I Agree

Not suprisingly, I agree with the curmudgenly commentator about the Chrysler bankruptcy.

The actions of the Administration, inserting itself into the reorganization (what is a Car Czar anyway?) of these two large corporations, deciding who wins and who loses, sets a dangerous precedent for the future and may, in the end, do more harm that good.

Yes, it may very well be true that, as my friend JL pointed out, many of the secured creditors were hedge funds who bought their positions speculatively at less than face value. However, this fact (?) should not distract from the central, and more important, issue. To me, it is irrelevant who the secured creditors were. What happened to them matters more. The Obama Administration re-wrote private contracts between parties and re-prioritized creditors according to the priorities of the Obama Administration. Whether, or not, they did this for political reasons is up for debate. But, one can definitely be left with the impression that they did. And, that, my friends, is a very dangerous precedent indeed. That kind of behavior passes muster in Chicago, but should we allow that kind of you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch-yours politics to prevail at the national level?

Do we live in Putin's Russia or the (late) great U. S. of A? Can one man re-arrange the chess pieces on the board at his whim, or is he - even he - still subject to the rule of law?

Speaking of the rule of law . . . Ken Feinberg is now going to be the Czar of compensation for executives at TARP recipient companies. So, we now have a Government official deciding how much 175 people who work in the private sector can get paid . . . until, that is, the companies pay back the TARP funds they borrowed (which is why they are lining up to return the money).

I just find it so ironic that China and Russia are moving towards free markets and The U.S.A. is moving towards central planning. What's next? The Obama 5 Year Economic Plan?

Please, fellow commentators, do not respond to me with missives about how Bush did this, or Bush did that, and how terrible Bush was. Bush isn't President any longer. Obama is. And, Obama needs to stand on his own two feet, and be held accountable for what HE IS DOING. Reflections on how Obama's actions relate to what Bush did are not dispositive on whether the actions of Obama are something to endorse or reject.

Woldy