A power grab, but a necessary one
“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.
…. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) seemed inclined to support Geithner’s request, saying the government should have the same power over all financial services firms as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation does over banks.
“Banks also failed in 2008 . . . But the fact is that we have in place mechanisms . . . that contained the damage,” Frank said. ” . . . We need to give somebody, somewhere in the federal government. . . the power to do what the FDIC can do with banks.
The administration’s proposal contains two pieces. First, it would empower a government agency to take on the new role of systemic risk regulator with broad oversight of any and all financial firms whose failure could disrupt the broader economy. The Federal Reserve is widely considered to be the leading candidate for this assignment. But some critics warn that this could conflict with the Fed’s other responsibilities, particularly its control over monetary policy.
The government also would assume the authority to seize such firms if they totter toward failure.
Besides seizing a company outright, the Treasury Secretary could use a range of tools to prevent its collapse, such as guaranteeing losses, buying assets or taking a partial ownership stake. Such authority also would allow the government to break contracts, such as the agreements to pay $165 million in bonuses to employees of AIG’s most troubled unit.
The Treasury secretary could act only after consulting with the president and getting a recommendation from two-thirds of the Federal Reserve Board, according to the plan.
The authority to seize non-bank financial firms emerged as a priority for the administration after the failure of investment house Lehman Brothers, which was not a traditional bank, and the troubled rescue of AIG.
The powers would parallel the government’s existing authority over banks, which are exercised by banking regulatory agencies in conjunction with the FDIC. Geithner has cited that structure as the model for the government’s plans.”
I recognize that request fits neatly into the “ohmigod-Obama-is-trying-to-take-over-the-world” narrative favored by many of his critics. But if you look a little deeper the idea makes a lot of sense, and in fact is downright necessary.
The government already holds the power to take over troubled banks. Why? Because it also has the obligation to make good on the banks’ deposits should things go wrong, and because we learned the hard way that bank runs have the capability to bring down an entire economy.
Now we’ve learned — again the hard way — that AIG and other non-bank institutions also have gotten “too big to fail,” that government intervention is required if they do, and that their collapse would be enough to bring down the entire economy.
The power Geithner seeks should have checks and balances built into it — approval of two-thirds of the Federal Reserve Board is one such check. But its power that modern government needs.
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141 comments Add your comment
Bosch
March 25th, 2009
2:03 pm
At first glance this is kind of alarming, but I agree with you Jay, a necessary move – and it’s nothing permanent.
They need to be taken over for the time being, so we can see what’s going on with our tax money and what these crooks are doing with it!
Corporal
March 25th, 2009
2:04 pm
One word …. TYRANNY !
Hillbilly Deluxe
March 25th, 2009
2:04 pm
If the Federal Reserve Board is going to be the check and balance then they should be elected by the people.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
2:05 pm
Yet another reason the AJC is tanking. Bookman, if you think this is a “necessary grab” then you do not understand economic freedom and free market capitalism.
RIP BOOKMAN
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
2:07 pm
Bosch, government officials like, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, got us into this mess. Our tax money is being wasted by the Obama administration.
Bosch
March 25th, 2009
2:08 pm
Commie,
They got us into this mess by turning their heads while we were robbed blind.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
2:09 pm
Bosch, you sound like Jar Jar Binks in Episode 3 when he agreed that the Emperor needed to take over the senate and galaxy “for the time being.”
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
2:11 pm
Bookman, DO YOU AGREE WITH GEITNER IN THIS COLUMN?
The Obama administration will be responsible for the demise of the USA.
Geithner ‘open’ to China proposal
Geithner, at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the U.S. is “open” to a headline-grabbing proposal by the governor of the China’s central bank, which was widely reported as being a call for a new global currency to replace the dollar, but which Geithner described as more modest and “evolutionary.”
“I haven’t read the governor’s proposal. He’s a very thoughtful, very careful distinguished central banker. I generally find him sensible on every issue,” Geithner said, saying that however his interpretation of the proposal was to increase the use of International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights — shares in the body held by its members — not creating a new currency in the literal sense.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0309/Geithner_open_to_China_proposal.html?showall
Midori
March 25th, 2009
2:11 pm
I can’t for the life of me figure out why Jay suffers so many fools so kindly.
Boschie – I read about your poor kitty.
My condolences. *hug*
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
2:15 pm
Bookman, when are you going to wake up and realize that Obama has no idea what he’s doing?
Geithner Remarks on IMF Roil Foreign-Exchange Market (Update1)
March 25 (Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent the dollar tumbling with comments about China’s ideas for overhauling the global monetary system, only to drive it back up by affirming that it should remain the world’s reserve currency.
Geithner was initially asked at a Council on Foreign Relations event in New York about proposals from People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan for a new international reserve currency. He said “as I understand his proposal, it’s a proposal designed to increase the use of the IMF’s special drawing rights. And we’re actually quite open to that.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aVevdIrBPtUE&refer=home
Bosch
March 25th, 2009
2:18 pm
Midori,
Thanks. He’s chasing butterflies on the other side now.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
2:21 pm
The government needs to also make plans to start charging all these different financial institutions insurance premiums that vary depending on the institution’s assessed risk profile in order to have some money to help cover their eventual demise. After all, it sure seems like history repeats itself when it comes to banking and financial troubles. A combination of greed and lack of regulations and oversight seems to get the better of these folks time and time again. Why not be better prepared for the inevitable.
