Happy Anniversary: Against It Before She Was For It

One year ago, KBH op-ed warned against bailouts

AUSTIN - It is well know that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison infamously voted for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. What many people do not know is that 12 days before this vote, on Sept. 19, 2008, she wrote an op-ed titled “Bailouts Hurt Taxpayers and Set a Dangerous Precedent.”

“Kay Bailout has a 16-year career of saying one thing in Texas and doing another in Washington, but warning against bailouts then turning around and voting for a $700 billion Wall Street bailout is unfathomable – even for her,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “Happy Anniversary.”

One year after the publication of this op-ed, Texans should be reminded of the words Sen. Hutchison wrote warning against the perils of bailouts:

“A balance of improved regulation and greater market discipline will help solve the financial crisis, rather than patch it, one bailout at a time. With every bailout, each American taxpayer becomes more invested in these markets. And we all have the right to ask the question, why is one firm rescued, when another must face the consequences of its actions? In a capitalist system, some risks will yield big rewards and some will lead to failure. When possible, it is better to let free market economics pick the winners and losers, not the federal government. Corporate bailouts set a dangerous precedent and stand to negatively impact market dynamics over the long-term. The expectation of a bailout is an incentive for other private financial institutions to ignore risk in the future.”

In a historic flip-flop, Sen. Hutchison completely ignored her own words 12 days later, when on Oct. 1, 2008, she voted for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout.

To read the entire “Bailouts Hurt Taxpayers and Set a Dangerous Precedent” op-ed and to view a video commemorating the one-year anniversary of its publication, visit: http://washingtonkay.com/blog/op-ed-anniversary.