State Green Party, presidential nominee charge Wall Street bailout 'socialism for wealthy,' demand deal include moratorium on foreclosures, other benefits for taxpayers and the public
GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES NEWS RELEASE
SACRAMENTO (Sept. 26, 2008) - The $700 billion bailout for Wall Street must have some benefits for taxpayers - including a moratorium on foreclosures, an end to discriminatory and predatory lending practices and the recognition that "shelter" is a fundamental right, according to California Green Cynthia McKinney, the party's nominee for President (www.votetruth08.com).
The Green Party of California, in a release Friday, said that the pending bailout is nothing more than socialism for the wealthy, a state and national financial collapse predicted, in large part, by the recently deceased Peter Camejo, the Green Party three-time nominee for California governor who died Sept. 13 of cancer.
"Both major parties have been dominated by moneyed interests and today reflect the historic period of corporate rule," wrote Camejo, a socially-responsible investment counselor in an historic document now called "The Avocado Declaration."
Camejo predicted the takeover of the federal government on Wall Street because "Republicans seek to convince the middle classes and labor to support the rule of the wealthy with the argument that...'what benefits corporations is also going to benefit regular people.'" The Democratic Party, he said, is different but still beholden to "corporate rulers."
McKinney has said that any bailout must include the following conditions:
- Enactment of a foreclosure moratorium now before the next phase of ARM interest rate increases;
- Elimination of all ARM mortgages and their renegotiation into 30- or 40-year loans;
- Establishment of new mortgage lending practices to end predatory and discriminatory practices;
- Establishment of criteria and construction goals for affordable housing;
- Redefinition of credit and regulation of the credit industry so that discriminatory practices are completely eliminated;
- Full funding for initiatives that eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in home ownership;
- Recognition of shelter as a right according to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights to which the U.S. is a signatory so that no one sleeps on U.S. streets;
- Full funding of a fund designed to cushion the job loss and provide for retraining of those at the bottom of the income scale as the economy transitions;
- Closure of all tax loopholes and repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the top 1% of income earners;
- Fairly tax corporations, denying federal subsidies to those who relocate jobs overseas, repeal NAFTA.
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Contacts:
Susan King, Spokesperson, 415.823.5524,
Daniel Brezenoff, Spokesperson, 310.422.2211,
Dr. Bob Vizzard, Spokesperson, 916.206.8953,
Cres Vellucci, Press Secretary, 916.996.9170,
The Green Party of California
PO Box 2828
Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone: (916) 448-3437
Web: http://www.cagreens.org
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