The Simply Amazing GodHatesTrash, Superstar
March 25th, 2009
2:24 pm
Another word… WINGNUTTERBUTTERS!
jasper
March 25th, 2009
2:25 pm
Come on Jay! This is the same Barney Frank that said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were financially stable back in September. But now you’re going to trust his judgement. You would have done better to support this move based upon your own liberal slant towards bigger government. You didn’t need to reference another idiot.
DB, Gwinnettian
March 25th, 2009
2:27 pm
Bitter with the sweet. Sticks and carrots. Negative reinforcement, positive reinforcement.
Film at 11.
Joey
March 25th, 2009
2:28 pm
I remain unconvinced. As I understand what happened:
The Federal Government did not have the power or authority to take over AIG. The Government offered, strongly, and AIG agreed. The Government did not have the power or authority to take over the auto-makers. They asked and Government responded.
Fannie and Freddie were quasi-government already, but I did not see that as a forced take over. More a mutual agreement.
I prefer that our President, regardless of party; and our Congress, regardless of which party controls; not have power and authority to take over any private business.
I have heard from my son and read over and over from the Democrats here that Obama and his Administration are not pushing a Socialist agenda. This looks, smells and taste like a Socialist Policy to me.
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
2:40 pm
Communist/AJC, really you gotta get a job. You play on the computer all day.
By the way you are the one who knows nothing about free market capitalism or anything else regarding economics for that matter.
I have a few questions for you: Do you know waht a credit default swap is? Do you know what a collaterlized debt obligation is? Well these are the products that the hedge fund portion of AIG was selling that was unregulated by the GOV’t. They were selling billions of dollars of these with no way to cover them if the underlying value of the assets contained in them declined. That is why AIG needed a bailout. If there had been better regulation of those products (the way the FDIC regulates banks) then they would never have gotten into so much trouble.
Also, do you know the definition of Socialism? Smart regulation is not socialism.
getalife
March 25th, 2009
2:45 pm
Well, we can’t trust corrupt Congress to regulate.
65 days, no attacks, securing the border to combat the drug wars, economy saved, troops from Iraq coming home, drones working in Afghanistan and new strategy coming, long term plan for economic growth and he is just getting started.
Finally, a real leader.
Redneck Convert
March 25th, 2009
2:47 pm
Well, a co. ought to have the right to run itself into the ground if it wants to without guvmint getting in the way. So the taxpayers have to be out a few billion. So what? Free Innerprize is more important than that.
ToTheHypocrits
March 25th, 2009
2:50 pm
Aren’t you one of the media types in lockstep with the left that complained about Bush “trampling” the Constitution? The current administration is proposing and doing more to reduce personal freedom and liberty than GWB ever did. This time we’re being attacked from within.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
2:50 pm
credit default swap-is a credit derivative contract between two counter parties.
Collateralized debt obligations-a type of structured asset-backed security (ABS) whose value and payments are derived from a portfolio of fixed-income underlying assets.
socialism- a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
Any more questions?
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
2:51 pm
Rush Limbaugh for President, you oughta read the definition of socialism that I posted. It sums up what’s happening right now. Keep drinking the Obama kool aid, comrade.
ToTheHypocrits
March 25th, 2009
2:52 pm
Is it any wonder that your front page has a story about more layoffs for you and you’re ilk. We can only hope it hits you and the other leftest Tucker.
G
March 25th, 2009
2:54 pm
The previous administration(s) did not put the money in the budget to tackle the growth aspect, and now we are seriously seeing just how badly we’re lagging behind. If investments have not been made along the way, they have to be made now. Investments must occur before growth can be seen – this has not happened in a long time. So President Obama’s budget is simply a reflection of the money we should have been investing over the last 15-20 years. Better late than never…
And doesn’t everyone just find it wonderfully refreshing that President Obama is actually including everything in this budget? Even the wars? Wow. Stunner.
Obambi's TelePrompter
March 25th, 2009
2:58 pm
I’m gonna set my little tard to taking over the lip sync machine industry!
I don’t need the competition.
Wait till those bozos see what puny bonuses they will be getting next year!
Aaahhh, I see TelePrompter bars in the future.
Obambi's TelePrompter
March 25th, 2009
3:00 pm
Karokee is so……yesterday.
ew
Midori
March 25th, 2009
3:03 pm
I see Andy has metamorphasized yet again……….
The Corporal
March 25th, 2009
3:11 pm
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
3:12 pm
Communist/AJC
Glad to see you know how to google a definition. That doesn’t mean you understand them, which you don’t, nor does it support your contension that by regulating those products in a smart way it makes the country more socialist. It doesn’t.
Socialism is a sound bite for right wingers,It like “welfare state,” are code words for biggotry. 65% approval rating. Guess that puts you in the minority. Keep listening to Rush and Sean, it is pretty clear they do your thinking for you.
