Update (3/24/09): In a revealing interview with Fox News, Rep. Mike Sherman (D-CA) stated that the Treasury Department was trying to find a way to “avoid democracy.” Earlier in the day, Rep. Sherman grilled Treasury Secretary Geithner for his lack of transparency with the Congress and the American people when it came to executive compensation. Kudos to Sherman for standing up to the administration’s “unprecedented” power grab.
Funny how positions change once a political party takes office. For the past eight years liberals constantly carped about how the executive branch of the government held too much power. Now, it seems the Obama administration believes it needs more power. While the Federal government can currently seize banks before they go under, President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner are now contending they should be allowed to seize a host of other types of financial companies including hedge funds, insurance companies and investment firms. From the Washington Post:
The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document.
The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.
Giving the Treasury secretary authority over a broader range of companies 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, according to the document
The
story adds, “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.”
Anyone else want to give the executive branch more power? It seems we should be busy decentralizing power, not giving more power to a select few individuals. Seemingly, by the day, America is growing closer and closer to an effective oligarchy and further away from its Constitutional system of checks and balances.
