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April 05, 2009
Obama Wants to Control the Banks
fas-cism
noun
1. a socialist governmental system led by a dictatorial party which seeks to control industry and commerce, and uses laws and governmental force to institute Utopian programs.
Obama Wants to Control the Banks
By STUART VARNEY (Mr. Varney is a host on the Fox Business Channel)
I must be naive. I really thought the administration would welcome the return of bank bailout money. Some $340 million in TARP cash flowed back this week from four small banks in Louisiana, New York, Indiana and California. This isn't much when we routinely talk in trillions, but clearly that money has not been wasted or otherwise sunk down Wall Street's black hole. So why no cheering as the cash comes back?
My answer: The government wants to control the banks, just as it now controls GM and Chrysler, and will surely control the health industry in the not-too-distant future. Keeping them TARP-stuffed is the key to control. And for this intensely political president, mere influence is not enough. The White House wants to tell 'em what to do. Control. Direct. Command.
It is not for nothing that rage has been turned on those wicked financiers. The banks are at the core of the administration's thrust: By managing the money, government can steer the whole economy even more firmly down the left fork in the road.
If the banks are forced to keep TARP cash -- which was often forced on them in the first place -- the Obama team can work its will on the financial system to unprecedented degree. That's what's happening right now.
Here's a true story first reported by my Fox News colleague Andrew Napolitano (with the names and some details obscured to prevent retaliation). Under the Bush team a prominent and profitable bank, under threat of a damaging public audit, was forced to accept less than $1 billion of TARP money. The government insisted on buying a new class of preferred stock which gave it a tiny, minority position. The money flowed to the bank. Arguably, back then, the Bush administration was acting for purely economic reasons. It wanted to recapitalize the banks to halt a financial panic.
Fast forward to today, and that same bank is begging to give the money back. The chairman offers to write a check, now, with interest. He's been sitting on the cash for months and has felt the dead hand of government threatening to run his business and dictate pay scales. He sees the writing on the wall and he wants out. But the Obama team says no, since unlike the smaller banks that gave their TARP money back, this bank is far more prominent. The bank has also been threatened with "adverse" consequences if its chairman persists. That's politics talking, not economics.
Think about it: If Rick Wagoner can be fired and compact cars can be mandated, why can't a bank with a vault full of TARP money be told where to lend? And since politics drives this administration, why can't special loans and terms be offered to favored constituents, favored industries, or even favored regions? Our prosperity has never been based on the political allocation of credit -- until now.
Which brings me to the Pay for Performance Act, just passed by the House. This is an outstanding example of class warfare. I'm an Englishman. We invented class warfare, and I know it when I see it. This legislation allows the administration to dictate pay for anyone working in any company that takes a dime of TARP money. This is a whip with which to thrash the unpopular bankers, a tool to advance the Obama administration's goal of controlling the financial system.
After 35 years in America, I never thought I would see this. I still can't quite believe we will sit by as this crisis is used to hand control of our economy over to government. But here we are, on the brink. Clearly, I have been naive.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Rush has also been pointing this out on his show. And as Mr. Varney points out, the far left is in change, and the pinko Congress lead by Obama and Pelosi is going wild introducing the most outrageous legislation. The opportunities for corruption are breathtaking. Our government is so corrupt and to think they will have their evil hands on anything in the private sector at all makes me sick and angry.
"Fast forward to today, and that same bank is begging to give the money back. The chairman offers to write a check, now, with interest. He's been sitting on the cash for months and has felt the dead hand of government threatening to run his business and dictate pay scales. He sees the writing on the wall and he wants out. But the Obama team says no,..."
What would be great to see would be if the banker call a news conference, invite the treasury secutary, tell the press how well the bailout worked and present Geithner with the check. The look on Geithner face would be priceless!!!!
In the article yesterday that BobA., posted a link for it said Judge Andrew Napolitan said in his article :
"There is simply no authority in the U.S. Constitution for Congress to exercise the level of control it now seeks over private industry." There is simply no authority in the U.S. Constitution for Congress to exercise the level of control it now seeks over private industry. In fact, this level of control will wind up costing the businesses that took TARP (voluntarily or involuntarily) money since they will lose key employees who will go to work elsewhere and because the reporting requirements will take time and time is money. The Constitution basically says that if the government wants to take time or freedom or money from someone or something, it must sue for it. It cannot just give itself the authority to do so via legislation. Our liberties are slipping away right before our eyes."
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at April 5, 2009 06:47 AM
Comments
He wants to control everything! He's like that little girl in "stopping over in a quiet town" from the Twilight Zone. She had two real people as pets and they were going mad. She controlled everything and they had no choices. Why oh why would anyone want such control in their lives? And where does it stop? Sooner or later, they'll control when and how you can go to the bathroom and how much paper you can use! What you can buy at the grocery store and what you can't. Doesn't anyone see the enormous dangers being put before us? If I want ice cream, I'm going to get ice cream. I'm an American and I have the freedom of choice. Why give that up? I'm free to be me.
Posted by: Lynn at April 5, 2009 08:20 AM
This is another step in the end of our free republic. It is another step treading on our Constitution. Enough of our population is dumbed down that Obama and his Marxist companions can get by with almost anything.
The government is now in control of way too much of our lives. It almost totally controls the economy. It controls the courts. It appears allied with the news media. We have heard rumors of taxes and restrictions for the internet, one of our last beacons of freedom. The First Amendment is under attack by powerful socialists. The Tenth Amendment is history and we have been promised an attack on the Second Amendment.
Socialism has been creeping in for decades. Now it is on high speed. Too many brain dead tv watchers don't realize what is going on. They don't know what they voted for. If they voted.
If patriotic, freedom oriented Americans ever get control of the government again, it will be a major effort to turn things around. Socialism is akin to cancer and it continues to grow on it's own.
Posted by: TomR at April 5, 2009 01:49 PM
I sent this article, but BobA referenced it in one of his post's recently.
This is where we are headed. Just like being on the old Roller Coaster at Crystal Beach with no brakes.(An aside, Crystal Beach was a Big summertime attraction in Canada, right across river from Buffalo, when I was much, much younger, you could drive over the Peace Bridge or take the Ferry across the River in your car.)The Roller Coaster was a double dog dare ride.
I guess you had to be there.
Faster and faster we speed toward our doom, this is the scary part, not thing one anyone can do about it but hang on and watch in horror as our country goes up in flames. Like Nero fiddled as Rome burned, Obama is tilting at Windmills.
Posted by: Mark at April 5, 2009 03:20 PM
Lynn, I remember that from Twilight Zone, your right!!!
Posted by: Wild Thing at April 5, 2009 06:14 PM
Tom, great comment, thank you. I pray so hard that one day we can take our country back.
Today on the Fox business show, all but one was
disgusted with what Obama is doing and referred to it as to the point of fascism. I was so glad
to finally hear them saying it.
They said what everyone on here says too about how once Obama can fire CEO's of GM and other places he wants to do that it will not stop him from doing it to anyone else in the private citizens jobs of small businesses.
Posted by: Wild Thing at April 5, 2009 06:21 PM
Mark, WOW what a great example of how this is happening. Thank you so much Mark. It feels exactly like what you described.
Your right about the article from Bob as well as the one you sent to me. I commented at BobA's blog to thank him. I wanted to trackback to his post about this but his blog is set up differently and I could not find the trackback link.
The two articles yours and his come together so perfectly and explain how this all happened. I sent it all to some relatives as well as this post about it.
People need to know the truth.
Posted by: Wild Thing at April 5, 2009 06:25 PM
