We at POGO have watched in amazement and growing disbelief at the bailout proceeded with little information being released about the how, and even the why, behind the historical “bailout,” now several weeks along.  The public needs to know how the beneficiaries of their tax funds are chosen, how conflicts of interest are guarded against, and whether the integrity of the process has been assured.  So far, a stunning lack of openness has marked this effort, which has taken place largely behind closed doors and often without even notifying Congress.

We take no position on the merits of the program itself. Our overriding concern is the lack of information about who is making critical decisions involving untold billions of taxpayer dollars. It is not clear how banks or other institutions are chosen to be bailed out or allowed to fail. It is a mystery to us and to the public why one industry is favored and another is left to suffer. We are at a loss to understand how particular companies or institutions within particular industries are blessed and others are not. Irrespective of whether the decisions are made by political appointees, career employees, or Members of Congress, the decision-making process has been a nearly perfect black box.

Today we sent a letter to Congress raising our concerns. Though some questions have been raised at recent hearings, numerous important questions go unanswered. We urged Members to demand those answers, either directly from policymakers and recipients of these taxpayer funds, or through congress’s own independent investigations.

POGO strongly believes that the markets cannot be settled, public confidence cannot be restored, and credit cannot be unfrozen unless and until full explanations of the decision-making processes are provided.

Click here a full text of POGO’s letter.
-Beverley Lumpkin, Investigator

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 at 9:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized .