The Economy

Roscoe: "I lived through the Depression....it wasn't that bad".

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:07:19 +0000

Americans understandably are concerned about the possibility of a second Great Depression. Such fears were expressed at a recent candidates’ forum at Buckingham’s Choice Retirement Community. Congressman Roscoe Bartlett’s contribution to the discussion was that he remembers “it wasn’t that bad.” Admittedly, the Great Depression was a long time ago—nearly 80 years--but perhaps the Congressman’s memory is hazy. Those were frighteningly tough times in America, and Jennifer Dougherty's family was no exception. The remedies being crafted in Washington to address our problems today are not what the American people deserve. Here are Jennifer’s thoughts on a thoughtful, effective approach to the crisis:

Jennifer Voices Her Opposition to the Bailout

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:10:05 +0000

The BBC was in Frederick yesterday to report on the proposed $700 Billion bailout. Jennifer pulled no punches in voicing her opposition to the give away to Wall Street fat cats. She says it still doesn't address the root cause of the problem, namely real estate foreclosures. The interview was part of the lead news segment on BBC's Newsnight. You can view it by clicking here. Jennifer's 30 seconds of British fame appears at the 5:30 mark. (A little warning: the BBC website resizes your web browser, so you might want to shift+click on the link to open a new window.)

Bail Out Wall Street?

Jennifer — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:57:20 +0000

Find the Solution on Main Street

The real estate slowdown hit Main Street two years ago, but President Bush did nothing, and even threatened to veto Democrat-sponsored legislation that would have helped homeowners. Now, when the meltdown is hurting millionaires on Wall Street, President Bush wants immediate action with no strings attached. Already, in the last few weeks, he’s spent hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars protecting a selected few corporate lenders from their bad investments.

No one can be sure of the next best step. People in Washington and New York, wanting to protect their own hides, want immediate and dramatic action. People in the 6th Congressional district want something more. I am not sure that I trust many in Washington right now. The past 8 years of no regulation and no oversight have left us with terrible choices. No one wants to avoid action, but we want to take the right steps.

President Bush wants $700 billion more of taxpayer dollars to bail out Wall Street banks, and even foreign-owned banks, so they can just keep selling mortgages. Even worse, President Bush says: “Don’t clutter the bailout bill with foreclosure protection for homeowners, or salary cuts for millionaire CEOs, or measures to ensure that taxpayers don’t get cheated. Just give us the money and go away.”

Read the Dougherty Plan

Comptroller Peter Franchot Tours Carroll Creek

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:21:25 +0000

Comptroller Peter Franchot took a walking tour of Frederick today with Jennifer. He was in town to view the economic development taking place along Carroll Creek. The Carroll Creek project was achieved during Jennifer's term as Mayor of Frederick. Frederick has now become the second largest city in Maryland.

Afterward, Franchot predicted Jennifer would upset Roscoe Bartlett in the fall election, comparing the race to his own upset of incumbent Comptroller William Donald Schaefer. "My own mother didn't think I was gonna win because I was running against a Maryland legend", Franchot said. "But I always had a feeling that the public was ready to switch. I think that's what's going on now."

Recent Job Losses Will Hurt Everyone

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:33:52 +0000

RECENT JOB LOSSES WILL HURT EVERYONE
REGULATORS IGNORED SIGNS OF CRISIS
WALL STREET GETS THE HELP, MAIN STREET GETS THE SHAFT

FREDERICK, MD – March 21, 2008

The recent job losses at Rayloc in Hancock, MD and at Hagerstown’s Volvo-Powertrain plant will hurt hundreds of families and the local economy. While Rep. Roscoe Bartlett expressed little concern about the job cuts, calling the cuts “cyclical”, Democratic challenger, Mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty said, “This is just another example of how people in Washington lose touch with local people and businesses and use old ways of thinking to try to explain away problems.”

According to Dougherty, “Hardworking people will have to find a couple of minimum-wage jobs to try to pay their bills. They will dig into their savings and cut their expenses at a time when the cost of living just keeps going up. If anyone in Washington had been paying attention during the past 3-4 years, they could see the credit problems were going to explode and that real people were going to be hurt.”

“Dr. Bartlett blames everyone else for the economic problems, but takes no blame for the federal regulators who ignored the signs of crisis. Members of Congress should have been asking some tough questions a few years ago if they really wanted to avert a crisis,” said Dougherty.