Accountability of the U.S. Treasury

No one would like to be in Hank Paulson’s place, even John Snow. While Mr. Snow lacked affability, his credentials made up for it. His fit as Treasury Secretary was not good. In 2004 it was revealed Snow’s private brokers had bought ten million dollars worth of debt from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Two years later in May of 2006 he resigned as Secretary of the Treasury. It seems John Snow had an eye for economics. Does Henry Paulson? According to Wikipedia in 2006 Goldman Sachs' mortgage-bond division issued 83 home-loan-backed bonds valued at $44.5 billion. In the “Sub Prime” sector it grew its business by 59% from 2005, offloading some $12.9 billion onto fund managers. In the midst of a George Bush lame duck presidency, is this man appropriately qualified to decide where billions of tax-payers dollars are spent to ensure the future economic health of the United States? This dilemma is a metaphor of the problems within the Republican party. When the federal government is coerced into loosening regulation and a majority of those in government also wield power in corporate America, only God can save us. God has been aced out of the picture along with the American taxpayer, and now we are paying the price. Although no one may remember, there was an “Energy Crisis” in the l970’s. Lines for gasoline stretched around the block. Highway speed limits were reduced to “double nickels,” and automobiles almost immediately became more economical. Toyotas and Hondas flooded the market as the Japanese proved their prowess at making cars. (The Japanese also held the upper hand producing affordable quality electronics.) How did these vehicles come to fruition so quickly? Ask Bill Gates, because he tried to do a similar thing forcing his Internet Explorer into the Windows operating system. (Netscape was the leading web browser at the time) As a result Microsoft was indicted, convicted, and regulated by the federal government. Another example of this divestiture was the l984 break up of AT&T into smaller Baby Bell companies. There was a period in United States history where affluent business connoisseurs also were our law-makers. Anti-trust legislation always should be enacted to prevent these corporate monopolies from bankrupting our country while becoming rich. In recent decades there has been a distinct pattern of foul play in the private sector markets beginning with the Savings and Loan Scandal of the l980’s and 90’s. Enron followed in 2001. It would behoove Hank Paulson, the federal government, and the American people to review these scandals, because they are not dissimilar from the credit crisis we are having today. What is interesting is these diverse industries are failing at the same time. It was not until the Chrysler Corporation began to fail in the late l970’s that America began to pay attention to this Energy Crisis. What would prevent these failures? Americans are and should be asking whether these industries should be bailed out by our federal government. Evidently the patron of the Cape Fear Barbecue and Chicken Restaurant who booed Barack Obama thinks, “No.” Dennis Miller feels the same way. Should a Capitalist nation continue to bail out fraudulent and irresponsible investment in the private sector? The question is being asked why these companies are failing, and what should have been done to prevent it. In terms of the automakers it is clear. After the Energy Crisis of the l970’s the legislation that was enacted to solve the problems slowly was repealed. The speed limit crept back up to 70 m.p.h., and gas-guzzling Sport Utility Vehicles became the rage. Prudence and conservation were abandoned and for over a decade we in the United States have been living in excess with no fear of energy repercussions. The United States has fallen behind in all of our markets including energy. The majority of our time and money has been spent on one man, Osama Bin Laden. One man brought down the world’s Super Power. Oversight in terms of historical perspective is imperative to the success of any nation. Immediate gratification on any level results in eventual failure. Religion attempts to teach us these things, but that too has been “spun” by media and corporate America. A free market is the ultimate litmus test for responsible behavior, and if companies fail it is because they are not looking out for the best interests of the nation. As economic stimulus money seeps into the hands of AIG and others, still it is continuing to be spent on stockholder dividends, salaries, and benefits. This is the plague of making companies public on Wall Street, because the former philosophical foundations of each industry seem to wane in lieu of corporate “Get Rich Quick” schemes. America’s economy has become moving money around rather than producing goods and services. This ailing economy will not be resurrected until we once again begin to produce money from goods and services. America is and should be a role model of industry, because like Great Britain once we excelled in assembly-line manufacturing. Allowing Henry Paulson to decide how his own industry should be disciplined and repaired is like asking General Motors and General Electric how to fix global warming. You are asking the cause of the problem to find a solution. Until accountability surfaces the spin will continue.