A Proven Framework to End the US Banking Crisis Including Some Temporary Nationalizations

Today, we face extreme financial fragility and, as a result serious, risks to our economy’s prospects for a sustainable recovery from its current troubles. Congress must grapple with difficult choices about America’s banks, and it must make those choices soon. Making the right choices now will require money upfront, large amounts of taxpayer money, and thus it is necessary as well as right for Congress to lead on this issue. But making the right policy choices now will restore US economic growth much sooner, at much lower cost, and on a sounder basis than trying to kick the trouble down the road or waiting for events to force the issue. Members of this committee are well familiar with such warnings, usually with respect to far-off economic problems. This time and this problem, however, are costing our citizens their jobs, homes, and hard-earned savings right here and now. And the correct policy response right now will make all the difference.