No, The Big Banks Have Not "Paid Back" Government Bailouts and Subsidies

ZeroHedge ^ | 12/6/2010 | George Washington

[FromLori]

[CutePuppy]

The tricky part will be finding solutions that are equitable...

Before we even get to start finding solutions, we first have to understand what the real problems are that we are trying to solve and how they have gotten to be the problems, i.e., their causes. Without properly identifying the sources / causes of the problems the "solutions" will only create more, bigger problems.

Progressives plan, spend a lot of time (decades if necessary) and use phony "populism" to convince people that their problems are due to "private" / capitalist "greed" of the industries they are interested in [government] taking over. They advance their "government is the solution to your problems" one regulation, mandate and tax at a time.

Banking ("Wall Street" / "BIG and Greedy Banks") - "reformed" starting with FDR's creation of Fannie Mae.

Pharmaceutical ("BIG Pharma") and health care insurance ("BIG and unaffordable") - "reformed" starting with LBJ's Medicare.

Oil ("BIG Oil") and coal ("Dirty Coal") - regulated into oblivion through "environment protection"...

If, through populism, the progressives can convince people (especially when having Republicans or conservatives join them) that the problem is BIG BUSINESS / BIG INDUSTRY, then the "solutions" will range from full government takeover / nationalization (preferred by progressives / Marxists) to tighter, more expansive government "regulation" (the only way the Republicans know how to fight nationalization or centralization, if they lose the fight over how the "problem" has been defined).

However, if the Republicans don't join in the populist disinformation campaign but instead keep pointing out that the real problem is and has been the burden of overregulation and encroachment of the BIG GOVERNMENT into the industries that have been "reformed" and "fixed" before (or in other states or countries), then the field of battle shifts to the right and the "solution" would be relaxing the grip of the government on the industry-specific regulations, mandates, tariffs and taxes.

Simply, the argument is that one-size-fits-all government "solution" is the "solution" that is "Too Big to Fail," that allowing more competition will bring better solutions to the individual "problems" that government intrusion into industry has brought in the first place.

There have not been many conservatives in positions of real power in the last three decades who made "The government is not a solution to our problems, government is the problem" argument convincingly, loudly and often enough to make it stick around long enough.