The AIG bailout makes clearer than ever that the Bush Administration and Republicans have built an unbalanced and fragile economy in which working people never share in Wall Street’s gain, but must shoulder its failures. The Republicans have no economic strategy; they’re scrambling to put out fires their policies created and doing so with taxpayer money.

What about ordinary Americans who are already hurting and going to hurt more? With record joblessness, health care in crisis, crumbling infrastructure and lost homes, we must be every bit as determined to not allow Main Street to fail as we are to save Wall Street and our foreign central bank creditors.

We must move a plan to create jobs and turn around the economy for working families. The AIG bailout alone is larger than the entire economic stimulus package that has been stalled for too long and that’s an outrage.

We need transparency and effective regulation of Wall Street. If we’re going to bail them out, at least we must hold them accountable.

John McCain says the fundamentals of the economy are “strong.” We can’t afford four more years of the Bush/McCain risky economy of Wall Street speculation, job outsourcing, wage cuts and attacks on Social Security and health care.

Barack Obama has a plan to increase jobs and put necessary checks on Wall Street. He is calling for $1,000 tax breaks for middle class families to bridge the crisis; re-regulation of Wall Street so the savings, pensions and 401(k)s of working people are safe; fast-tracking investments in clean, American energy that will create millions of jobs; cracking down on lobbyists; restoring the power of workers to bargain for higher wages and better jobs; and ending the Iraq War so we can rebuild our own country and its bridges and highways and schools that are crumbling.

But working Americans can’t wait until November. They deserve a boost now, and a stable and healthy economy that works for everyone.

Contact: Steve Smith 202-637-5018