Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Kill The Export-Import Bank - Time

House Conservatives Are Right: Kill The Export-Import Bank | TIME -Michael Grunwald:

July 2, 2014 - "The self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives who run the Republican Party did not object to the bloated agribusiness subsidies in this year’s $956 billion farm bill. They’ve fought for weapons systems the Pentagon doesn’t want and water projects the country doesn’t need. They’ve helped repeal sensible flood insurance reforms designed to slash subsidies for waterfront property. And now they expect us to cheer their efforts to kill the obscure Export-Import Bank, which doesn’t even cost taxpayers money?

"Sure, why not? The Republicans may be hypocrites, but they’re right to take aim at the Ex-Im Bank.

"The Ex-Im is, as Senator Barack Obama said during his presidential campaign, 'little more than a fund for corporate welfare.' It provides cheap credit to foreign borrowers, often cash-flush behemoths like Brazil’s state-owned oil company or the emirate of Dubai, so they can buy products from U.S. exporters, often cash-flush behemoths like Boeing, Bechtel, Caterpillar or General Electric. It’s dearly beloved by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, but it’s often earned its reputation for crony capitalism. William Jefferson, the congressman memorably caught with cash in his freezer, got his dirty money in exchange for introducing corporate executives to Ex-Im officials, and the Justice Department is now investigating potential corruption inside the bank....

"Opposing the Ex-Im doesn’t mean agreeing with the Tea Party notion that government shouldn’t try to do anything — just that it should stop trying to do this."

Read more: http://time.com/2951443/export-import-bank-house-conservatives/
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