuse.

The Bush administration played this game before, using 9/11 to ram the Patriot Act through Congress, and then misused its authority while resisting court oversight. Never again should Congress allow itself to be duped in this way.

You can read the rest of Bob Barr's comments on the Huffington Post.