Administration Seeks an Out On Bailout Rules for Firms

[lanlady]

Source: Washington Post

Administration Seeks an Out On Bailout Rules for Firms
Officials Worry Constraints Set by Congress Deter Participation

By Amit R. Paley and David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, April 4, 2009; A01

The Obama administration is engineering its new bailout initiatives in a way that it believes will allow firms benefiting from the programs to avoid restrictions imposed by Congress, including limits on lavish executive pay, according to government officials.

Administration officials have concluded that this approach is vital for persuading firms to participate in programs funded by the $700 billion financial rescue package.

The administration believes it can sidestep the rules because, in many cases, it has decided not to provide federal aid directly to financial companies, the sources said. Instead, the government has set up special entities that act as middlemen, channeling the bailout funds to the firms and, via this two-step process, stripping away the requirement that the restrictions be imposed, according to officials.

Although some experts are questioning the legality of this strategy, the officials said it gives them latitude to determine whether firms should be subject to the congressional restrictions, which would require recipients to turn over ownership stakes to the government, as well as curb executive pay.

The administration has decided that the conditions should not apply in at least three of the five initiatives funded by the rescue package.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303910.html?hpid=topnews

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Hope, change, yeah, fuhgeddaboutit.

[Possumpoint]

1. A President, Any President

that decides that he/she doesn't have to play by the rules set by law needs to be brought up short. That should have happened to GWB and needs to happen to Obama. I'm tired of the President playing king.

[ananda]

11. Hear hear!

The imperial presidency sucks.

[liberal N proud]

2. This is from people inside the administration not Obama

Read down the article:

Obama himself has called for these limits. "We've got to make certain that taxpayer funds are not subsidizing excessive compensation packages on Wall Street," he said earlier this year.

[pattmarty]

5. It's HIS people AND HIS administration. I don't like the way he..........

..............is handling the financial mess so far, and am beginning to have my doubts about what kind of "change" we're gonna get.

[biopowertoday]

7. and you need to read "earlier this year" . His people don't

talk and do these angles without his say so.

[pam4water]

3. All I can really sau is WTF and did anyoen watch Bill Moyers last night.

[bvar22]

8. Bill Moyers is a Right Wing Shill Obama hater....

...or so some on DU would have you believe.

That is two shows in a row that Moyers has criticized Obama's Bailout Plan.
That shows you who he is working for!

[pattmarty]

9. You forgot another RW shill , (also hated at DU) Ralph Nader.

He had an article out last week I believe about taxes and deficits.

[pam4water]

12. I guess Obama is going to have to hire someone to watch Bill's Show for bias like Cheney did :O

:sarcasm:

[nashville_brook]

4. holy fugging shit. i'm really trying to stay "hopeful" but i'm getting beat down further everyday.

[PSPS]

6. Another day, another Obama failure

It should be becoming obvious to just about everyone by now that Obama isn't up to the task. This is just the latest example of his being all talk and no walk.

I think it was yesterday's FT that explained how Obama's "mark to fraud" scheme was going to be exploited by banks. They are going to use some of their taxpayer bailout to buy up other banks' "toxic assets" because, thanks to Obama, they will get an instant 600% "return" once they're made whole by, again, the taxpayer. In other words, the banks will get to double-dip into the treasury. "Public-private partnership" my ass.

And now this. Heaven forbid that we deny our financial overlords their failure bonuses.

Thanks, President Milquetoast.

[lanlady]

10. Milquetoast, LOL

That's exactly how I'm starting to think about Obama. I hope I'm wrong, I really want to believe in the guy. But the picture I'm getting is of one who'll mollycoddle The Man but stiff the working class of this country.