PRESS RELEASE
LaRouche on the Financial Meltdown:
I Was Right, and You Were Wrong—
But You're Going To Get Another Chance
Sept. 15, 2008 (EIRNS)—This release was issued today by the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee (LPAC).
U.S. statesman Lyndon LaRouche spoke bluntly today about the significance of the weekend's financial developments, including the bankruptcy of the long-dead Lehman Brothers, the buyout of drowning Merrill Lynch by the equally desperate Bank of America, and the growing list of financial corpses—such as AIG, Washington Mutual, and others—lining up at the morgue.
"The key thing here," LaRouche said, "is, who is to blame? It was inevitable. Why was nothing done about it? It was inevitable. We warned about it. Why was nothing done? We warned that the whole thing was happening, back in our international webcast of July 2007. And we defined the precautions that should be taken all the way through. Why was nothing done about it?
"All of the current liquidity bail-out plans being floated by the U.S. Federal Reserve and Treasury, and other idiots, are total nonsense. They have to take the actions I have specified, right now—which is to freeze absolutely everything, go to a bankruptcy reorganization mode, and move immediately to call the Congress back to session. And instruct the Congress to pass my legislation, now, starting with the Homeowners and Bank Protection Act (HBPA), or else.
"This is a time to hit with clout, because if we don't hit fast, there's not going to be any U.S. economy or other economy left."
LaRouche addressed all the politicians, pundits, so-called economists, and average citizens who rejected his warnings and advice. "What did you do about it? What was your position? What was your estimate? And what right do you have to advise somebody on what they should do now, on the basis of your record, as a forecaster, given your political judgment? What about your political judgment? Do you trust it, after what you did?
"The members of the Congress, especially the leaders of the Congress, have failed miserably ever since July 2007, when they were both given a warning, and were given in rapid succession a series of actions that would have prevented this crisis. And they wouldn't do it! Especially Cong. Barney Frank, Sen. Chris Dodd, Cong. Nancy Pelosi, etc. These guys were warned, and these guys didn't do it. They said 'no.' Well, they said 'yes' to hell, didn't they? Maybe they should resign. It might be a good thing, especially the Speaker of the House. What the hell did she do? She was warned, repeatedly. What did she do?"
LaRouche also said the planned hearings of Chris Dodd's Senate Banking Committee, currently scheduled for Sept. 16, should be cancelled. "Tell them to call off the scheduled Dodd hearings. Because Dodd has no respectability: his opinions are completely self-discredited, as of this moment. He should turn the whole matter over to other members of the Congress and Senate who are less contaminated by what he has done. The mess that was created is largely a result of measures that were taken by Dodd—not as a sole perpetrator, but as a very culpable member with responsibility. So Dodd should not be holding any hearings; he should turn the hearings over to someone who is less contaminated. This guy has been stubbornly holding on all along against doing all the things that should be done. You want to call him and his committee in to make the decisions?
"Dodd should resign over this, and regain some element of personal credibility, by honorably resigning, for reason of his closeness to the banker Felix Rohatyn—as all members of the Congress who are too close to Felix Rohatyn, should resign. Their being influenced by Felix Rohatyn is grounds for their resignation."
Bankruptcy Reorganization
"Now you're going to get another chance. We're going to try to do something now to salvage the situation," LaRouche said, referring to his scheduled October 1 international webcast from Washington, D.C. "Are you going to listen this time? Finally, are you going to listen, and hear what you've got to do? Because if not, you're going to get a very Dark Age, for a long time to come.
"And you have to bring this President under control: he's completely incompetent. This should make it clear to you. We don't believe this is all the Secretary of Treasury's fault; we think he was getting direct orders from his President."
LaRouche further explained: "The banks and financial institutions are all sick, but you have to start minimizing what you try to bail out at this point. We cannot saddle the future of the U.S. infinitely. Therefore we have to be very judicious about what we start to bail out, as I said before. This is a question of triage. Now the triage begins. The question is, who can we afford to bail out? I've already established the criteria, in my proposal to establish a two-tiered interest rate and credit policy."
"It's called bankruptcy reorganization, putting something in bankruptcy for the purpose of saving the economy. But the current gang in control wouldn't do it. They were willing to sacrifice the system for the sake of not putting their friends into bankruptcy.
"As of today, with today's developments, we now have sectors of the federal system, or bankers, or in a sense, central bankers, who are going to be open to a change, because they were already talking about it. Today's events have to be viewed, not as this is the time to try to choose the alternative and try a new idea; now is the time to try the idea they had earlier rejected. There are many who did not reject it entirely, but who were induced to reject it, and they will now come back triumphantly and say: 'Okay, we were right.' And anyone who is worth anything is one who can say, honestly, in some degree: 'We were right, and you guys were wrong.' Nobody else is worth listening to.
"For example, only idiots are listening to Alan Greenspan these days. You want to listen to him, and others like him? You listened to him too much already, didn't you? If you had not listened to him, we wouldn't be in this mess, would we? Are you going to do the same stupid thing again? Are you going to listen to these jerks again?"
LaRouche concluded: "Okay, now that you guys have been proven wrong, I don't have to take your crap anymore. Now you listen to me, and improve your ways!"
Lyndon LaRouche will deliver an international webcast from Washington, D.C. on October 1, 2008, beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT. It will be broadcast internationally with simultaneous translation in Spanish, German, Italian, French, and Russian.
