Barack Obama on financial bailouts and transparency

Let's lay out very specifically some of the things that we are going to do with the next $350 billion of money. And I think that we can regain the confidence of both Congress and the American people that this is not just money that is being given to banks without any strings attached and nobody knows what happens, but rather that it is targeted very specifically at getting credit flowing again to businesses and families.

I think that when you look at how we have handled the home foreclosure situation and whether we've done enough in terms of helping families on the ground who may have lost their homes because they lost their jobs or because they got sick, we haven't done enough there.

~ President-Elect Barack Obama, interview on ABC's "This Week," "Obama: $350b bailout needs to help people," Associated Press, January 11, 2009

(Among the things under consideration by Obama aides and congressional Democrats are limiting executive pay at institutions that receive the money and forcing such institutions to get rid of any private aircraft they may own or lease.)

Paul Kasriel on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)

There is a lack of transparency here and, given that the Fed is taking on a huge amount of credit risk now, it would seem to me as a taxpayer there should be more transparency.

~ Paul Kasriel, chief economist, Northern Trust, "U.S. Pledges Top $7.7 Trillion to Ease Frozen Credit ," Bloomberg.com, November 24, 2008

Ben Bernanke on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)

Some have asked us to reveal the names of the banks that are borrowing, how much they are borrowing, what collateral they are posting. We think that’s counterproductive.

~ Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, talking before the House Financial Services Committee, November 18, 2008

(Quote sited in "U.S. Pledges Top $7.7 Trillion to Ease Frozen Credit ," Bloomberg.com, November 24, 2008.)

Bill Laggner on hedge funds, SEC disclosure fight

You are getting more and more layers of intervention in the most entrepreneurial piece of the investment world. There is a real sense of frustration about this because people want to keep their strategies under wraps. And as long as it is legal, why is the government looking?

~ Bill Laggner, "Hedge funds gird for SEC disclosure fight," Forbes.com, October 3, 2008

Patrick Henry on government accountability

The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.

~ Patrick Henry