Rick Perry - TARP

Summary

On September 1, 2008 Governor Perry co-wrote a letter to leaders of Congress urging them to act. The letter provided no specifics on the action to be taken. However, that TARP legislation had recently failed to pass Congress and was the only legislation being considered in Congress. The legislation that created the TARP program passed Congress on the day that the letter was written. A year later, Governor Perry stated that this letter was an attempt to spur action other than the TARP legislation.

When more bailouts were discussed after the TARP program, Governor Perry co-wrote another letter in opposition to all bailouts. He stated that the federal government was not only burying future generations under mountains of debt, but also taking our country in a very dangerous direction.

Letters to Congress

On September 1, 2008 Governor was the President of the Republicans Governors Associations. Acting in that capacity, Governor Perry wrote a letter to the leaders of Congress (Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid, etc) asking them to act now on the economy. The letter is co-authored by Democratic Governor's Association Governor Joe Manchin is denotes the cooperation of the two opposing leaders as a signal of the need to put aside politics and act on behalf of the nation.

Governor Perry would later note that the letter was a call to action and not a direct call to pass the legislation containing TARP. However, the timing of the letter does not support this claim. The letter was sent on September 1, 2008. It followed a failed attempt to pass a bailout package and was sent on the very day the Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was passed through the House.

As leaders of our respective organizations, we don't always see eye to eye on policy, but we come together today with one clear purpose. We strongly urge Congress to leave partisanship at the door and pass an economic recovery package. We both believe that it’s time to stand together for our country.

There is a time for partisanship and there is a time for getting things done. No one likes the hand they've been dealt, and now is not the time to assign blame. It is time for Washington, D.C. to step up, be responsible and do what's in the best interest of American taxpayers and our economy.

This economic crisis is not just impacting Wall Street; it is also making life harder for everyday Americans. Americans across the country and in every demographic are feeling the pinch. If Congress does not act soon, the situation will grow appreciably worse. It's time for leadership. Congress needs to act now.

Roughly a year later, on October 13, 2009 Governor Perry was interviewed on the Dan Patrick Show on KSEV 700 AM. He framed the letter as if it called for action outside of the TARP legislation and stated that he preferred tax cuts and spending cuts.

As a matter of fact, I signed a letter with the Governor of West Virginia, whos a Democrat, when September/October a year ago, when they were talking about, Oh my goodness, the economy is tanking. Weve got to do something. We signed a letter that basically said you know dont get all frozen up in fear, act. I didnt know we needed to write it out for them and say stop spending all of the money and cut the taxes. Thats the blueprint that worked. And still we got people that voted for this bailout that was in hindsight now just an absolute giveaway, didnt help the economy at all.

Governors Against State Bailouts

On December 2, 2008 Governor Perry co-wrote a letter with Governor Sanford of South Carolina denouncing state bailouts and proposals to bailout General Motors.

Governors Against State Bailouts

Hard to believe, but not everyone in politics wants a free lunch.
By RICK PERRY and MARK SANFORD

As governors and citizens, we've grown increasingly concerned over the past weeks as Washington has thrown bailout after bailout at the national economy with little to show for it.

In the process, the federal government is not only burying future generations under mountains of debt. It is also taking our country in a very dangerous direction --

toward a "bailout mentality" where we look to government rather than ourselves for solutions. We're asking other governors from both sides of the political aisle to join with us in opposing further federal bailout intervention for three reasons.

First, we're crossing the Rubicon with regard to debt.

One fact that's been continually glossed over in the bailout debate is that Washington doesn't have money in hand for any of these proposals. Every penny would be borrowed. Estimates for what the government is willing to spend on bailouts and stimulus efforts for this year reach as much as $7.7 trillion according to Bloomberg.com -- a full half of the United States' yearly economic output.

With all the zeroes in the numbers, it's no wonder Washington politicians have lost track.

That trillion-dollar figure is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to checks written by the federal government that it can't cash. Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker puts our nation's total debt and unpaid promises, like Social Security, at roughly $52 trillion -- an invisible mortgage of $450,000 on every American household. Borrowing money to "solve" a problem created by too much debt seems odd. And as fiscally conservative Republicans, we take no pleasure in pointing out that many in our own party have been just as complicit in running up the tab as those on the political left.

Second, the bailout mentality threatens Americans' sense of personal responsibility.

In a free-market system, competition and one's own personal stake motivate people to do their best. In this process, the winners create wealth, jobs and new investment, while others go back to the drawing board better prepared to try again.

To an unprecedented degree, government is currently picking winners and losers in the private marketplace, and throwing good money after bad. A prudent investor takes money from low-yield investments and puts them in those that yield better returns. Recent government intervention is doing the opposite -- taking capital generated from productive activities and throwing it at enterprises that in many cases need to reorganize their business model.

Take for example the proposed Big Three auto-maker bailout. We think it's very telling that each of the three CEO's flew on their own private jets to Washington to ask for a taxpayer handout. No amount of taxpayer largess could fix a business culture so fundamentally flawed.

Third, we'd ask the federal government to stop believing it has all the answers.

Our Founding Fathers were clear and deliberate in setting up a system whereby the federal government would only step in for that which states cannot do themselves. An expansionist federal government of the last century has moved us light-years away from that model, but it doesn't mean that Congress can't learn from states that are coming up with solutions that work.

In Texas and South Carolina, we've focused on improving "soil conditions" for businesses by cutting taxes, reforming our legal system and our workers' compensation system. We'd humbly suggest that Congress take a page from those playbooks by focusing on targeted tax relief paid for by cutting spending, not by borrowing.

In the rush to do "something" to help, federal leaders would be wise to take a line from the Hippocratic Oath, and pledge to do no (more) harm to our country's finances. We can weather this storm if we commit to fiscal prudence and hold true to the values of individual freedom and responsibility that made our nation great.

The Western Debate

In October of 2011, Governor Perry participated in the Western Debate in Las Vegas. Governor Perry states that the letter he sent to Congress to support "the plan" was not intended to support TARP.

COOPER: Senator Santorum, Nevada has the highest rate of foreclosure. SANTORUM: Yeah, I mean, it's -- it's a situation right now where obviously the market's in -- has been decimated. And so now you're looking at, how do you repair it? The problem is -- in the first place, is that several people up here, the, quote, "businesspeople," supported the TARP, supported the bailout. Governors Perry, Romney...

PERRY: Wrong.

SANTORUM: No, you wrote a letter on the day of the vote -- you wrote a letter on the day of the vote, Governor, saying to vote for the plan. That's what you -- I mean, that -- the letter's been...

PERRY: No, I didn't.

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