Czars and Cramdowns

The official count is in. Over 1,000,000 Americans attended Tea Parties around the country. A non-event to mainstream media. Or, is being spun by mainstream media  part of the reason these folks were out there? As more mainstream media go broke, new options will emerge. 

 America is starting to feel more and more like the old USSR. Or, even the Russia that preceded that. They had TASS and we have MSNBC. But, not for long.

Speaking of Russia, what's with all the czars? The Obama administration now has more czars than the Romanov Dynasty had. The Romanov's ruled from 1613 to 1917. In that time, they had 18 czars. Obama has 18 with the announcement of Border Czar Alan Bersin. I won't name them all, but just a few. Carol Browner, energy czar, urban czar Aldolfo Carrion, Jr. Guantanamo closure czar Daniel Fried. I don't know whether to add car czar Steve Rattner, since he may be going to jail. But, if we add him, there are 19. Are the people who run things in this administration wanting us to think like Czarist Russia? Does it make it easier to finish the job?

Then we have the cramdown. At this time there is only one official cramdown. The one where judges who handle bankruptcy proceedings that include a house. The cramdown will force the bank to accept a mortgage set by the judge. This bill hasn't passed the Senate. If passed, it would authorize the judges to modify mortgages closer to the new market value of the house. The judge could reduce principal, lower the interest rate, change the maturity, or convert it to a fixed rate. The House version, which has passed, would apply this to all mortgages, not just sub prime.

So, is this the first of many cramdowns yet to come? A health care cramdown. A cap and tax cramdown. An education cram down that doesn't address the  systemic problems with education today. But, it will appease the teachers' union, throw more money at a bad system, and add entitlements and cost. A spend trillions cramdown. An already corrupt stimulus bill" expanded" cramdown. A government nationalization cramdown.

I'm starting to make a connection between the czars and the cramdowns. You need a lot of czars to do the cramming. If the Tea Party idea expands, we will need an anti-Tea Party czar to get names and find ways to punish the attendees. Will everyone who attends a Tea Party get a tax audit?

What is happening to my country? When did the use of "czars" become acceptable to a public that despised all that Russia stood for and wanted no part of their structure. What's next?

When government can force banks to take TARP money, what's next? When government can use the bank failures as a reason for bailouts and then pass a bill that will inflict serious damage on newly bailed banks, what's next? When Barney Frank can cramdown a student who asks him a reasonable question, what's next?

And, all these czars aren't free. Plus, we all know enough about Washington politics to know the more egos you add to the massive ego pile, the more infighting you get, and less, not more, gets done. 

Enough with the czars and the cramdowns. Let's get back to being a Republic.  

Comments

[Joe Beatty]

Let us not forget the fate of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II. He was shot and his bone thrown in a pit with acid near Yekatrinaburg. Even though Nicky was an affable guy and not cruel, but he was incompetent and arrogant. Any ideas transfer to todays Tsars.