Federalism and America's Financial Crisis

The American Thinker ^ | April 03, 2009 | Lawrence Wasden

[Scanian]

Recently, I joined the attorneys general of all the states in asking President Obama to reexamine actions by a federal agency permanently blocking states from enforcing their consumer protection laws with regard to certain financial institutions. I am also joining a brief asking the United States Supreme Court to hear a case that permitted this agency to block state enforcement of a state law against a national bank that was violating the state law.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is the federal agency responsible for oversight of national banks. The OCC's unprecedented seizure of regulatory authority prudently exercised by the states has contributed to the current financial crisis in our nation and run roughshod over constitutional principles of federalism.

To stop states from enforcing their own laws, the OCC relies upon the National Bank Act, which was enacted during the Civil War. Until recently, our nation has operated under and benefited from a system that various commentators, the Supreme Court, and even the OCC itself have described as a "dual banking system." In fact, commentators attribute the dual banking system's origins to the National Bank Act. It would thus come as a surprise today to the drafters of the National Bank Act to learn that the OCC, pursuant to new regulations it has promulgated, uses 100-year-old National Bank Act provisions as the justification for its assault on state law.

[Scanian]

"The OCC's unprecedented seizure of regulatory authority prudently exercised by the states has contributed to the current financial crisis in our nation and run roughshod over constitutional principles of federalism."

[x_plus_one]

Our financial crises started with the 'meltdown' of a bank in Atlanta and is due to toxic assets invented by democrats. The emergency to stop the bleeding was put forth on the assumption that computers, contracts and the financial machine were spinning out of control.

That was the first mistake. Shutting down the banks and wall street or some other circuit breaker to change the process would have kept control of the financial meltdown. As things are today, there are no controls, no accountability over our nations finances, the fox is in the henhouse and money is evaporating as fast as it is printed.

[PubliusMM]

Time to put Big Brother back in the box. Quash the imperial congress and remove the pretender to the office of POTUS.

We must reclaim our country.