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| Economy |
| Geithner to Ask Congress for Broad Power to Seize Firms |
| 2009-03-24 |
| Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner today told Congress the administration will seek unprecedented power to seize non-bank financial companies whose collapse could jeopardize the economy, a move Geithner said would have allowed the government to bail out insurance giant American International Group at a far lower cost to taxpayers. The government at present has the authority to seize only banks. Allowing the Treasury Department to take over a broader range of companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, would mark a significant shift from the existing model of financial regulation, which relies on independent agencies that are shielded from the political process. The Treasury secretary, a member of the president's Cabinet, would exercise the new powers in consultation with the White House, the Federal Reserve and other regulators. |
| Posted by:Beavis |
| #23 "And so it begins....." Is there any limit to these people's lust for power. Its only been what - two months? One wonders what the hell they have planned for us that they are moving so fast.... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-03-24 23:01 |
| #22 The bottom line is Socialism. By any means necessary. These are the people we used to go to war against in foreign countries. |
| Posted by: Squinty Shaish6274 2009-03-24 21:24 |
| #21 I just did my taxes with TurboTax, and I did them correctly. I'd guess that makes me EVEN MORE competent to take over industries, eh? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-24 21:24 |
| #20 Karl Denninger commented: "We already have plenty of tools in the box folks. Writing what amounts to insurance when you have no reserves against it has a common name: fraud. Playing "black box" with earnings and other business features has a common name too, coined a few years ago: ENRON. 'Regulators should be able to safeguard the entire financial system as well as monitor the health of specific institutions' Geithner said. Regulators can already do this. It is already against the law to lie in your financial statements, it is already against the law to defraud and it is already against the law to make promises (contracts) you know for a fact are mathematically impossible to keep. We don't need new laws, we need existing laws enforced, and we need the restrictions that were on the banking and financial system prior to the 1990s when we dismantled all of the separations and protections put back...The Fed, OTS and OCC (the latter two of which are Treasury both in name and in fact) willfully ignored what AIG was doing despite having the ability to stop it." |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-03-24 21:17 |
| #19 I think everyone is pinning their hopes on the 2010 Congressional elections. The problem is that a congress critter can be hated by 99% of the population of the US, and still get reelected. All they need to do is to "persuade" over half of the voters in their district to vote for them, and, they will be re-elected until they decide to retire or they shuffle off this mortal coil. Plus, they have lots of tools to persuade people to vote for them: bringing home the pork, free publicity, free self promotional mailings, and on and on. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2009-03-24 20:39 |
| #18 He's got until the next election. That would be 2010. President Obama will not be able to stop that election, no matter how much he tries. This is not the kind of thing the military or law enforcement would act to support... nor would the American still-armed citizenry. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-03-24 20:21 |
#17 My post got deleted last time I compared Zimbabwe and Mugabe to America and Obama...
If Obama does half as much damage as FDR did then you're in for a terrible time. | |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-03-24 20:18 |
| #16 Right out of Benito's playbook. Be afraid, be very afraid. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2009-03-24 19:55 |
| #15 I hope there will be elections in 2010. |
| Posted by: SR-71 2009-03-24 19:50 |
| #14 Just more reasons to get to the shooting range. Be ready. |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2009-03-24 19:44 |
| #13 Despite sending professionals and paid lackeys to Connecticut to intimidate the AIG execs at home, it was a bust. Heard, according to Glenn Beck, this was ACORN at work again. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2009-03-24 17:56 |
| #12 EU6305, if this process isn't stopped, it will be too late by the next election. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2009-03-24 17:55 |
| #11 All your non-bank financial companies are belong to us! |
| Posted by: Karl Marx 2009-03-24 16:04 |
| #10 President Barack Obama says he hopes "it doesn't take too long" to convince Congress to approve new authority to oversee financial firms. He's got until the next election. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-03-24 15:42 |
| #9 When they came for the banks I was silent because I was not a banker. When they came for the non-bank financial companies I was...well, you know. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-03-24 15:40 |
| #8 How about we the citizens ask ourselves for the power to seize the government? That is where the toxic ass |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2009-03-24 13:29 |
| #7 President Barack Obama says he hopes "it doesn't take too long" to convince Congress to approve new authority to oversee financial firms. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2009-03-24 13:23 |
| #6 Richard is right. This is a slow motion grab for pure socialist power. Big brother is wanting to watch and own you. I'm joining my local tea party on the 15th. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-03-24 13:22 |
| #5 The government also would assume the authority to seize such firms if they totter toward failure. So... could the "government" could seize itself? Whaddya think they'd say if something like this was proposed a few years ago by the Evil Bushitler and Dark Lord Cheney? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-03-24 13:10 |
| #4 It just gets scarier and scarier. One bright note is that they masses have not lept up to play their scripted parts as the Left expected. Despite sending professionals and paid lackeys to Connecticut to intimidate the AIG execs at home, it was a bust. They had two buses and forty vans of newsmen, but where were the people? They've also have sent organizers out across the land to whip up loyal furvor for the annoited one. Nothing, or as some would say, "Es por nada". It worked on the campaign trail, but not now. Why? I hope that Geithner appreciates that he doesn't live in a banana republic. There, the mobs may come to do street justice to him. We won't go that far, but Beck is right. We are in the majority, they are the minority. We need to stand together for freedom against all those who will take it away - domestic and foreign. It's time for tea. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2009-03-24 13:04 |
| #3 Just another step from Kelo. You do not own and can not own property. You are merely a steward of public property till Big Daddy decides to take it away. For your own good, of course. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-03-24 12:39 |
| #2 Geithner to Ask Congress for Broad Power to Seize Farms Interesting. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-03-24 12:25 |
| #1 Just don't call it socialism. That would be mean spirited. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2009-03-24 12:24 |