TOO BIG TO FAIL?

The banks want less governmental oversight? According to a comment in today’s news, someone in the treasury department, who is a holdover from the Bush administration, is requesting less governmental interference regarding how the bailout money should or should not be spent, including whether it should be loaned to foreign companies or withheld from domestic consumers. First of all, how appropriate that an administration which prided itself on fiscal non-intervention should seek to reinsert itself with more of the same failed rhetoric that got us into this mess in the first place! The notion of deregulation which led to our fiscal collapse is making another attempt to steer us away from the real culprits in this fiasco—the banks themselves. This Bush appointee essentially argues that no matter how well-intentioned the government may be in its oversight, that it is in no position to make requirements of banks, which are in a much better position to judge credit-worthiness, etc. If that were really the case, there would be no demand for governmental oversight in the first place! The banks—especially the large insolvent ones, lost their opportunity for less governmental oversight when they accepted the first bailout dollars. Does it really need to be explained to them that the American public is unwillingly loaning them money which they don’t have and passing along higher taxes to their grandchildren to bail out banks which were fundamentally under-regulated and were allowed to grow so large that they pose a threat to the stability of the national and world economy? Banks should be nationalized and broken up into small independent banks which are much easier to regulate and far easier to take over and recapitalize or sell in case of failure, without jeopardizing our banking system and our economy. The theory of “too big to fail” has sustained another torpedo strike in this latest congressional hearing, and now Gulliver finds himself protesting by way of his spokesperson that the Lilliputians have restrained him without cause and are seeking to govern his free exercise. Furthermore, Gulliver claims that he knows a lot more about his business than the Lilliputians do, and therefore deserves to proceed unimpeded to conduct business which he feels is more beneficial to his interests. Additionally, Gulliver feels that the Lilliputians have no rights in their own domain to restrict his movements or to make demands regarding his care and maintenance, including the cleanup and removal of waste generated by himself. The scale of Gulliver’s corporate ego is only matched by his disdain of the little people around him who are desperately attempting to go about their daily lives unimpeded by the giant in their midst. Similarly, the Spanish Armada considered itself too big to fail until it encountered a much more maneuverable British Navy. We Lilliputians have witnessed the rise of big business, big banking, corporate greed and mismanagement, and we know when Gulliver has overstepped his bounds and is in need of restraint. Indeed, the whole world agrees with us that a day of reckoning has come for those who endanger the fragile lives of Lilliputians and many of their companions throughout the world. There are those who argue that the use of the term “nationalize” is too harsh and polarizing, when in-fact it is prudent and necessary for the legal representatives of the Lilliputians to make it clear to Gulliver that he is an unwieldy giant who is trying to maneuver in a land where he is devouring more than his share of the land’s abundance, that he is bankrupt and no longer welcome in his present form, and that it is not okay with the Lilliputians for him to bribe and corrupt their government officials in order to curry their favor and influence their voting and to make-off with any additional resources, nor is it alright to enslave their children and grandchildren with false promises of easy credit and beneficial results to ensure another round of banking and wall street bailouts. Too big to fail? Better to ask “how are the mighty fallen?” and proceed with the governmental oversight which is now necessary to restrain Gulliver before he continues to maim and destroy any more of our precious national resources and citizens. If it were possible to find a mirror large enough to reflect the image of Gulliver, perhaps he would realize that he has been shipwrecked in a storm of his own creation, that he has been beached in a land where giants are not welcome, and that he is now restrained by the cords of the people who live here in order to protect the land and her citizens from further encroachments. Nationalize the banks!

Mark Overt Skilbred