Cease The Seizing Already

Don't most totalitarian governments begin with a power grab? Why does the prevailing philosophy believe that the current economic crisis can be solved if only they had more power?

[Washington Post]Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner today told Congress the administration will seek unprecedented power to seize non-bank financial companies whose collapse could jeopardize the economy, a move Geithner said would have allowed the government to bail out insurance giant American International Group at a far lower cost to taxpayers.

The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.

Allowing the Treasury Department to take over a broader range of companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, would mark a significant shift from the existing model of financial regulation, which relies on independent agencies that are shielded from the political process.

Every despot may start out with good intentions, but we know where that leads don't we? Our country succeeds as much as it does precisely because we have separation of powers. That separation extends not just to the three branches of the Federal government and the States, but also extends to the separation between the public and private sectors.

Using such flimsy justifications as "could jeopardize the economy" has frightening overtones; it is a scary pretext that can be extended to mean anything. Important as the economy is, doing "anything" to protect it is distinctly un-American.

We have collectively made made some poor choices financially, and we are reaping those consequences now -- some pretty harsh. But I'd rather take my lumps today and wake up to try again tomorrow, than have the government swoop in to "fix" things and wake up to a Brave New World of their making.