2008 CO Senate Debates: on Corporations

Mark Udall: No welfare for CEOs in financial bailout

SCHAFFER: Yes. It’s essentially a tax of $10,000 to $11,000 per American household.

Q: [to Udall]: One in every 95 households in Denver are in foreclosure, well above the US average. Why should other taxpayers across the country have to now bail out those Colorado mortgage buyers?

UDALL: People are upset. My calls are mixed between people who say no and people who say hell, no. This is a real crisis that we face. I think there’s some principles that we have to pursue as we move towards a rescue plan not for Wall Street, this shouldn’t be welfare for CEOs, but for Main Street. And that has to include no blank check, oversight, no golden parachutes. What we can’t do, is return to the policies that Schaffer supported and supports today, which are tax breaks for CEOs, tax breaks for companies that offshore jobs, tax breaks for the wealthiest among us.