Posted on 03/24/2009 5:42:08 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Obama administration will ask 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, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said this morning.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner is set to argue for the new powers at a hearing today on Capitol Hill about the furor over bonuses paid to executives at American International Group, which the government has propped up with about $180 billion in federal aid. Administration officials have said that the proposed authority would have allowed them to seize AIG last fall and wind down its operations at less cost to taxpayers.
The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.
Geithner will testify alongside Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee that begins at 10 a.m. Although the stated focus of the hearing is the controversial bonus payments AIG awarded its employees after receiving the government bailout, Geithner will try to advance the argument that the government needs more tools in its arsenal in order to right the nation's economic ship. ad_icon
"We need resolution authority to go in and be able to change contracts, be able to change the business model, unwind what doesn't work," Gibbs said on CNN in one of several morning television interviews aimed at promoting the administration proposal. " . . . This is the exact type of authority that will allow us to deal with the problems in AIG . . . that will address the systemic risk without having to put [a failing firm] in bankruptcy."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Now the real power grab begins. POS wants to waste no time. He knows his poll numbers are dropping, his support is fading and he has little time to achieve his goal to take America down.
The forcing our children to perform community service was just a proposal until the House passed it. Now if the Senate passes it and the President signs it, it’s gone way beyond ‘just a proposal’.
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They can’t force children to do anything. The parents make that choice. What do you think they will do? Arrest 50 million or more Americans? They hope that people will allow them to rule. I would refuse and would not back down no matter what they threatened.
Geithner is an idiot. He hasn’t even got any of his 23 deputy Treasury officials appointed. His TALF is more robbery of the taxpayers.
Don;t give this pipsqueak any broad powers
Like they give a f**k !
This is a pure power grab which reminds me of how Mussolini took over Italy in the 1920’s. The idea was to become socialist but allow some free enterprise and make it a corporate state under complete govt. control. This is Obama’s plan. It is worse because it is not only socialism but pacifism on an international scale. This is tyranny. But, where are the Pubs? Why no opposition to this power grab? They just seem mesmerized and wussy when it comes to opposing this naif in the WH. And make no mistake. If this naif were not black, the Pubs would not be so PC in their criticism.
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