nader statement on imf victory

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

NADER APPLAUDS HOUSE DECISION TO DENY FUNDS TO IMF

For Immediate Release		For More Information, contact:
September 17, 1998		Ralph Nader, 202-387-8034

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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