by Denis Campbell

From $140 billion dollars in extra tax breaks on top of $700 billion dollars used for dividends and bonuses and buying up other banks from Treasury Czar Paulson to his big banking buddies, to a litany of executive order dodgy moves, we will indeed be in very bad shape come 20 January 2009 unless, of course, one is a pal of the outgoing Bush-Cheney Administration and their Cabinet Minister Secretaries.

Legendary circus showman and sleight of hand artist P.T, Barnum famously said, “there is a sucker born every minute, but Ma’am you might have been the minute in between.” We are now sitting by gullibly as W talks one thing to Obama and his minions try to ram and sneak through every possible bit of pork and filler they can in the last days to give their corporate buddies free reign. 

While we are unlikely to get straight answers in the USA about where banking bailout money is going, it should not go for is stockholder dividends and in these closing days of the Bush era, Congress needs to grow a pair and get this bailout under control and moving to get the banks lending again and pour money into the system vs. the pockets of the bankers who created the mess.

A source of bemused anger and puzzlement is why Congress did not force the banks to start lending money as PM Gordon Brown and Chancellor Darling did here. Why were similar terms not forced on US banks? Why is the Treasury of the US not more ‘in the game’ in terms of rewards back to us when times change and become better? Why are the American people not screaming to endure their representatives in Congress do not allow these banks to pay bonuses or dividends with this bailout money? Where are our shareholder rights as taxpayer shareholders?

The biggest criticism is this so-called bailout provides too much dictatorial power to the Treasury Secretary and Department. Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlett on TV’s ‘The West Wing,’ made famous the line… “Break’s Over.”

So too is ours.

It was a giddy few days of celebration this past week and little did we notice through clouds of euphoria and tears, the continued misdirection and general malfeasance the last days of the Bush Administration continue to present. As Charley notes in his article below about Paulson’s swindle, Chairman Mao wrote “Make a noise in the east and strike in the west.”

And there seems little we can before the magical 60-days left moment date of 21 November. On that date any order signed by President Bush can be rendered null and void because the incoming President, as Bush 43 himself did with VP Dick Cheney, can undo a myriad of rushed through executive orders and signing statements (where the President gets to place his own special interpretation on any piece of legislation by signing) at 12:01 on 20 January 2009, his first Executive Order shutting down the Federal Register printing press.

Why is that important? Because a law is not a law, regulation not a regulation, a signing statement not a signing statement and/or an Executive order is not an order until it appears in print, 60-days after passage
So Congress, Break’s Over. Use your majority to block these crazy last minute moves and ensure the Obama Administration gets out of the blocks running.