@@
March 25th, 2009
3:13 pm
Gosh, jay…..you think grabbing you by the nutz is a powerful necessity? You’re weird. You didn’t even yelp.
I would have, at the very least, expected “them” to be tied up in knots over this move. It would appear you prefer the bureaucrats do that for you.
Alrighty din! They’re your nutz.
Where have all the real men gone?
G
March 25th, 2009
3:17 pm
You will note the banks were not selling their so-called toxic assets because the payment streams received made them worth more than the market was willing to pay by 3 or 4 times easily.
And if the cash flow is positive, and producing a return, why take a loss and a write down?
You have people like Krugman saying they are worthless, ignoring the revenue stream by looking at a broken market system pricing for his determination of value, which is as bad as deciding oil was worth $147 per barrel. The guy has no background in monetary or international finance. He loved outsourcing, saying it was good for the U.S.
If Krugman was right then all of our homes are worth just 10 percent of what we paid, since the buyer of the securities would ultimately walk away from/lose his home and the holder of the security would get your house for 10 cents on the dollar.
For those who support Krugman, please let me buy your house for 10 percent of what you paid for it.
Will anything that’s done turn this around, who knows? We have structural problems such as outsourcing, loss of industrialization, declining wages, soaring healthcare costs, and the fact that 14% of our economy over the last 8 years came from refinancing of homes and spending that extra money, that’s gone for almost ever. The structural problems will take 15-30 years to reverse. Krugman supported deindustrialization.
Wes
March 25th, 2009
3:17 pm
Jay,
I won’t say that regulation in itself is a bad idea. If there were reasonable restrictions on leverage or insuring unknown risks we would have prevented a large portion of this.
That being said you are entrusting this regulation to people who don’t know what to do to get out of this mess. They didn’t foresee the problem in the first place. Also they are woefully understaffed because they can’t get any one confirmed through a Congress controlled by their own party.
Please enlighten me Jay. Why do you put so much faith in them?
Corporal Punishment
March 25th, 2009
3:22 pm
One word…….. TRANNY !
G
March 25th, 2009
3:22 pm
Where is that Rushpublicant budget plan?
Oh where, oh where can it be?
Joey
March 25th, 2009
3:23 pm
What happened about Noon today? Geithner happened. A man so knowledgable, so important that we had to have him. No matter what he had done. No matter what the cost.
Regarding the govenor of China’s central bank calling for a new global currency to replace the dollar: “We’re quite open to that suggestion.” Geithner modified his comment when quized about it, but Pandora had left the box and the building. The Dow dropped 300 points in 3 hours.
Geithner, Geithner, he’s our man. If he can’t do it Nobody can.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
3:24 pm
Rush Limbaugh for President, no comrade, I understand the definitions pretty well. As for Rush, I listen to him all the time because he’s 100% right. That’s why morons like you keep trash talking him. You guys, including the soon defunct Bookman, have trash talked him for 20 years yet here he is still standing.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
3:24 pm
If there were reasonable restrictions on leverage or insuring unknown risks, why, we’d have regulations.
Midori
March 25th, 2009
3:25 pm
Corporal,
“tranny”??
isn’t that slang for transvestite?
what’s that got to do with anything??
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
3:26 pm
TRANNY! Corporal, keep working at it and before you know it, you’ll be advancing to spelling words.
Midori
March 25th, 2009
3:27 pm
When Bush addressed the UN General Assembly today, the White House inadvertently showed exactly how – with a phonetic pronunciation guide on the teleprompter to get him past troublesome names of countries and world leaders.
The White House was left scrambling to explain after a marked-up draft of Bush’s speech popped up briefly on the UN website as he delivered his remarks, giving a rare glimpse of the special guidance he gets for major addresses.
It included phonetic spellings for French President Nicolas Sarkozy (sar-KO-zee), a friend, and Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe (moo-GAH-bee), a target of US human rights criticism.
Pronunciations were also provided for Kyrgyzstan (KEYR-geez-stan), Mauritania (moor-EH-tain-ee-a) and the Zimbabwe capital Harare (hah-RAR-ray).
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,224…
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
3:28 pm
Rush Limbaugh for President, your belief in poll numbers are going to come back to haunt you. Yeah, I am in the minority right now but you have been in the minority for the last 8 years.
G
March 25th, 2009
3:29 pm
How do you contextualize a hypocrite? When Bush was in office acting like an actual dictator, Pillboy was in his pocket saying “Way to go big guy.” Now that someone he doesn’t agree with is trying, through democratic principles, to pick up the pieces left behind (after 8 years of Pillboy getting what he wanted), well, let’s call him a murderous dictator.
It’s like listening to a child, or the ramblings of a confused drug addict. How’s that for context?
Midori
March 25th, 2009
3:30 pm
Yikes!!!
Bush and Raygun using a *GASP* teleprompter!!!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8269887&mesg_id=8279204
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
3:30 pm
Taxpayer, LOL, you and Midori are dumber than a box of hammers. The “corporal” who wrote the word Tranny is not the same guy who calls himself The Corporal.
Commie = Whine = Andy the Welcher
March 25th, 2009
3:31 pm
Self-righteous know-it-all “Commie” indignantly queries: “Any more questions?”
