Biden Scolds McCain, Bush On Economy
(CBS)
(MAUMEE, OHIO) - Joe Biden continued to hit hard on John McCain over issues relating the economy this morning, saying his economic philosophy is “bankrupt along with Lehman Brothers.”
Biden blamed cuts in regulations and oversight by the Bush administration for the tumbling of Wall Street numbers, insisting it was the fault of a conservative economic policies.
Biden told the crowd that this was not their father’s Republican party, saying, “This is a different group of cats out there, from Bush to McCain.”
“Who are these people? Where do they come from? What possible right do they have to say to anybody, particularly us, that they know how to manage our money and manage the economy?”
Speaking at a rally on a small downtown street, Biden chided McCain, the president, and a Republican controlled congress for the majority of the last eight years for their reaction to market drop.
“All of a sudden it's 'My goodness, there's greed on Wall Street! My goodness, we need common sense regulation. My goodness!” mocked Biden.
“Folks, if John McCain admitted the truth, the truth of what's going on, if he admitted what has happened here, he'd be forced to stop doing the same things over and over again."
Biden had a message for corporate financial institutions who are now hoping for a bailout from the federal government.
“If we're gonna bail you out, if we give you an opportunity, if we give corporations the inside track, then you better damn well open your books to us and let us see exactly what you have,” Biden demanded.
“We better know exactly what's going on, that's transparency, if you don't want our money keep your books closed. You want our money to bail you out, then you better let us know what you're doing and what you own.”
Biden scolded Republicans for measures he says favor trusting big business to go with less transparency.
“How many of you trust the health insurance industry to take care of your needs on their own? Raise your hands. I got one person [who] raised their hand. I got also a bridge I got to sell you here and guess what, it's in Alaska and it goes to nowhere."
