Apr
07
Where is the Government Control of Big Business headed?
Posted (Van Santos) in Business on April-7-2009

When the news came out that President Obama, essentially, fired GM CEO Rick Wagoner I was blown away – and HIGHLY worried that the lines between government and business had finally blurred too much. I strongly believe the government should not tell a company how it should function. If the company cannot function on its own, the company should cease to exist.

My level of concern jump yet again as I found out the Obama Administration refused the repayment of TARP loans from a number of small banks. Why? I think Stuart Varney has hit the nail on the head:

The government wants to control the banks, just as it now controls GM and Chrysler, and will surely control the health industry in the not-too-distant future. Keeping them TARP-stuffed is the key to control. And for this intensely political president, mere influence is not enough. The White House wants to tell ‘em what to do. Control. Direct. Command.

It is not for nothing that rage has been turned on those wicked financiers. The banks are at the core of the administration’s thrust: By managing the money, government can steer the whole economy even more firmly down the left fork in the road.

If the banks are forced to keep TARP cash — which was often forced on them in the first place — the Obama team can work its will on the financial system to unprecedented degree. That’s what’s happening right now.

Paranoid? Maybe. Until one sees even more indicators of what the administration has in mind. On “Face The Nation”, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said the following:

When, in the future — or I’ll just say, if, in the future, banks need exceptional assistance in order to get through this, then we’ll make sure that assistance comes with conditions, not just to protect the tax payer but to make sure this is the kind of restructuring necessary for them to emerge stronger. And where that requires a change of management of the board, we’ll do that.

While I can understand conditions on assistance, there are a large number of fiscally sound financial institutions forced to take TARP cash. Yes, Forced. If the company was forced to take cash from the government, this implies any company forced to take cash will also be forced to change management as the government sees fit. Something is not “conditional” when you have no options to begin with.

Why does the Administration want significant control of the financial markets? I my opinion, it is not due to the current recession, it is due to Europe and the G20.

G-20 leaders declared a crackdown on tax havens, tighter regulation of hedge funds and a new supervisory body to flag problems in the world financial system.

A sweeping G-20 communique appeared to bridge the gap between the United States and major European countries over how far to push changes on regulation to curb the market excesses that led to the current crisis.
Marco Annunziata, chief economist of the UniCredit Group in London, said the G-20 accord gives the U.S. “very little” while Europeans got most of what they wanted.

The agreement out of the G20, essentially, gives regulatory power over our economy and finical system to international interests – mainly France and Germany. This is huge as EU interests and priorities regarding economics are NOT the same as US interests.

If you thought the Bush administration was power hungry, and it was, you need to wake up and see what is going on now. The current administration is not looking out for U.S. interests, as it said it was going to under the “change” mantra; no, the administration is marching free enterprise and capitalism right into the hands of European controlled socialism.

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Comments:
hal on April 7th, 2009 at 3:01 pm #

The government’s moves are indeed a bit on the scary side. Ominous even.

They continue to make moves that are ringing the death knell of the dollar and I fully expect inflation to slam us hard soon enough.

And I’m kind of thinking that maybe it’s time to start putting back a small stash of gold, silver, and non-perishable food stuffs just to be on the safe side.

I’ve been tracking silver and gold with the widget http://www.learcapital.com/exactprice and I am surprised that in the face of such moves by the G20 and our government that more people aren’t investing in gold and silver. Though I see that the IMF dumped a mess of gold on the market so that maybe why it was driven down.

But all these moves on banks and companies by the government boils down to one thing for me: Fascism.

Van Santos on April 7th, 2009 at 3:55 pm #

@Hal

I agree with you, the actions taken really are going to impact the dollar. Likewise, I suspect inflation will be a huge negative force within the next few years. Oddly enough, I started really tracking the price of silver and gold in the last four months and I’m surprised to see the price hasn’t moved nearly as much as I had expected. There is some wisdom in considering the stashing of gold.

The idea of “too big to fail” is very misguided and, from my point of view, we are quickly approaching a fascist and a socialist state. Not in the classical sense, rather a “new” take on an old idea. I don’t see armies walking down the street, but I do see the government controlling industry. The big question I have is this: Will the masses understand what is going on, or will it be too late before action can be taken?

Thanks for stopping in!

hal on April 8th, 2009 at 8:14 am #

@Van

Yeah, things are going to look different at first in this, as you describe, “‘new’ take on an old idea.”

My thoughts though are that only for a time unless it goes unchecked then it will degenerate into more of the “classical look” because by that point the enslavement will have been complete and there will no longer be a need to hide.

Haha. I just read back over that paragraph and I sound so like a conspiracy theorist. I’m not. But I do feel there that things are dire for freedom and liberty in America. And whether it does happen hinges on the answer to your question, “Will the masses understand…?”

I hope so.

hal on April 8th, 2009 at 8:22 am #

Oh, and yeah. Your assessment of gold and silver not moving a whole lot as being a surprise is pretty much my feeling too. Though there’s a number who understand it all better then I do that seem to think that the big banks and governments are working at keeping it down right now as it goes to their interests for fiat currency control.

Interestingly, did you see that cities are now returning to a practice of issuing their own currencies?

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-04-05-scrip_N.htm

Also, if you haven’t seen this you might want to check it out:
http://www.truthin08.org/

Van Santos on April 8th, 2009 at 12:05 pm #

Ah, so many thing here.

First, yes, I did see that cities are beginning to issue their own currency. The very first thought I had about that subject was… is this even legal? The very next thought I had was about the “Liberty Dollar” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Dollar

When this company started issuing alternative forms of currency, the gov came a knocking…

I’ve also seen rumors/hints that banks/governments are holding the price of gold down. There was speculation of that practice when a number of EU/UAE countries sold large chunks of the metal beginning last October. Even if that is the case now, once inflation hits, the price will climb.

As to the masses understanding, I fear not. I believe the only way such understanding would take place is if there is a MAJOR interruption in the comforts of life – food/medicine/oil. Then everyone would sit-up and take notice.

As it appears you and view the new look -> classical look scenario, I fear people wouldn’t see an major impact until it is too late.

I don’t think it’s conspiracy theorist, though some people make look at it that way. It’s simply taking a look at events and saying when situations like this in the past have taken place, x & y usually happen. It does not mean it will happen…

I’ll check out Truthin08 this evening.

hal on April 9th, 2009 at 1:42 pm #

It doesn’t appear to be illegal, not yet anyway. The Liberty dollar is a good example. It all depends on who’s in charge. If it’s a government I guess it’s okay. If you get my meaning.

Van Santos on April 9th, 2009 at 2:26 pm #

Yes… I do. ;-)

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