Political Quotes

“Getting back to the issue of too big to fail, because I think this is really a critical issue for people to get their arms around. I think it's important that we have strong capital markets; that the private sector works well in providing capital to allow our businesses to grow, to allow people to invest in the economy. That's critically important. But the issue of too big to fail really comes back to our responsibility, because when an entity is too big to fail, then it suggests that they go well beyond losses that might just impact the shareholders or losses that might just impact the owners or the employees of a business, but in fact it impacts all of us. We then have a responsibility so that when the harm that's caused by these institutions is so great that it impacts the public good, then the United States Congress has a responsibility. In this case, the foreclosure crisis. Not only have we seen the greatest recession in our lifetimes but we have seen neighborhoods just devastated by foreclosures all across this country. Certainly, in the State of Ohio, where I come from. The cost is enormous. That's not being repaid by Goldman Sachs. Lehman Brothers isn't around to do it. The big investment firms on Wall Street aren't there when we're having crime in our neighborhoods due to the foreclosures. It's the residents and the local governments that are left to pick up the pieces. That's what we mean by too big to fail.”