In Washington, people are having trouble coming to terms with the nation's numerous social and economic troubles. It is a bad idea for our government to leave our limited public resources to the hands of wealthy and politically well-connected corporations like the Export and Import Bank.

Those who are in favor of the current status argue that the bank benefits taxpayers because it protects jobs and promotes US exports. However, these are unsubstantiated arguments that will not stand up to further inquiry. As a matter of fact, less than 2 percent of US exports are supported by the bank yearly, and the usual beneficiaries are huge businesses like Caterpillar and Boeing.
Moreover, the bank's claim of supporting 205,000 jobs in 2013 was disputed by the Government Accounting Office, stating that the bank did not consider the number of jobs that would have been available if the bank had not been present among other arguments. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office reported that over the next decade, the bank is estimated to yield losses to taxpayers.