Finishing Off The Financial Industry Takeover: Dems Decide They Don't Much Care For That Pesky Debate Thing

From what we've seen over the past year and a half, this only comes as a shock in the same way that it's shocking to see a sky diver whose parachute didn't open actually hit the ground:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that he will not wait for Democrats and Republicans to reach a bipartisan compromise on a Wall Street reform bill, scheduling the first key test vote for Monday.

“I’m not going to waste any more time of the American people while they come up with some agreement,” Reid said. “The games of stalling are over.”

The move puts pressure on Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris DoddRichard Shelby, the ranking Republican, to reach some resolution on their bipartisan talks. Both senators have said they were progressing towards a deal, but Republicans have suggested that they would need more time than Democrats are willing to give. (D-Conn.) and Alabama Sen.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) rebuked Reid’s decision to push ahead.

“Here we go again,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “The majority leader is once again moving to a bill even while bipartisan discussions on the content of the bill are still under way. … I don’t think bipartisanship is a waste of time. I don’t think a bill with the legitimacy of a bipartisan agreement is a waste of time.”

What is the substance of this bill? Well, here's the nutshell.

The Senate is now debating a financial industry 'reform' bill, which is yet another power grab by the Obama Administration and Congress. The core of the bill is, as I understand it, to grant the White House the authority to shut down any financial entity that appears to be taking on too much risk and is 'too big to fail'...but they don't define how much risk, or how big, of course. Also, the bill would establish a permanent state of unlimited bailouts for any financial institution the White House favors. And, don't forget that Obama's 'pay czar' has control over the top salaries at every financial firm now, so what this boils down to is a de facto control over every major financial institution in the country. With that power, they will systematically dismantle the free market system entirely. Think I'm exaggerating? Read this from Tim "Tax Cheat" Geithner and decide for yourself:

“If a major institution manages itself to the edge of their abyss, we’re able to put them out of their misery … dismember them safely without taxpayers being exposed to a penny of risk of loss.”

First of all, taxpayers wouldn't be anywhere near a position to lose money if the federal government hadn't embarked on the bailout parade! Second, as you read that statement, keep in mind that they're not defining what is too big to fail, where the edge of the abyss is, how much risk is 'too much', or anything in between.

They're writing themselves a blank check to arbitrarily shut down any business they don't like.

Political lightning rod Sarah Palin put it this way:

It should surprise no one that financial lobbyists are flocking to DC this week. Of course, the big players who can afford lobbyists work the regulations in their favor, while their smaller competitors are left out in the cold. ...

... the financial reform bill gives regulators the power to pick winners and losers, institutionalizing their ability to decide “which firms to rescue or close, and which creditors to reward and how.” Does anyone doubt that firms with the most lobbyists and the biggest campaign donations will be the ones who get seats in the lifeboat? The president is trying to convince us that he’s taking on the Wall Street “fat cats,” but firms like Goldman Sachs are happy with federal regulation because, as one of their lobbyists recently stated, “We partner with regulators.”

I think that must be the second scariest sentence in the English language, right behind "I'm from the government and I'm here to help".

Let's apply some common sense here. Isn't the inherent nature of investment simply the management of risk? Riskier investments have higher returns because there's a greater chance of losing that investment. We simply choose our level of comfort in regard to the degree of risk we are willing to assume with our money, and get a commensurate return on that risk. Investment is risk. That's kind of the central theme of economics, isn't it? To attempt to eliminate all risk in the financial industry is to wipe out the entire purpose of the industry itself! These people are engineering the end of the American free market economy, plain and simple.

Is anyone else disturbed by this?

Much more on the Wall Street perpetual bailout situation here, including the bottom line: Washington has committed to spend a mind-blowing $20 trillion in support of Wall Street...since 2008! And it ain't going to stop as long as these Dems control Congress.

Oh, and one more thing - this bill will authorize the federal government to monitor everyone's investments, checking accounts, and credit card statements in order to identify risk. Every single one. You want government intervention? It's hard to imagine getting any more intervention than this, outside of the DemCare takeover.

And, with the news that the Senate Dems are pushing ahead with a vote before a thorough debate on the bill, we see once again just how much they desire to forge compromises with Republicans: not at all. We also see their naked ambition, displayed in its full hideous non-splendor.

I think what this boils down to is the fact that they know their window of opportunity for taking permanent control of this country is closing fast. They know they're going to be slaughtered in the November election, so they're trying to wrest as much control over the American people as possible while they still have the majority, assuming that the Republicans who take over in a few months will lack the courage or willpower to roll back anything they're doing now.

We'll see.

I just hope we can survive long enough to even have the chance of recovering. Regardless, today might be a good day to pick up the phone and call your Senators to give them a piece of your mind about this bill.

There's my two cents.