By the fall of 2008, I knew we were facing a financial crisis of the first magnitude. But the vast majority of Americans did not understand what was coming, and what it would mean to their jobs, their savings and their communities.
We had to convince Congress that emergency legislation was needed quickly so we could limit the damage, and at the same time we had to bolster the confidence of market participants and avoid exacerbating the turmoil. Meanwhile, legislators had little time to educate their constituents as to why urgent government action was necessary. It wasn't enough to say that "credit markets were frozen." We had to connect the dots—no one had the confidence to lend to banks or other lenders, which meant they were unable to provide the funds that businesses and consumers rely on to make the purchases and investments that fuel our economy.
We knew that the words we chose would play an enormous role in determining whether we would be successful. My communications team at Treasury was essential to meeting this challenge, and my speechwriter, Stacy Carlson, was a pivotal part of that team.
As she describes in this book, it was very difficult, in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis, to educate the American people about all of the complex subjects that caused the crisis. The rapid pace of developments and the continuously evolving policy actions meant endlessly editing and rewriting my public remarks, to try to speak to markets as well as to a nervous American public. Stacy and I worked closely until I was satisfied with the final version of every speech—with both what was said and how.
Even today, millions of Americans don't understand the crisis we faced or the action we took. This book helps explain these subjects in plainspoken language, and from a unique point of view.
Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
December 2009
