On Oct 30, 2010, at 10:59 AM, Jim Devine wrote:
Shane:
Congress has nothing to do with it. The Office of President has
virtually unlimited constitutional power. Congress wasn't needed
for FDR to declare a "bank holiday." Absolutely nothing stood in
the way of Obama's declaring a national emergency (nobody pretends
that it wasn't a real emergency) and placing insolvent too-big-to-
fail banks into receivership.<<
Marv:
Yes, and it's also been suggested he could have used his powers to
declare a national healthcare emergency...
By whom? there was and is no "healthcare emergency" in any possible
meaning of the word "emergency." And the financial crisis, as I said,
was universally agreed to be a real emergency.
I'm with Marv here. ;-) I'm afraid that if Obama had instituted
financial reform (or anything else) by fiat without some sort of mass
support, it would have evoked even more popular antagonism than it
did...
Have you forgotten that in January 2009 there was nobody more despised
by the mass public than the Wall Street swindlers? Obama was
overwhelmingly popular, had massive majorities in both Houses, and by
putting the insolvent too-big-to-fail Financial Houses into federal
receivership he would have become a positive hero, a new FDR. The
only reason he didn't was because he was resolutely against doing any
such thing. Bought and paid for.
Of course he couldn't have instituted financial (or any other
"reform") by fiat. The powers to write *laws* and to *appropriate*
money are the only positive powers not held by the Office of
President. But to put the Financial Houses into receivership was both
well within his authority and had all the mass support anyone could
ask for. He didn't want to. Bought and paid for.
Shane Mage
The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each
according to his need.
The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each
according to his greed.
Joe Stack (1956-2010)
_______________________________________________
pen-l mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