Why are you so angry? Is this part of the inferiority complex that comes with the chubby-conservative-who-claims-to-have-gone-to-the-K Mart-Ivy syndrome?
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
3:31 pm
Communist/AJC
You still need a job. I mean a real job.
And I don’t need a Rush Limbaugh to tell me how to think like you do. If he is so 100% right why do less than on half of one percent of the country listen to him? Because most of the country can think for themselves and at least try to be objective. You can do neither which provides great insight into you judgement. The good news is your kind is getting smaller every year.
Midori
March 25th, 2009
3:33 pm
Communist,
I’m not going to engage in the name calling with you today.
I just want to say that I’m not the one posting slurs, insults, and various nonsense 15 hours out of the day.
And somehow that makes you “smart”?
ToTheHypocrits
March 25th, 2009
3:33 pm
G, don’t let the facts get in the way of your argument. Since when did the Constitution empower government to unilaterally nationalize private business?
G
March 25th, 2009
3:34 pm
Someone should shove an apple in Pillboy’s mouth and roast him for 24 hours.
RW-(the original)
March 25th, 2009
3:34 pm
This Obama character is making Hugo Chavez look like a piker, but at least we’ll be the biggest of the banana republics.
G
March 25th, 2009
3:36 pm
TTH, bend it. Bend it good.
Shawny
March 25th, 2009
3:38 pm
Power over how companies can operate is FAR greater a power gram than listening in on potential terrorist phone calls. The same ones that think a power grab was bad when Georgie did it, praise it when Barry O does it.
The Corporal
March 25th, 2009
3:38 pm
Taxpayer:
I’ll work on spelling if you’ll work on reading comprehension. That post was from “Corporal Punishment” …… not me.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
3:40 pm
Commie = Whine = Andy the Welcher, LOLOLOLOL.
Midori, my apologies. Sorry about calling you guys dumber than a box of hammers. I was laughing so hard when you two wrote that. I got carried away.
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
3:40 pm
Communist/AJC – For your edification
I voted for Bush twice. I wanted him to succeed. He screwed up in Iraq and he managed to leave the largest budget deficit in history and the economy in shambles. I know when I make a mistake.If Obama doesn’t deliver I’ll vote against him next time but I don’t sit atround hoping for him to fail. You are about pure ideology. You are programmed like a robot. Listen to Rush, he’ll tell you what to think and say. That way you don’t have to think.He’ll program you just right. Bla,bla, bla socialism, bla bla,bla,teleprompter, bla,bla,bla,free market…..
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
3:41 pm
Rush Limbaugh for President, the majority of the country is more interested in OctoMom. The majority of the country watches American Idol.
Again, I think for myself. Thanks for playing.
Mrs. Godzilla
March 25th, 2009
3:41 pm
I say good idea! Let’s do it.
G
March 25th, 2009
3:43 pm
God, you Rushpublicants are so pathetic.
We’re dealing with petulant little children here. It’s just unbelievable that the once powerful and intimidating right-wing has become such a brain dead, childish joke.
Boring, oh so boring!
mm
March 25th, 2009
3:44 pm
What is with the wingnut obsession of the teleprompter. I don’t believe Obama was reading the teleprompter when he was answering questions for an hour. The man is smart. Bush couldn’t answer questions for five minutes.
Commie,
Better to be considered a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. You need to quit channeling Rushbo and maybe come up with a thought of your own.
Jay,
Tomorrow should be a banner day for some GOP bashing. The budget battle will be fun to watch. I assume they will try to strip all spending from the bill and insert tax cuts.
Copyleft
March 25th, 2009
3:48 pm
Since when did the Constitution mention “private busineses” or “the free market” one way or the other?
You free-market cheerleaders need to face facts. There’s nothing sacred about capitalism, and there’s no One Best Way to run a market-based economy (although the hands-off, deregulated approach has turned out to be a loser).
“The market” just isn’t that important; DEMOCRACY is. If private businesses in a given sector aren’t serving the public good, the heck with ‘em. We’ll use government to perform that function and tailor it to suit our needs. And that function will become accountable to, and controlled by, the PEOPLE. Scary, huh? (grin)
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
3:49 pm
mm, calm down.
jon
March 25th, 2009
3:49 pm
The wiktionary definition of fascism:
________________
An extreme-right totalitarian political regime ideologically based on centralized government, violently repressing any criticism or opposition of the regime, leader cult and exalting nation-state and/or religion above individual rights.
________________
What is it if you substitute “extreme left” for “extreme right” ?
Wyld Byll Hyltnyr
March 25th, 2009
3:52 pm
I went to dear ol’ Dahtmouth with Geithner. “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…, Tax-dodge Timmy could n’t even seize his own rump with two hands.
G
March 25th, 2009
3:52 pm
Where is that Rushpublicant budget plan?
As long as it’s taking, it’s probably going to be, oh I don’t know, 2 or 3 sentences long.
The REAL GodHatesTrash, Superstar
March 25th, 2009
3:54 pm
KlannerRNC – get that poor wife of yours to up the Ativan. Your hysteria and paranoia are at pathological levels.
Don’t be so scared, little fella.
