Barney Frank On Bailouts, Welfare

Tells 60 Minutes An Auto Industry Bailout Would Help People, Not Companies

(CBS)  Barney Frank has been called the "smartest guy in Congress," which is lucky for us since he works on some of the thorniest issues around.

The 14-term, 68-year-old Harvard-educated Democratic congressman from Massachusetts is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which means his portfolio includes banks, housing and now the auto industry.

He has been at the center of both the $700-billion dollar rescue for financial institutions, and the bailout attempt for the car companies that failed in the Senate.

He worked on both this past week: pressuring Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to deal with home foreclosures, and negotiating with the White House on the loan for GM and Chrysler. True to textbook liberalism, Barney Frank worked hard to keep the carmakers out of Chapter 11.

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"But I wonder why? Because when these companies finally get into bankruptcy they can do the tough things that they can't otherwise do," correspondent Lesley Stahl asks.

"There's only one thing you can do in bankruptcy: break your word, break your deals. It allows you to say to the small businesses, who have been catering lunches for you, 'Sorry, we're not paying you.' It allows you to go to the workers and say, 'Sorry, we're not paying you,'" Rep. Frank says.

Frank is a no-nonsense chairman who brought the heads of the big three auto companies before his committee, and let anyone who wanted to vent. But there was never any doubt that Frank himself didn't want the car companies to go under.

"What about the idea that in capitalism, if a company doesn't cut it, they die?" Stahl asks.

"That's what Herbert Hoover said. And Franklin Roosevelt said no," Frank says.

"It's what Darwin said," Stahl points out.

"Yes, it's true," Frank acknowledges. "And Darwin was a very good biologist. I don't think he was much of an economist."

"What we're now faced is with all the taxpayers having to prop up companies that made terrible decisions consistently," Stahl remarks.

"No, we're not propping up companies," Frank insists. "That's your mistake. We're propping up individuals. The world doesn't consist of companies. The world are people. The country is people. And yes, it is possible to argue that the government..."

"But then you're talking about welfare," Stahl says.

"Yeah, I'm for welfare," Frank replies. "You're not? Are you for letting people starve?"

At a meeting on Tuesday, Frank listened to mayors of towns hit hard by car factory layoffs.

"You know, there's a theory out there that you, the congressman, had this public spanking of these [car-company CEOs] in order to cover yourselves,” Stahl asks but then Frank interrupts:

"That's the kind of argument that people who do not have any idea what they're talking about like to make.”

"Are you telling me I don't know what I'm talking about?" Stahl asks.

"By making that argument, yes," the congressman says.

[chairman1057]

If Barney want to help the workers, then maybe HE should employ them and not meddle on the business of comapanies he knows absolutely nothing about. All this bailout has nothing to do with workers. It is all about the unions. Shame on him

[der_wahrheit]

So far all this "bailout" is about are the Wall Street Bankers! I don''t see you whining about the 91 Bn the Fed is handing out (virtually without oversight) each week. You are a perfect example of how America got into this mess. It''s like George Bush once said: "You can fool all the people some of the time - AND THOSE ARE THE ONES I''M GOING COUNT ON!!" The truth is - SHAME ON YOU!

[realetybytes]

Mr. Frank is a joke. He and his socialist policies are the cause of the trouble we are in. The politicians have called for the head of GM to resign because they are failing, but what about all the Governors going to WASHINGTON for help. Shouldn''t they resign also?
Frank and Dodd helped Fannie and Freddie fail. Shouldn''t they resign?
There are ways to help individuals if the companies go into reorganization, no one will starve. The unions asked for stupid things, and the companies gave it to them. They deserve to fail. Capitalism 101.

[wgaudreau]

let the companies fail and they draw a check from ????????? .......... thats right ole joe taxpayer

[cutexan]

Barney Frank = IDIOT. Without companies workers have no jobs!

[cutexan]

Barney Frank= Idiot. Without companies workers have no jobs.

[rightstuff4]

Barney Frank has no credibility. He is a pervert, both in his personal life and in his "professional" life as an extortionist. See www.libertymind.com to find out his diagnosis. Sick puppy.

[teecee1945]

People continue to vote for these idiots, like Frank and Dodd and Blago and Pelosi and Reid and on and on. They see a "D" and that''s good enough for them. And that gets us the *** we have to deal with now. Go ahead and keep voting the "D"s and our kids will have nothing but you''ll have your ****** welfare check and your free healthcare, if Daschle thinks you are worthy of treating.

