Dick Fuld Says Lehman Brothers Deserved Taxpayer Hand-Out; Does Former Managing Director Kasich Agree?
COLUMBUS—Today, former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld, the Wall Street banker that Republican gubernatorial candidate Congressman John Kasich called an “awesome guy” and a “great leader,” said in testimony to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that the government was to blame for Lehman’s bankruptcy. [New York Observer, 9/17/2001, Politico, 9/1/2010]
Fuld, who repeatedly met with Kasich during Kasich’s time in Congress and helped set him up with a job at Lehman Brothers, was the Chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers when the company went bankrupt in 2008, sending the national and global economies into a tailspin. [Congressman Kasich's public schedules, 9/8/1998, 1/28/2000, 11/28/2000 - 11/30/2000; Reuters, 8/4/2010]
Congressman Kasich was paid millions by Lehman Brothers during the seven years he worked there until its collapse in 2008. [Dayton Daily News, 4/3/10]
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern called on Kasich to tell Ohioans if he agrees with Fuld’s assessment of Lehman’s collapse, especially when he’s spoken out against accepting federal resources to help Ohio.
“To say that taxpayers should be held responsible for the deceptive and reckless practices of Lehman Brothers is just another example of Wall Street trying to shift blame for the economic collapse,” Redfern said.
Redfern continued, “Congressman Kasich has been vocal in his opposition to federal stimulus assistance for Ohio, which has helped the state weather the economic recession and kept families on their feet. Congressman Kasich should tell Ohioans whether he agrees that his former employer, the Wall Street firm that became the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history, deserved a hand-out from the very taxpayers they were deceiving.”
CNN named Fuld as one of the “Ten Most Wanted: Culprits of the Collapse” of the 2008 financial collapse in the United States. Despite reports of deceptive counting, risky lending and other illegal procedures, Fuld insisted in his testimony that taxpayers should be on the hook for Lehman’s collapse. [CNN Culprits of the Collapse,10/10/2008, Politico, 9/1/2010]
“Lehman’s bankruptcy was of its own making and it devastated businesses and families, and cost Ohio’s seniors millions,” Redfern said. “The question for Congressman Kasich is this: Is Lehman Brothers more worthy of federal assistance than Ohio families, schools, and businesses? Ohioans deserve to know the priorities of the Congressman from Wall Street.”
Kasich has characterized accepting stimulus resources as “begging.” In introducing his running mate, Mary Taylor, he said that “I don’t think going to Washington on your knees with a tin cup begging for somebody else to bail us out is an answer because at some point that ends.” [Dayton Daily News, 1/31/2010]
