BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

No one really knows what to expect on Monday.  But, the one thing we do know is that over the weekend the Treasury Department was dotting the “i’s” and crossing the “t’s” on its new regulatory plan proposal and bracing for the fight that is sure to erupt this week.  While the Treasury was making new rules, the Fed was churning out new money to auction to the banks in April.

The two hundred page regulatory plan was released late Friday.  We should all know by now that anything that is released late on Friday is sure to be attacked on Monday.  It has long been a Washington practice to try to slide releases out and under the radar on Friday afternoons if there is an inkling the release could cause a stir.

To think that anything the Treasury Department or the Fed does at this point won’t draw fire from somewhere is a fantasy.  We are in that familiar situation of no one being happy and everyone wanting to change something to make the newest resolution more favorable to him.  I sit among the crowd, although I have no voice in the fray.

It goes without question that we need a new approach to money and the economy.  Anyone who thinks what we have now is working has been asleep.  But, I’m quite afraid that this new plan is a bit like bombing Iraq and removing Saddam.  It will have no effect on the present crisis.  As with the invasion of Iraq, we lost sight of the real problem.  If we become distracted by the arguments that will obviously be propounded by all sides in the economic sphere, we will lose sight of the real crisis.  The Fed has stepped forward and opened its purse to Wall Street.  Yet, all the Treasury Blueprints and Fed’s printing presses are doing nothing for you and me on Main Street.

Some Democrats and consumer groups criticized the plan for serving the needs of financial markets but not consumers. Former and current regulators hinted at a likely fight over proposals to strip authority from agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the head of another imperiled body, the Office of Thrift Supervision, was dismissive of the Treasury blueprint in an e-mail Friday to his employees. Other officials worried whether the effort to streamline financial oversight would lead to a massive disruption and elimination of positions across the federal government.

I really appreciate the line that “Other officials worried whether the effort to streamline financial over sight would lead to a massive disruption and elimination of positions across the federal government.”  I doubt those “other officials” were concerned when the steel mills closed down or the sock manufacturing company closed its doors causing “massive disruption” to the lives of its employees and to the towns and cities where those fired employees live.

What to expect on Monday? 

The plan, which is scheduled to be officially unveiled tomorrow by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., got a mixed reception on Capitol Hill with differences of opinion emerging within the ranks of Democrats and Republicans.

Once again, I’m going to put my confidence in Senator Chris Dodd to ask the right questions.

…Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, declined to give the administration credit for the proposals, saying its earlier inaction was responsible for the financial problems. “Regrettably, the Administration’s blueprint, while deserving of careful consideration, would do little if anything to alleviate the current crisis — which was brought on by a failure of will,” Dodd said in a statement.

At least Senator Dodd won’t be distracted from the present situation.  Perhaps, he realizes that if we don’t “fix” the present situation, there will be nothing left to regulate.