LOL America.

[rcbeng]

Bull....they are propping up the unions. Shameful
What about the MAJORITY of us that do not work for the union or auto industry. REVOLT, take back America from these idiots

[sigmonde]

Term limits for politicians is long overdue. 2 terms for Senators, 4 terms for Reps.

[socaln8ive]

Typical of this liar and fraud. First he lies about his ties to FNMA,and now about what this bailout is all about. The Deomcrats have to bail the auto industry out. The Unions are their bread and butter.

[wade39211]

I have one simple question. Would you give this guy $100 out of your wallet and trust him to give you back more in the future? Me either!

[wade39211]

I have one simple question. Would you give this guy $100 out of your wallet and trust him to give you back more in the future? Me either!

[hdc77494]

Yeah, it''s not about LOANS to car companies, it''s about saving UAW membership. Not for the autoworkers, but for the union itself.

[lihansen1]

Oh this is rich...the guy who helped bring on this crisis is now giving advice when he should be in jail.

And thanks to the voters, there is no stopping him.

[rick13571]

Barney Frank should have been expelled from Congress or at least censured and shunned. He and Chris Dodd are major players in the financial scandal. And he wants to direct a bailout for the auto industry?

[why-nott]

Washington Spelling Bee

Spell - Hypocrite.

Answer: B a r n e y F r a n k

[piperone-2009]

So when will 60 minutes interview some union pilots that took 30%+ paycuts to keep their jobs and the airlines solvent right after 911?

And yet the UAW wont take paycuts to come into line with foreign automaker worker wages? UAW Barney Frank = Me Me Me.

14 terms? Barney Frank should be used as the poster child arguing for term limits. The guy is wholly unqualified to lead anything.

[cambee2]

HAHAHA, FRANK PLEASE GO AWAY!!!

You believe in welfare, but you live in one of the wealthiest towns in America!!!!! How is the $300 mil High School going now? Isn''t it only 600 students in that school too.

Such a hack! Pack your bags up in Newton, MA and move to where the poor are in your district. Fall River or New Bedford.

[cambee2]

HAHAHA, FRANK PLEASE GO AWAY!!!

You believe in welfare, but you live in one of the wealthiest towns in America!!!!! How is the $300 mil High School going now? Isn''t it only 600 students in that school too.

Such a hack! Pack your bags up in Newton, MA and move to where the poor are in your district. Fall River or New Bedford.

[swiftouch-2009]

Wow. How is this guy still in office??? How many months/years does he have left? Daily he tries to defend himself for what he''s done. Give give give give give...without any business sense behind it.

Evil men are in power and we sit idly by and watch as they give away our country to the biggest failure.

Keep rewarding failure Washington and we WILL fail completely.

Who then will step in and save us? Where are the honest, number crunching, stable, peaceful, kind-hearted, principle-following men and women? Please step up and take over. We need you now.

[Jeff_Roe]

I cannot believe this man has not been dragged out of our nation''s capital, kicking and screaming, and expatriated for his role in the current financial disaster that faces all of us. Rep. Barney ("I don''t see any problems with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and I think we should be doing more home loans for low-income families") Frank and his partner in crime, Senator Chris Dodd, planted the seeds that started the domino''s falling and leading to this international economic crisis by REFUSING to increase regulation and oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after being warned not only by the current Bush administration but by executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about their very significant exposure and liabilities "should the value of the housing market collapse". But instead of doing ANYTHING WHATSOEVER to hedge their bets and protect this country from a disaster, good old Barney and Chris did the EXACT OPPOSITE: encouraged more loans. These two morons should resign - IMMEDIATELY - never to be seen in public office or anywhere else again. They''ve taken the phrase "absolute power corrupts absolutely" to a new low, and dragged all of us into a nightmare "perfect storm" scenario which threatens all of us in America with the legitimate potential for a depression which will dwarf the 1929 depression.
Thanks Barney! Thanks Chris!

Good luck with all of that.

[cppthis]

Oh, stuff it Barney. We all know this is about throwing money at the UAW, who won''t even agree to get the same wages as are offered by Japanese automakers (read: the ones who aren''t asking for money and haven''t been having constant financial trouble since hte 70s). So a couple million jobs are in danger, why should the other 150 million or so of us have to subsidize them?

