The other day one of my favorite conservative adversaries was complaining about the 'socialist takeover' of our government. "I guess if that's what they want, fine, but I just worry about the future of my children and grandchildren". Interestingly, his issue of the moment was not a public option in the health care system (I'm guessing that he also fears a future where one or more of his grandchildren, despite their hard work and best efforts may still be denied medical care). Instead, what still bugged him was the government-arranged 'resignation' of GM CEO Rick Wagoner, even though that happened six months ago.
It must be said that the government, now owners of 60% of GM, were simply exercising the same oversight that boards of directors have applied to millions of American workers.
But no matter. In the end, I agree with him. I wish the government didn't have to spend a minute of its time or a dollar of tax payer money worrying about GM...or Countrywide Financial...or CitiGroup...or any of the rest of them. I wish the people hired and paid to run these entities had simply done their jobs.
But they didn't. Consequently, I do support the intrusion of government by an order of magnitude--but in a specific way. Not in the role of holding the reins of private industry. Instead, when necessary, slapping the hands that hold those reins until they bleed.
During the Bush years we saw the evil genius of reactionary thought played out transparently. As was evident, part of that playbook called for repeating the Reagan mantra, "government isn't the solution, it's the problem". A fundamental tenet of this creed is that all government workers are lazy, fumbling bureaucrats who couldn't hold a job in the 'real world'--unless, of course, they are firemen, policemen, members of the armed forces, the nurses in VA hospitals who care for those servicemen and women, members of your family, or yourself. On the other hand, underlying evidence in support of this cynicism came regularly in the form of 'Brownie' mishandling the FEMA response to Hurricane Katrina...or now, the retrospective failure of Chris Cox and his cronies exercising oversight on the likes of Bernie Madoff, or for that matter, all of Wall Street.
What's that you say? The people I appointed to these jobs were idiots or co-conspirators? No! The government is the problem, don't you see?
The fact of the matter is that the SEC is exactly the type of place where government should be 'pOwning' business. Its powers of punishment should not be limited to financial penalties, but also incorporate criminal recourse. The entities they oversee should be taxed to fund 100% of this enforcement, just like we're expected to pay 100% of our speeding tickets and the salaries of the policemen who issue them. And the budget for those agencies of enforcement should be multiplied until success is realized.
As has been reported frequently of late, a year after the financial meltdown, the financial system not only has not reformed--it's actually worse than it was two years ago. Unregulated greed and unmitigated gall never left 'the Street'. The faces may have changed, but the practices have not. The only difference is that now, the successor clones are using 'house money'--our tax dollars--to help place their new reckless bets.
I have an acquaintance with a spoiled young daughter in college. In the process of failing to bother with any academics during her freshman year at a lovely campus in California, she also managed to wreck the nice new car Daddy had bought her.
His response was quick and firm: "that's it! I've had it! The next car she wants she's going to have to research herself--I'm not going to just go pick it out for her!"
This is where we are with Wall Street. They have no fear of Daddy, because they know Daddy has no teeth.
Time to sharpen up the incisors.
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