Lawson for Congress

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
CONTACT:
Linda Williams
919-481-1177
 

 
RALEIGH - Today, North Carolina Congressional candidate William (B.J.) Lawson called on Congressional leaders and Treasury officials to live up to their obligations to serve American taxpayers.
 
"The impending collapse of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is the result of criminal mismanagement and crony capitalism reaching to the highest echelons of Washington and our financial system. Any attempts to stabilize our mortgage market must not fall on the backs of American taxpayers," said Lawson.
 
"Our Treasury must not spend public money or assume additional debt for the benefit of Freddie and Fannie investors or bondholders," Lawson continued. "Congressional leaders must ensure that our Treasury is not looted for the benefit of foreign central banks and sophisticated investors who purchased stock and bonds in these two private organizations."
 
"During the housing boom engineered by our Federal Reserve, Freddie and Fannie returned massive profits to their managers, stockholders, and bondholders at the expense of American homeowners who paid progressively higher prices and assumed increasingly large debts to purchase housing," Lawson said. "Those profits were not earned honestly, but were a perverse consequence of the Federal Reserve's money monopoly, artificially low interest rates, and corporate greed. Now that the system has been pushed past its breaking point, it is essential that those who profited during good times not be allowed to escape the inevitable loss at the people's expense."
 
Lawson continued, "Every bond sold by Freddie and Fannie comes with a clear warning that it is not in any way an obligation of the United States government or its people. If homeowners lose their homes because they are unable to pay their mortgage, the holders of the mortgage bonds must expect to suffer proportionately. Furthermore, if Freddie and Fannie are taken into conservatorship, they must open on Monday as completely new companies and purchase only loans made under strictly regulated, conservative terms. Existing Freddie and Fannie bonds must not be guaranteed, and losses on the existing portfolio should be taken by existing bondholders."
 
"Finally, Congress and the Treasury must condemn speculators who purchased Freddie and Fannie debt while subsequently working to ensure a taxpayer-financed bailout to benefit their investment. Any actions that reward such speculators are criminal theft from the American people, and an unconscionable breach of the public trust," concluded Lawson.
 
Dr. William "BJ" Lawson is running for Congress in North Carolina's 4th Congressional District.
 
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