Bernanke to Engage in Another Illegal Power Grab

[kpete]

Bernanke to Engage in Another Illegal Power Grab
by: Matt Stoller
Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 08:41

Ben Bernanke's Fed today announced it's going to start buying short term commercial paper. The commercial paper market is normally used to fund solid corporate activity, but in the last few years it has become rife with questionable financing operations.

One tiny problem is that it's not legal for the Fed to do this (read Secrets of the Temple for a great book on how secretive and powerful the Fed really is). Another tiny problem is that this plan by the Fed is probably larger than the $700 billion bailout, and there's no Congressional authorization for any of this. Yet another tiny problem is that it's not going to restore confidence to the market.

more explanation at:
http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8890

[willing dwarf]

1. And antother problem

I hear that the commercial paper is basically unsecured lending. So essentially, the US treasury will be playing Gerry Bremer and we'll be Iraq... and Walmart, McDonald's FedEx and, well, Blackwater will all play Blackwater?

If as Biden said the other night, past is prologue, then as Naomi Wolfe said yesterday, Iraq was a preview of what will be played out here.

Scarey times!

[pleah]

2. K&R

[OakCliffDem]

3. Kick

[AzDar]

4. K & R ...

:kick: