In order to save the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Bush administration seeks boundless power that cannot be reviewed by federal courts.
Didn’t we try this already at Gitmo, and it didn’t work out so well?
from Bloomberg:
Treasury Seeks Asset-Buying Power Unchecked by Courts (Update2)
By Alison Fitzgerald and John Brinsley
Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) — The Bush administration sought unchecked power from Congress to buy $700 billion in bad mortgage investments from financial companies in what would be an unprecedented government intrusion into the markets.
Through his plan, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson aims to avert a credit freeze that would bring the financial system and the world’s largest economy to a standstill. The bill would prevent courts from reviewing actions taken under its authority.
“He’s asking for a huge amount of power,” said Nouriel Roubini, an economist at New York University. “He’s saying, `Trust me, I’m going to do it right if you give me absolute control.’ This is not a monarchy.”
Jim, reading this makes me so glad I bought gold a few years back when it was cheap. But on the other hand, me thinks the rascals have an Executive Order help their sleeve to take it away. Thank God for the open fields and meadows here in the Pine Tree State.
Jim,
In update 1 of that Bloomberg article – link at the bottom since I’m too lazy to look up the html code for links – says that this unchecked power of 700 billion also includes foreign banks operating in the US.
So it’s about the banks and bankers, oops, sorry the American people.
Quoth Paulson to Stephanopaulos this morning: “”If a financial institution has business operations in the United States, hires people in the United States, if they are clogged with illiquid assets, they have the same impact on the American people as any other institution.”
“That’s a distinction without a difference to the American people. The key here is protecting the system… We have a global financial system, and we are talking very aggressively with other countries around the world and encouraging them to do similar things, and I believe a number of them will. But, remember, this is about protecting the American people and protecting the taxpayers. and the American people don’t care who owns the financial institution. If the financial institution in this country has problems, it’ll have the same impact whether it’s the U.S. or foreign.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a1hr1v2FUeAg&refer=home
Who could possibly say that this isn’t a gang of thieves in the employment of a gang of thieves?
Jean – I don’t think people would surrender their gold peacefully in this country a second time.
Wes – this damn bailout is the sort of thing that makes me realize the insufficiency of profanity.
What an utter con job…
Has anyone been able to calculate how much official and off-budget debt has so far been accumulated while Bush has been in power? Something tells the worst is yet to come. Perhaps we should be thankful – when government squanders vast amounts of wealth on idiotic programs, senseless foreign interventions, and massive special interest bailouts it automatically triggers innumerable multiplier and stabilizing effects – or so we are told.
Some have put the off the table debt at another few trillion dollars, at least that’s what people like Lew Rockwell speculate. They probably have another two or three trillion dollars hidden away in misnamed debt accounts. When all is said and done, the Federal Government will be done. This is the end of the era of Big Government. I believe that the chips have hit the fan this time. Jim is right, there is no curse or piece of profanity to capture how stupid this whole thing is.
This will also mean the return of the gold standard if people like Ron Paul can help spread the message. G.K. Chesterton once said, “The wisest thing a politician can do is nothing” That was what should have happened years ago, but they thought they could play the Diligent Dutch Boy, who stuck his finger in the dike. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t the tide coming in, but a full fledged tsunami.
I finally found some good curses, borrowed from Shakespeare.Bush:”[He]who wears his wit in his belly, and his guts in his head” and for Bernanke:”No sleep close up that deadly eye of thine,Unless it be whilst some tormenting dream Affrights thee with a hell of ugly devils!”
Adam – those are pretty good curses.
I suspect East Europeans are better at cursing than Americans – or maybe Slavic languages are more amenable to such expressions, given some of the hard history of that part of the world. Or at least that was the impression I had from reading “The Good Soldier Svejk.”
A gold standard would certainly be more credible than what we have had in this country for a long long time.
Marc – I suspect you might be right about the worst to come.
Bailouts are addictive…
As I watch the talking heads on the TV prattle on about how this was all caused by “deregulation”, I wonder: would it be unpatriotic of me to ask exactly which deleted regulation would have prevented this? Nobody ever says; they just chant “deregulation” over and over, like a mantra.
And would it be just plain wrong of me to wonder if it actually makes sense to have the evil bankers “regulated” by the evil politicians?
Gold is coming back with a vengeance. I realized that Ron Paul’s message struck a cord with people when I was visiting a fantasy artist’s web page. He was covering the price of oil in gold versus dollars, and mentioned that friends had told him about these interesting little facts. Even more, I work at a major chain book store, and we have never had so many people come in and ask for books on monetary history, paper money, gold, or Ron Paul books. He really has lit a fire and it will catch on because this time the Fed got caught in the cookie jar. They have even handled it badly, dismissing all their critics with contempt and only the most visible arrogance.
This is like that Mel Brooks sketch where Gene Wilder holds himself hostage and threatens to shoot himself. However, this time, the Fed actually goes through with it, and no one helps or cares. When the Fed goes, Big Government goes with it, as night follows day. It should really be a truism, but the three Royal Roads to socialism are: a) Central Banking, b) Public Schooling, and c) Universal Health Care. When you get rid of either of the first two, you can’t have the third.
I wish I shared Adam’s optimism. The era of big government may be over only to usher in the era of total government.
Tyrants don’t usually throw up their hands and walk away just because their victims have an epiphany and realize they are being screwed.
The end of the Fed may mean the Treasury keeps the printing presses running until people start using the dollar to wipe their asses.
These are dangerous times. I expect the psychos that run this country will not react well to the prospect of their gig ending. They may just sweep the Monopoly Game off the table once they decide they are losing. Then watch out – the nukes could start flying.
Nothing like a little diversion to keep the rubes occupied. In fact, if Bush were to start bombing Iran, the press might be able to have the rubes rallying around the flag in a matter of hours. Bush might even leave office (or not) with an approval rating of 80%.
The fact that this “crisis” appears to be manufactured leads me to believe the powers that be really don’t give a damn about what the public thinks – especially a handful of libertarians.
Hello,
Hey you guys, go easy on these Americanos; here’s why:
Americans are finger pointing (again.) What do all of you have to say for yourselves, now that all of your thousands of lectures have gone unnoticed ?
I thought all that war spending (not those fools who bought too much home) were to blame.
Either Bush is taking it hard (clinically depressed) or his denial mechanism has kicked in (again).
Economics 101 should include a paragraph about the most cost-effective way to combat Terrorists (don’t make any.)
Americans prefer the $550 billion Iraq tab over a Non-Interventionist foreign policy ? What do you think ? What about all those UIC economists who said the Iraq invasion plan would not affect our economy ?
I wonder if the Romans went thru the same stuff (before their collapse.)
Did someone yell “GOLD” !! I don’t have any, honest.
“From my cold dead hands.”
Tory – after Bush’s speech tonight, I guess there is not much debate over whether he is personally “taking it hard.”
Dude missed watching a baseball game to show up and read the teleprompter.
Tom – thanks for the excellent comments.
Maybe enough folks will wake up in time to…..
…. ahh, frig it.
Maybe I’d feel better about things if I could score whatever it is they are giving Dubya these days. He looked so distracted by the hallucinations tonight that he could hardly read the cards Uncle Dick was holding up.
The Terrorists finally scored an indirect hit on Wall Street (again).
(“We gottem on their last throes”)
I’m feeling better now; thanks guys. I was starting to lose it (again.)
Tom – I think the real question is what sort of psychotic meds were being used by the advisors who thought that putting GWBush on TV would boost confidence in the bogus bailout.
Bush looked like he was practically doing “sight-reading” – as if he had never seen the message before he read it on the teleprompter.
RE: “… maybe Slavic languages are more amenable to such expressions, given some of the hard history of that part of the world. Or at least that was the impression I had from reading “The Good Soldier Svejk.”
Actually the previous translation did a very poor job of translating the curses. But, don’t despair: “. . . it is with a great relief and pleasure that we are hereby dutifully reporting that Book Two and Book(s) Three&Four of our new translation of Jaroslav Hašek’s The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War are available for sale as paperbacks at http://zenny.com.
We hope this announcement finds you in good health and disposition and hungry for more adventures of the good soldier … after all these years.”
More information on the Svejk phenomenon at http://SvejkCentral.com
Also, Svejk is on FaceBook now: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Good-Soldier-Svejk/133349009873?ref=nf