Calm down.
Dusty
March 25th, 2009
3:55 pm
OH my, when will the government choose my bed time, tuck me in, and check my mattress to be sure I’m not hiding any money?? I’m sure they will say it is all necessary for my good health but…….I’ve been FREE so long? We are well on the way to be treated as little robots to be programed by our present politicians “for our benefit”.
We are now being governed by Geithner in case you haven’t noticed. Governed by the man that “forgot” to pay his taxes. Obama is just passing the word given him i.e. regulate everything from the likes of AIG to pggy banks.
I wish Paulson were back. He did not mention taking over every financial business in the country. He gave us TARP which looks like pennies compared to Geithner’s plans. Now we have the grandiose life preserver for lifetime debt.
So Bookman says “A power grab, but a necessary one.” A voice from the sheep. Maybe it is necessary for THEM but not for those of us who prefer the freedom we have so long preserved.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
3:56 pm
mm, call off your dogs!
Anyone here an Arcade Fire fan?
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
3:56 pm
Communist/AJC
No they don’t. You have no clue what you are talking about. You better stop and listen to Glenn Beck for awhile and get a few more sound bites to blog. Thanks for playing poorly.
The REAL GodHatesTrash, Superstar
March 25th, 2009
3:56 pm
sissy hissy fit to commence in 3,2,1…
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
3:57 pm
The REAL GodHatesTrash, Superstar, well-played. Your cut down was thought out and precisely positioned. Nice job. Kudos to you.
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
3:58 pm
Dusty
You are babbling incoherently. Check in with Sean for your talking points.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
3:59 pm
Rush Limbaugh for President, you asked me a series of pointless questions and I gave you the definitions to your questions. I like Glenn Beck. Any recovering alcoholic is okay by me.
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
4:02 pm
Wyld Byll Hyltnyr,
If you got in Dartmonth it was because your daddy had money and connections.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
4:10 pm
Rush Limbaugh for President, I went to Duke without any connections, comrade. What is it with you libs that makes you so jealous of other people and their accomplishments?
Commie = Whine = Andy the Welcher
March 25th, 2009
4:10 pm
Commie,
the crowd at an Arcade Fire concert, or the band itself, might beat you up. You would be the poster boy to the attitudes they do not like. They claim Canada as home because of Bush policies.
You’d be like a young republican hanging out with the cool kids in college – way out of place and a tool too.
Wyld Byll Hyltnyr
March 25th, 2009
4:10 pm
Rush Limbaugh for President 4:02 pm
Let me tell you, that’s the best way to get in and it sure beats hard work, grades, and achievements.
Also, it proably did not hurt that I am a seventh generation legacy or that me dear old mum’s family descends from Eleazar Wheelock.
Brad Steel
March 25th, 2009
4:13 pm
Going to Duke – an accomplishment. bla-ha. Yeah, if you couldn’t get in Emory.
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
4:14 pm
Communist/AJC
Your true intellect and class are now surfacing. Giving a definition you copied off google did not answer the original question of whether or not regulating those products (CDS and CDO) makes the country more socialist. I contend it doesn’t.
I don’t watch Olberman or Chris Matthews but your level of maturity came through loud and clear in the question. Pretty juvenile. When you aren’t smart enough to answer the question say something a 12 year old would.
Your Reality- It is the illusion that you have all the right answers because you got them from someone else.
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
4:17 pm
Wild Bill
Best answer all day. You are really faking this right wing nut stuff, right? Or you wanna make sure you inherit all daddy’s money and don’t want to share it with them liberals.
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
4:22 pm
Communist- so you went to Duke. Congratulations. Well that explains everything; Why you are so well rounded in your thinking and have all day to play around on the computer.
And by the way I am an independent not a liberal. I don’t like the left wing nut jobs anymore than I like you.
CommunistAJC
March 25th, 2009
4:23 pm
Commie = Whine = Andy the Welcher, let’s talk music shall we? If you like The Arcade Fire you can’t be all that bad. How about Interpol, MGMT, The Rosebuds, Animal Collective….
@@
March 25th, 2009
4:28 pm
Never before, in the history of this great nation, have we seen such UnPresi-dented power.
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
4:28 pm
Communist
Did you learn to act like a 12 year old at Duke? Did they have a class that taught when you can’t defend your position get mad and insult the other person? You must have made an A.
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
4:34 pm
Communist
You still haven’t answered the question. If there is greater regulation of dervative products by the gov’t does that make th U.S. more socialist?
Rush Limbaugh for President
March 25th, 2009
4:36 pm
Communist
I am not setting any rules, everyon on this blog knows a 12 year old when they see one. Grow up pal.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
4:36 pm
I think Corporal is into Corporal Punishment.
jt
March 25th, 2009
4:37 pm
just think, we could have bailed out enron and kept all of those poor executives out of jail. and we could all be driving edsels.
Commie = Whine = Andy the Welcher
March 25th, 2009
4:37 pm
Commie,
Your politics and loud-mouthed arrogance are those of Ted Nugent and Hank Jr. Like a typical republican, I expect you to suck up to the “real americans” by pretending you like mainstream country when mid-term elections roll around.
