Smith Joins Call to Oppose Foreign Bailouts

HIXSON, APRIL 30 – Third District Congressional Candidate Robin Smith today commended conservative members of Congress for their opposition to efforts to bail out the economy of Greece through the largely American-funded International Monetary Fund. According to reports, the effort to prop up the European nation’s failing economy could reach $160 billion over three years.

Thursday, Representatives Mike Pence of Indiana and Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington asked their House colleagues to join them in signing a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urging opposition to the IMF proposal.

“The last thing struggling American taxpayers are looking for is to go international with the failed Obama policy of bailouts and wasteful spending,” Smith said. “With the social economies of Greece, Spain and Portugal all spiraling down, this proposal will be just the beginning of a new rash of government spending on top of our already unsustainable debt. The situation the Greek government finds itself in is a lesson to those who continue to expand the size and scope of the nanny-state government. Only there will be no one to bail us out when our economy collapses.”

Smith noted Thursday’s Pew Research Center poll that found Americans do not believe the Obama/Pelosi stimulus plan helped the economy and cautioned against placing further financial burdens on the American people. “62% of Americans recognize the Obama ‘stimulus’ wasted our tax money while failing to hold unemployment to the levels the White House promised. They are in no mood to throw new piles of cash we don’t have into saving social economies that have taxed and spent themselves into bankruptcy. At some point, this government must deal with the financial reality that we just don’t have this kind of money. Saving social economies while many Americans have given up looking for work is not our responsibility and just proves again how out of touch Washington is with the people.”