I suspect that most of the people who have commented simply hate Barney Frank. They don''t know who he is, nor understand his role. Almost to a man, his Republican colleagues regard him as the smartest, most articulate, most capable member of the opposition...and one of the few who truly understand the complexities of this situation. However, he has become the whipping boy of the right-wing talk shows, and the talking points made by those shows are simply repeated over and over again in these comments. Talk about a pack mentality (my favorite overused right-wing comment is "liberals are vicious, mean-spirited haters" -- the latest "conservative" meme.)

[johngalt_as]

Ask yourself why every major industry that was Unionized has been or is being destroyed. American Steel, American Mining, now American automotive companies. The Union bosses in reality care little for the working men and women and only line their own pockets and raid pension funds. It is a communist system on a smaller scale, the working class and the ruling union bosses who tell everyone else what to do, supposedly for their own good.
Of course there is a purpose and there were good reasons for unionization but they have grown out of control due to egos of the union bosses. When the unions act as honest brokers again for their membership, they will again be legitimate. My dad worked more than 30 years for Ford Motor and I hate to see the decline of American industry. But I despise the union bosses more. The rank and file pay dues - for what? They pay their dues and witness their industry crash.

[johngalt_as]

Almost to a man, his Republican colleagues regard him as the smartest, most articulate, most capable member of the opposition...and one of the few who truly understand the complexities of this situation.

Posted by hathead52 at 06:07 AM

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You are joking aren''t you, what Republicans? This is the guy who a few years ago laughed and said the subprime problem i.e. Fannie Mae, was not a problem. And articulate? I am sorry but I really think you are a bit out of touch. Inept and out of stpe are mild accusations about Frank and a bunch of others to include Chris Dodd, etc. And although there are culprits on both sides of the aisle, "IF" there was a Republican they could pin it all on, they''d have been tarred and feathered by now. No sir, you are sadly mistaken and BF is a large part of the problem.

[wl7bzh]

Talk about a pack mentality (my favorite overused right-wing comment is "liberals are vicious, mean-spirited haters" -- the latest "conservative" meme.)

Posted by hathead52 at 06:07 AM : Dec 12, 2008

I always get a little suspicious of people that accuse some one of being "a hater" simply because the person being accused criticizes a viewpoint. Most the time, I find the person screaming hate has a racial or sexual agenda.

[capnjack43]

This SOB should be standing in front of a grand jury along with Dodd.

[koffeebeaned]

What is wrong with you people?!? Are you crazy?!?

Barney is a member of a protected class. You are not to criticize him for being an incompetent, disingenous, self-serving politician.

Just look the other way as the people is MA have learned to do....move on comrades. Nothing here but an empty suit...albeit a rather large empty suit.

[irmcvet971]

Just look the other way as the people is MA have learned to do....move on comrades. Nothing here but an empty suit...albeit a rather large empty suit.

Posted by koffeebeaned at 06:59 AM : Dec 12, 2008

Why do Fascist ALWAYS attack the Messenger and NEVER address the Message??

[irmcvet971]

Good luck with all of that.

Posted by indypendant at 02:23 AM : Dec 12, 2008

Have you been living in a cave? I mean is there something wrong with your memory. Want to KNOW who''s behind the Melt Down? Want to know why we''re were we are? It''s simple. Pull up the Republican Party''s Propaganda for the 2002, 2004 AND 2006 elections. READ for yourself as they BRAG about allowing the Banks to FREELY explore options to make money. READ for yourself how the Republican''s, after allowing BANKS to write the law, passed the Gramn, Leach, Bliley Act, without which Fanny and Freedie along with all the rest, can NOT make the stupid loans they did. Refusing to place the burden of responsibility on those who DID the act is not smart.

[koffeebeaned]

Frank also discusses his disappointments with the bailout for the financial industry, his long career in the House, and how it was affected by his coming out as a gay man 20 years ago.

Does he also talk about the illegal activity that took place in his basement?

Did he mention his relationship with one of the principals behind...(no pun intended).....of the collapse of Fannie Mae I?

Who cares about his difficulty doing his job after coming out of the closet? Wasn''t that self-inflicted? Did someone hold a sausage to his head and force him to come out?

Gary Condit was a philandering adulterer. Didn''t that cause him difficulties doing his job? Fortunately his constituents had the good sense to run him out.

[irmcvet971]

But I despise the union bosses more. The rank and file pay dues - for what? They pay their dues and witness their industry crash.