The music you claim to like is that of the Obama crowd. Your self-loathing is clinical.
Dusty
March 25th, 2009
4:37 pm
What a juvenile discussion. Too many liberals trying to be scholars. Total failure on all accounts.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
4:44 pm
The last Republican that I recall doing a good job of pretending to be scholarly was Reagan. Bonzo did a pretty good job of training him…except for that banana in the jar trick…poor Ronnie never could figure that one out.
catlady
March 25th, 2009
4:44 pm
Eh, I am not sure any of us want to “own” any of the failing businesses at all!
Obambi's TelePrompter
March 25th, 2009
4:45 pm
Hey, what happened to my comments at 4:00?
You know who you are messing with here?
RW-(the original)
March 25th, 2009
4:47 pm
Remember during the Bush years we heard endless wailing and moaning about deficit spending?
Here’s a picture that even the cult members should be able to understand.
We’ll be looking at those as the good old days soon and I didn’t like his spending habits either.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
4:56 pm
Bush was good at one thing — bankrupting companies…he very nearly pulled it off with the USofA. At least we have someone in office now with a functioning brain — one that was not fried out from too much alcohol.
Dusty
March 25th, 2009
4:56 pm
Don’t worry about scholars, Taxpayer. Worry about your tax paying habits learned from your liberal heroes Geithner and Daschle.
caz1158
March 25th, 2009
4:59 pm
Libs-Why do some,not all but enough to annoy all, seem to think that being pompos as*ses gains you any respect? Some Libs here think pumping there chests and stating how intelligent they are and how stupid all others seem to be is fact. How naive.
Joe Matarotz
March 25th, 2009
5:08 pm
I understand why Jay is in favor of everything Obama proposes. As the AJC shifts into overdrive for it’s collission with the ice berg, Jay knows he will eventually be a ward of the state. He wants to make sure that those of us who are still employed will be contributing our fair share to his upkeep.
Jay, if you’re hearing footsteps in the dark, it may be Georgia State Unemployment coming for you.
Oh, of course the government should have the power to take over tanking businesses. They do so many other things so well. In the immortal words of John ‘Bluto’ Blutarski, “Uurrrrrrrpppp. Why not?”
williebkind
March 25th, 2009
5:09 pm
Let King Obama do what he wants to do unless it is changing the constitution. He will not get elected or serve eight years but his Kingdom will end. We the people can change or undo everything the socialist do. Please, if you have a college education, keep it to yourself. I am not impressed. Remember AIG! Some of them came from MI T and such.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
5:17 pm
Wow! So many conservatives (Republicans) on here talking on and on about other people that happen to display some intellect. They have issues.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
5:22 pm
I’ve been considering mimicking some of these conservatives (Republicans) on here.
I could say stuff like, Don’t worry about scholars, Dusty. Worry about your tax paying habits learned from your conservative heroes Palin and Stevens.
The REAL GodHatesTrash, Superstar
March 25th, 2009
5:28 pm
Let’s face it – only inbred morons think Reagan was a great President. He doesn’t even make it to mediocre.
Frederick Douglass
March 25th, 2009
5:29 pm
The Dow’s up 986 points since March 2nd, when’s that dead cat, from dead cat bounce fame, coming down?
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
5:35 pm
Right you are, Superstar.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
5:41 pm
It’s simply amazing how easy it is to upset a conservative (Republican) — just let loose with a little truth about their ‘heroes’, especially Reagan or the little Bush (aka, Bush Junior or Dubya). Then again, it’s not exactly rocket science to misunderestimate their lack of control.
The Corporal
March 25th, 2009
5:47 pm
Taxpayer:
I repeat, that post regarding the spelling of the word “Tryanny/Tranny” was from “Corporal Punishment” (whoever he/she is) and not me.
But that brings up again the larger issue concerning the postings on these threads. Why is it that some of you have to constantly focus on the spelling of words, etc. instead of the debate? Anyone can to that, or make personal attacks or whatever.
It would be so nice if everyone would just stick to honest debate end nut wirry abaot the spelline of wurds.
If you wish to never have a debate with me again …. just say so and “so shall it be.”
I Report/ You Whine
March 25th, 2009
5:55 pm
Well, of course-
U.S. to blame for much of Mexico violence: Clinton, An “insatiable” appetite in the United States for illegal drugs is to blame for much of the violence ripping through Mexico, Bruno said on Wednesday.
So how y’all in HollyWeed feel about that?
Too stoned to care?
freaks
@@
March 25th, 2009
5:56 pm
Oops! I just corrected someone’s spelling over at Wooten’s.
Shame on me, but it was a great opportunity to play around with The “O”.
My husband is an excellent speller, he just has a small keyboard and robust phalanges.
I Report/ You Whine
March 25th, 2009
6:01 pm
Aahhh, yes, “global warming-”
In Montana, the Army National Guard dispatched two helicopters to help locate motorists stranded by a snowstorm in the southeastern part of the state.
The blowing snow cut visibility and piled in drifts as high as 4 feet in parts of Wyoming.
