This is the largest financial crisis since World War II and Senator Chuck Hagel says he can’t stress how severe this really is. As lawmakers continue to come up with a financial bailout plan, Senator Hagel says he doesn’t blame the American people about being very skeptical about what is happening in Washington.
“The American people have watched this president and this Congress run up a third of the national debt over the last seven years. Unless the American people are comatose, then it seems to me they would be skeptical. What are you doing now. Are you kidding me? We are going to give another $700 billion dollars away to Wall Street. I mean that’s not what we are doing but I can understand the general attitude about that.”
Hagel says he continues to hear from Nebraskans on this issue.
“I’ve gotten this week over 600 responses, e-mails, faxes, phone calls, and that breaks out of those 600 responses 50 to one against this rescue plan. 50 to 1. That is pretty tough.”
Hagel says hands are tied right now. If something is done and done soon, the world economy will go into a fast and furious tailspin.
“Again, we don’t have any choice here as imperfect as this is. I don’t think people want to come back six months or one year and say to me, even though I won’t be here, but what did you do? My pension plan is worth nothing. My kid’s college fund is worth nothing. My mutual fund is worth a nickel on the dollar. My 401K is worthless. That is what we are looking at here. If you continue to freeze that flow of capital and credit, you will push the world into a depression.”
Hagel says right now it is very important to get the wheels in motion as soon as possible and then fine tune the bailout as we go on. More information on that plan may be made available by later today.