“Emergency Economic Stabilization Act” on The Daily Caller

The Federal Reserve, which has the power to print money, also sets its own operating budget. That’s the wrong kind of independence. Unfortunately, recent proposals to audit the Fed do not address this issue. (more)

98 American banks that received $4.2 billion in bailout money are teetering on the edge of collapse, according to the Wall Street Journal. (more)

It’s looking increasingly likely that California will get bailed out by the federal government. The Golden State is $70 billion in the hole. Analysts expect that figure to reach $150 billion within four years — and that’s not including the state’s $500 billion unfunded pension liability. Spending needs to be cut dramatically, but it won’t be; the state is too politically dysfunctional to do that. And the election of big-spender Jerry Brown will only make things worse. (Incidentally, Governor-elect Brown recently described his state’s budget problems this way: “It is much worse than I thought. I am shocked.”) (more)

An interesting dynamic is quickly surrounding the debate over the tax deal forged by President Obama and Senate Republicans. While early analysis from pundits attempted to declare either Republicans or Democrats winners, the issue is creating clear factions inside the parties, echoing what happened during the debate over the Wall Street bailout in 2008. (more)

No one seems to know the full schedule for the Democrats’ lame-duck Congress, but we know the Democratic majority has not scheduled a vote to prevent all tax rates from rising. If there is no vote on the tax cut extensions for all Americans before the end of the year, taxpayers at every income level will see their paychecks reduced as significant tax increases go into effect. The impact won’t stop with paychecks — as the tax rates for savings and investment will rise and the death tax will return in full force. This is bad for American families, small businesses and the health of our economy as a whole. (more)

A newly discovered exchange of e-mails led the House ethics committee on Friday to delay its trial of Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat accused of helping steer bailout money to a bank in which her husband owned shares. (more)

To the long list of those picking fights with banks over bad mortgages, add the Federal Reserve. (more)

There’s no doubt the main catalyst for the Tea Party movement and the motivation of other independent voters today is the out-of-control spending, bailouts, trillions in debt, and the unprecedented aggressive expansion of government into our lives, businesses, health care, and earnings, by the Obama administration, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and their allies.  The debt in the trillions dwarfs all other deficits in our nation’s history many times over, and, if it is not reversed, it will be the ruin of our country. To preserve the American Dream, millions of freedom-loving Americans are going to stand up on Election Day and demand change. (more)

Sunday marks the two-year anniversary of President Bush signing the “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act,” better known as TARP (the Troubled Assets Relief Program). (more)

Embattled Rep. Maxine Waters on Friday blamed the Bush administration for her ethics problems — saying she had to intervene with the Treasury Department on behalf of minority-owned banks seeking federal bailout funds — including one tied to her husband — because the Treasury Department wouldn’t schedule its own appointments. (more)

“But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.” — Frederic Bastiat, The Law (more)

This week, House Democratic Leadership reconvened the chamber for a special session to vote on legislation that would provide another bailout costing $26 billion. Instead of a bailout to corporations – which I oppose – this bailout was for states that have not displayed the will to balance their budgets.   We’ve seen less than satisfactory results from previous corporate bailouts, and now Democratic leadership is determined to spend billions more on this. We can’t keep going down this reckless path because it’s unsustainable. (more)

A new wave of corruption scandals is building in Washington. Or, rather, we’re beginning to see the wave come ashore. This time, it’s Democrats washing up – Charlie Rangel, Maxine Waters and a host of other representatives up on ethical and possible criminal charges.  Of course, corruption among government officials is as old as government itself.  As the clichéd fable goes, a scorpion will sting no matter what he promised the frog. (more)

Main Street may be about to get its own gigantic bailout. Rumors are running wild from Washington to Wall Street that the Obama administration is about to order government-controlled lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive a portion of the mortgage debt of millions of Americans who owe more than what their homes are worth. An estimated 15 million U.S. mortgages – one in five – are underwater with negative equity of some $800 billion. Recall that on Christmas Eve 2009, the Treasury Department waived a $400 billion limit on financial assistance to Fannie and Freddie, pledging unlimited help. The actual vehicle for the bailout could be the Bush-era Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, a sister program to Obama’s loan modification effort. HARP was just extended through June 30, 2011. (more)

The Senate voted on Thursday to include a proposed $30 billion lending program in a package of aid for small businesses, as two Republicans joined with Democrats to support the amendment. (more)

The Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) places more burdens on small banks than on big ones, exacerbating the difference between financial institutions that are too big to fail and the rest, Congressional Oversight Panel Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren told CNBC Wednesday. (more)

As politicians continue to debate how to cure our ailing economy, the American people have already made one diagnosis: more government spending is not the antidote to our economic malaise. (more)

Money madness in Washington has infected the individual states and unions. They all want more money – your money – and the Obama administration wants to give it to them. (more)

For the last few weeks a House-Senate conference committee has been at work trying to craft a final version of a financial regulation package.  One amendment offered within that committee encapsulated the entire debate on regulatory reform, pitting institutionalized bailouts against depoliticized taxpayer protections. (more)

Over the past couple of years, Washington has thrown out bailout after bailout at the national economy. Following this harrowing trend, the Democrat Majority is expected to bring yet another bailout bill to the House floor this week.  This time up, the bailout is for state governments and will cost billions in taxpayer dollars. What is worse, the Democrat Majority is once again attaching its latest bailout to a troop-funding bill. (more)