Chad Harris
March 25th, 2009
6:06 pm
The Fed couldn’t have screwed things up more. That’s the NY Fed and Bernanke’s fed. Geithner has 3 key personnel who also are keeping gigantic bonuses who came straight from Gs inoldman Sachs who received bailout money in quite another way from the money they are now “giving back.” They received billione s at 100 cents on the dollar from AIG who received it as a bailout bunch of billions from us.
The Getithner Goldman Sachsers have no intention of giving their large bonuses courtesy of
you.
Law and Order’s favorite DA now finds himself under investigation by the FEC:
“In this matter, the Office of General Counsel recommended the Commission find reason to believe Senator Fred Thompson, his committee, and treasurer, in his official capacity, violated 2 U.S.C. §§ 432(e)(1); 433(a), and 434 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (The Act), by improperly using the regulatory “testing the waters” exemption to the statutory requirement to register with the Commission.”
Go get ‘em Fred. A perp walk wouldn’t look great on your resume if you plan to be one of the dead men walking for the Wingnut Party in 2012.
Chad Harris
March 25th, 2009
6:07 pm
I bet he has a robust bunch of fingers. Spelling at wooten’s is moot–they are illiterate.
Dusty
March 25th, 2009
6:07 pm
Taxpayer,
Go ahead and mimic conservatives. You are definitely in need of new ideas.
Chad Harris
March 25th, 2009
6:08 pm
Snow in winter and spring in the west and north only has relevance to Global Warming if you’re a child.
Chad Harris
March 25th, 2009
6:14 pm
The Republican budget plan is located exactly where?
bugger
March 25th, 2009
6:14 pm
So now The president has power to sieze and take over all private finances in the country. How cool is that?
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
6:15 pm
Corporal,
I cannot recall ever having the first debate with you so what is all this “again” stuff that you are talking about.
ToTheHypocrits
March 25th, 2009
6:15 pm
Jay, you hoping Geithner bails out the AUC? May be the only way you keep your job.
@@
March 25th, 2009
6:17 pm
Oh, we know ChaddyWick. Where would we all be without your delusions of self-aggrandizement?
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
6:17 pm
Dusty,
Go ahead and mimic non-conservatives (non-Republicans). You are definitely not lacking in old ideas.
Chad Harris
March 25th, 2009
6:19 pm
Geithner’s boys and girls have been working with Goldman ($12 billion bailout) and Barkley’s ($9 billion) for weeks and won’t recommend anything without their approval.
@@
March 25th, 2009
6:21 pm
…and tell me, ChaddyWick
is it likely that you can count the number of people, who are impressed with you, on those worn down nubs of yours.
Zero!
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
6:21 pm
Chad,
The words ‘plan’ and ‘Republican’ cannot be used together in any meaningful and positive way for we the people. It would conflict with their “Just do nothing except say no” scheme for re-election and we do not want to interfere with that idea. That is their best idea ever…ever…ever, I say.
@@
March 25th, 2009
6:23 pm
I beg your pardon, ChaddyWick.
Have I ever admitted to you that I even wear panties, O Unknowing One.
Ecomonist
March 25th, 2009
6:25 pm
sounds a bit too communistic to me. I am all for the Laissez-faire capitalism. The the strong survive and the weak fail.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
6:26 pm
Wow! This mimicking a conservative (Republican) is even easier than I thought it would be. There’s absolutely no thought process required. Just dump. How’s this. Republicans suck. Wow! It just gets easier with each post. No wonder they do it so much. There’s no research or analysis or anything. It’s even easier than what Andie does with his AmSpec cut-n-pastes.
Dusty
March 25th, 2009
6:27 pm
Chaddy,
are you trying to tell us that Geithner has associates who took huge amounts of taxpayer money and now Dems can’t decide if they should regulate such people as that?
Don’t worry. Obama will “understand” and over look such minor details. He’s got to keep SOMEBODY in that department besides Geithner.
Fred Thompson? Who? Nice guy but forgotten. You will have to find someone else on which to drool your dribble about future elections. I hear there’s a fine military man who might be interested and you can bet your bottom dollar he is not a Democrat.
By next big election time, Democrats will be going to Disney Land to see if they can get Mickey Mouse to run. That will be your best choice from the few willing to run after the current Dem dumpster doings. Who could blame them?
Dusty
March 25th, 2009
6:30 pm
Attaboy, Taxpayer. That was almost a new idea. Sitting here all day every day must get dull. Certainly sounds like it.
Taxpayer
March 25th, 2009
6:33 pm
Attaboy, Dusty. That was more of the same. Sitting there all day every day must be exciting. Certainly doesn’t sound like it though.
DB, Gwinnettian
March 25th, 2009
6:36 pm
Ok, so I’ve seen the WaPo charts that RW linked @ 4.47.
Anyone still hanging around this thread talking economy, I’ve a question: how different would those charts look under a McCain/Palin administration?
Jay
March 25th, 2009
6:40 pm
OK, Commie, Chad and Trash are now banned.
All are repeat offenders, to say the least. I’ll decide tomorrow whether it’s permanent.
It’s pretty simple, folks. Discuss the topic; discuss the weather. But don’t attack each other personally.
Mrs. Godzilla
March 25th, 2009
6:51 pm
I don’t understand the opposition to the Government having the power to
prevent a major financial entity from taking down the American economy.
