IPS Plan to Pay for Recovery

Talking Points by Sarah Anderson, Chuck Collins, Dedrick Muhammad, Sam Pizzigati. Published September 26, 2008 12:12PM

Where to Find $900 Billion from the Wall Street Speculators

Executive Summary

• Don’t finance the bailout with more debt
• Make Wall Street speculators pay now
• Raise $900 billion in new revenue
• Stimulate Main Street and the real economy

As Congress debates the particulars of the inevitable bailout, one key question has gone largely unexplored: Who will pay for this mess?

Lawmakers in Congress appear to have assumed that the federal government will simply borrow more money to foot the bill for the bailout. The national debt ceiling will rise to a whopping $11.3 trillion, up from $8 trillion a year ago.

But this rush to borrowing merely shifts the bailout burden onto the backs of future taxpayers. Congress needs to change course — and develop a “pay as we go” plan that makes Wall Street pay. The lion’s share of bailout funding should come from the high-finance gamblers and the wealthy CEOs who have so profited from our casino economy.

Funding the Bailout: Basic Principles

• Wall Street and speculators should pay now for the mess they created.
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