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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest Releases
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| SEPTEMBER
17, 1998 5:09 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ralph Nader Ralph Nader 202-387-8034 |
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| Nader Applauds House Decision To Deny Funds To IMF | ||||
| WASHINGTON
- September 17 - Ralph Nader today issued the following statement: Today's decision by the U.S. House of Representatives *not* to provide the International Monetary Fund with the requested $14.5 billion quota increase is a critical step forward in corralling the IMF, a reckless institution out of control. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has actually worsened the global economic crisis. The IMF multibillion dollar bailouts of Russia and Asia have gone to rescue banks and foreign investors and the domestic super-rich. Rather than bridging countries through troubled times, the IMF loans have spread economic contagion. Approximately 18 percent of the IMF's funding is provided by U.S. taxpayers. The IMF has induced banks and foreign investors to make additional risky investments around the world without the discipline of the fear of failure. The IMF has also pressured countries to further open up to short-term loans and investments, making their economies even more vulnerable to sudden investor withdrawal. At the same time, IMF austerity measures -- imposed on borrower countries as a condition for receiving loans -- depress domestic demand, and have transformed acute financial crises in Asia into chronic recessions and depressions. The decision to deny funds for expansion to the IMF represents a growing opposition in Congress that includes principled conservatives to moderates to progressives. These groups are united by opposition to the IMF's harmful bailout of rich investors, its secretive nature and its support for recessionary policies. The House-Senate conference committee on the foreign operations appropriations bill should respect this broad consensus, and ensure the final bill does *not* include money for the quota increase. ### |
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