We can talk terms, but this kind of thing must never happen again.
I Report/ You Whine
March 25th, 2009
6:52 pm
It’s raining here.
bill mack
March 25th, 2009
6:57 pm
This is serious. Obama is a Marxist and he’s doing his best to take the US down.
RW-(the original)
March 25th, 2009
7:11 pm
DB,
I think those charts would look far different under a McCain/Palin administration. I think the Porkulous bill would have been in the same ballpark, but the pork laden Omnibus bill would have been the start of the chopping and I see no way they would be proposing a 3.6 trillion dollar budget for next year.
Jay B.,
If you’re going to ban people at all you may as well make it permanent once they’ve reached whatever threshold you use for that sort of thing. As much as it may look like it at time this isn’t a kindergarten class and timeouts aren’t going to work.
@@
March 25th, 2009
7:20 pm
For the most part, I ignore ChaddyWick. The minute I begin to read his first post, it’s obvious he’s just spoiling for a fight. Before anybody mentions his name, it’s SLAM….BAM….HERE I AM! WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ME?
In the interest of his mental health, he may need to be locked up….or out.
The Corporal
March 25th, 2009
7:38 pm
Whatever you say ……… but in the future try to read the “handle” correctly and at least direct your remarks to the right person.
DB, Gwinnettian
March 25th, 2009
8:02 pm
RW, just my .02, but I think you’d need a lot more cutting than McCain would be capable of pulling off to change those charts much.
Of course you and I have a fundamental disagreement about what kind of spending is needed; I think we need to rebuild the infrastructure and phase out our reliance on a for-profit health insurance system for working americans, replacing it with a single-payer.
Compounding this is a horrible, horrible hit we’ve taken with the banking/pretend-banking investment community building up a big crap-pile, of course. but the problems in the previous paragraph would be here, crap-pile or no crap-pile.
Dave R
March 25th, 2009
8:19 pm
Mrs. G, the opposition to taking over these failed institutions by the government is that if one person gets a bailout, everybody else will get a bailout, and then NO ONE, from the people who run them to the people who don’t do their homework before throwing their money at them, will ever learn the lesson that they shouldn’t do that again.
You can’t and shouldn’t be protected from failure, and it is certainly not the government’s role in which to do the protecting.
Life’s tough – get a helmet.
Not a government.
Dave R
March 25th, 2009
8:21 pm
Jay, I vote Chad to be permanent.
If you’re asking for input . . .
Oh, and consider banning Taxpayer as well. I know he’s not on your list but posting other people’s writings doesn’t a good blogger make.
vlscpa
March 25th, 2009
9:26 pm
It’s working WAY better than Charles Manson’s plan, for Helter Skelter, and I think that chaos is what they want. We’re heading to Walker Percy’s LOVE IN THE RUINS.
RGB
March 25th, 2009
9:37 pm
People with shallow intellectual capability always reach out to something that affected Bush’s life a few decades ago–but has not since he became born again. But that, too, is a problem for the statists. We just can’t have a power greater than government.
Know two things. First, Obama will add more indebtedness to our country in the next 10 years than the cumulative total of all presidents–from Washington to G.W. Bush. Second, if Obama were to actually pay for his proposed 2010 budget, he would have to tax 100% of the earnings of every citizen making $75,000 or more. That’s right, 100%. Though Bush and the Republicans overspent, they look positively thrifty compared to Obama and Both Democrat Houses of Congress.
If you think there’s any good news in any of this, there isn’t. It will not only affect you and me but our children, grandchildren, and their children as well. Our collective standards of living just took a nosedive from which we will never recover. The loss of freedom is frightening since government growth usurps freedom.
Margaret Thatcher said it aptly when she stated that the problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money to spend.
It is ironic that the very presidential candidate this storied newspaper endorsed will be contributory to its continued decline. The dreadful business economy being continued by Obama and the Democrat Congress will be significantly contributory to a declining advertising environment. Tonight there are 90 more people “benefiting” from Mr. Obama’s plan.
May God save the United States of America.
MikeH
March 25th, 2009
9:46 pm
Ok… at what point does it become apparent enough that the government’s answer to everything lately is to have it’s hand in everything, or to make a mechanism available to do so? And at what point does the nagging thought kick in that the government has one legal means of imposing it’s will on the private lives and operations of those with whom it is a “partner” with, but which that same “partner” does not have; that being military and police force?
Come on folks… wise up. In the short time this country has existed it has become THE nation of choice for so many because THE PEOPLE have been driven to do, make and be the best. We have constructed a way of life and a lifestyle that is sought after, and emulated, and has spread to other countries. People DIE TRYING TO GET HERE.
All this done despite repeated attempts by some to use governing power to become the great equalizer in the name of “protecting us from ourselves”.
History proves that this extent of governmental intervention is indicative of societies that set the bar to the lowest common denominator. (We made it through the depression era despite the admitted post-fact shortfall of the government’s initiatives).
Why can’t we STOP SELLING OURSELVES SHORT and get our lips off the asses of public officials that either can’t or don’t hold private jobs and seek their living and glory through means of governing others !??!