Posted by JohnGalt_AS at 06:16 AM : Dec 12, 2008

Just WHO do you fascist think makes up the Unions in this nation. Who do you think NEGOTIATED that fine PENSION and BENEFITS your Dad enjoyed. ORGANIZED LABOR has been right all along and it''s time we finally admitted it. Go back to the point when the Fascist started destroying them... Go back to the point when we started this "Trickle Down" and LOOK at what Organized Labor told us would happen. THEY HAVE BEEN RIGHT ALL ALONG!!

[irmcvet971]

This SOB should be standing in front of a grand jury along with Dodd.

Posted by capnjack43 at 06:56 AM : Dec 12, 200

Why? Because he tells you the truth? That''s insane. We went down the WRONG road people! We bought into a FAILED Policy and allow Greedy People to convince us that "Free Trade" and "Trickle Down" would make our standard of living BETTER! It not only has NOT but it has made it very much WORST! We are now in a race to the bottom and in competition with China''s Forced Labor. Now you can call this man names all you want but that is the situation we are ALL in at this time.

[johngalt_as]

Why do Fascist ALWAYS attack the Messenger and NEVER address the Message??

Posted by irmcvet971 at 07:10 AM : Dec 12, 2008
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BTW according to Webster:
Fascist/Fascism - a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

Oddly, it sounds like a sign of our times.

[irmcvet971]

Gary Condit was a philandering adulterer. Didn''''t that cause him difficulties doing his job? Fortunately his constituents had the good sense to run him out.

Posted by koffeebeaned at 07:17 AM : Dec 12, 2008

Do you REALLY think people are interested in YOUR opinion of Franks? I came here to discuss the TOTAL AND COMPLETE MELT DOWN of our way of life and find an Person who is SUPPOSED to be an American giving his opinion of Franks. Is he YOUR rep? If not, how about you address the ISSUE?

[irmcvet971]

Oddly, it sounds like a sign of our times.


Posted by JohnGalt_AS at 07:21 AM : Dec 12, 2008

That''s the LEGAL definition used in Germany where Fascism is against the law. By the way those same German''s? In a poll taken a few years back, by a margin of over 80% found George W. Bush and the present day Republican Party to be fascist. You are correct and the people of Germany AGREE whole heartedly! Sieg Heil.

[koffeebeaned]

Fascist, fascist, facist.....waaaaaaaahhhhh!

Grow up you little twit. The topic is the incompetence of Barney and how 60 Minutes should have excoriated him.

If you want to start a thread on the behavior of republicans I join you in criticizing them.

You better adjust your skirt little man. Your agenda is showing.

[salatirm]

Why doesn''t the bailout simply involove providing the DIP financing to exit Chap 11? The argument against Chap 11 has been that they would not be able to secure the financing during reorganization. This would solve the structural issues while guaranteeing the ability to re-emerge as a new company.

[selftrack]

I don''t understand why the auto companies aren''t forced into backruptcy under Chapter 11. There is a very good model to follow called the AIRLINE industry. Delta is the last good example of how all levels of management and labor MUST give something to insure the survival of all. Too bad no one in Washington is discussing this with any real intention of trying to solve the problem. Thomas Jefferson once said: "To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."

[yukiko70]

This is not a bailout for the automobile companies is is a bailout for the union officials. These bumbling idiots in congress and the senate can''t even do a decent job of taking care of the country''s business how can they expect to run the auto industry and the financial business?

[annie6666]

This degenerate fraud should be in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit with his legislative cronies who are, in essence, shake-down artists for the organized crime family currently inhabiting the halls of Congress. This man has no credibility at all, other than that of being involved in a prostitution ring and strong-arming lenders into making bad loans that the taxpayers are now responsible for. The current demand that the taxpayers bail out union bosses so that they can retain power is outrageous. Frank has been an essential component in bringing this nation to its knees financially, so Barney Frank, you belong in he** and if I were able, I would gladly send you there.

[maggie899-2009]

Frank is ''protecting'' the Unions. Those are the only people he cares about.

irmcvet971- the issues ARE what is being discussed.
Frank, Dodd and others were at the heart of this ''meltdown''. They should be investigated, but won''t be, because a Democrat White House and Congress won''t do it. Frank is incompetent, and should be forced out of office. Unfortunately, this won''t happen either. The Foxes are in charge of the hen house, and the meltdown will only get worse.

[oscarbozach]

Having Barney Frank in charge of the subprime meltdown recovery (or any other financial matter) is like having Neville Chamberlain return to negotiate with Al Qaeda.

Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Franklin Raines, Andrew Cuomo, and Jim Johnson should be in jail awaiting trial. These five mules forced 3.4 TRILLION dolars in worthless loans on the American taxpayer. Their Democrat agenda is the root cause of our entire financial crisis today.

According to Democrat... how do we get out of this mess? Put Frank and Dodd in charge of the mess THEY CREATED. So they hold "show hearings" showcasing that CEOs are evil because they have corporate jets. Of course the goal is to deflect attention from the real cause of our current financial crisis, DEMOCRATS.

History will eventually expose these frauds... until then... the Massachusetts just re-elected Frank. Dodd is out in 2010. Hopefully Frank will be out as well. Their legacy is forcing $85,000 in new debt her tax paying household in America. Great job Democrats.

[northstar62]

The UAW is one of the major causes of the auto industry troubles. For more than 50 years they have held the auto companies hostage with the democrat politicians as co-conspiriters. No company could be competitve in the world market saddled with contracts that the UAW has forced on them. Job Bank?

The reason that they are fighting reorganisation under chapter 11, which has been successful for so many other companies is that a court will appoint a trustee to watch over the reorganisation plans and all past employment contracts will be open for discussion. THe UAW knows that an outside trustee is not likely to be intimidated by their tactics and they will have to settle for the kind of contracts that safeguards the peoples money and makes the company competitive. Management also knows that a trustee is not likely to approve the silly salaries and compensation packages that they have as well.

Barney Frank has sold his soul to the unions so he is to willing to sell out the tax payer in favor of the unions.

Getting these companies back on a winning track is going to be painful. Short term - Jobs will be lost. Benefits will be lost. Product lines will be adjusted and plants closed but these companies and these jobs will never be able to survive if they continue as they have for the past 50 years.

The UAW wants the rest of America to subsidise their high salaries and benefit packages through their taxes. Lets hope that the congress grows a set and says no.

[rpatr]

The entire News Media should be ashamed of its'' cover up regarding the Fannie and Freddie fiasco. The media is responsible for informing the public about corrupt and inefficienct government. Is it any wonder that most of us now get our news from the internet, using the Drudgereport and utube more than NBCCNNBCSABCFOX.
Why haven''t they covered the role the democrats specicially, BARNEY FRANK, played in the downfall of Fannie and Freddie? If there were republicans at its root, the media would be all over it like white on rice!
PatR

[ottox123]

The UAW with the help of the Democrats have been sucking the auto companies dry for the last 40 years. The benefits they get are unheard of in this day and age. Show me another company where if your plant closes you still get paid full salary and benefits without having to take another job. I don''t see the need to spend our money to prop up the sweetheart deals the UAW cooked up for itself.

Kudos to the republicans for growing a spine and standing up against this extortion from the left.

To the UAW workers - there will be other auto jobs because Americans will still build cars, but the gravy train has reached the last stop. Time to get out and walk with the rest of us.

[chicagocorey]

Why should America continue to support the inflated wages of Detroit auto workers? Let Detroit compete like any other business in America by producing the best product at the most competative price.

When was th elast time you drove an American car. I had a Chrysler rental last week with less than 10K mi and it road like a bucket of bolts. What a mess!

[HAT4RACK]

Most of us can survive on a LOT less than we have now. We%u2019ve been living much more luxuriously than is necessary, and it%u2019s about time we accepted the fact that we%u2019re going to have to make some cuts. Take your pick %u2013 20% pay cut or lose your job because the whole company goes bankrupt?! I%u2019ve was laid off for quite some time and it wasn%u2019t fun %u2013 would much rather taken the cut. Take the cut and be glad my tax dollars are bailing you out as much as they are! Besides if they''re really that interested in ''the people'' - give ''the people'' about 6 months'' salary for every year they''ve worked (up to about 5 years'' worth of salary), and then shut it down. This would be a lot less expensive on the tax revenue supported by me, and would avoid putting piles of money in the pockets of those who shouldn%u2019t be getting anything. People can get some kind of job during that time - it might not be a job making a lot more than competitors'' employees, but WAH! Times are hard - take a cut and go on.

[ragu4u1]

When workers who DON''T work at all and get paid at the same time while not working makes any sympathy I might have shrivel up to nothing. The Unions robbed the companies and gave the workers way too much for way too long and now the chickens are coming home to roost. It''s about time UAW workers live off what the other blue collar guys live off of.........honest pay for honest WORK!