What is the true cost of the proposed government bailout?  While most of America was enjoying the last weekend of summer and watching football, our unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats at the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve were busy working on how to “solve” the financial crisis that seems to grow bigger and worse by the day. The “initial” solution that they came up with will cost between $700 billion and $1 trillion. That is the initial estimate of the cost. You can bet it will go much higher.

Wall Street has essentially collapsed and its geography has been forever change due to the deadly combination of greed, ineptitude of oversight, and government interference in the form of too much bad regulation. All this coupled with the Fed eternally manipulating interest rates and printing money in a vain attempt to affect a positive outcome and stave off the looming crisis as it simmered only served to compound the problem, and we are seeing the results. The result is an economic collapse or meltdown.  It is primarily due to government manipulation and meddling in something it has neither the authority nor the tools nor the competence to be meddling with. It is the result of “command economics” and central planning. Central planning is always bad for an economy, and in this case really, really bad planning results in a really, really bad problem

Admittedly, there was a certain degree of satisfaction watching the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Chris Dodd, Harry Reid, Barney Frank and the rest of the criminals on Capitol Hill standing there like deer in the headlights, with the shock and awe clearly displayed on their faces after their conference with Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke. One has to wonder, though, if the looks of grave concern were precipitated by the fact that they had just been told that the economy would imminently collapse if AIG were allowed to fail, or if it was because they understand that they are complicit in this financial catastrophe and are terrified that they will be found out. 

Sadly they have no real cause for concern, though, because the only pseudo-mainstream publications that actually report the truth of this mater and name who is complicit in creating the conditions and ignoring the signs that allowed this financial meltdown to occur are your usual “right-wing conspiracy” theorists like the editors and reporters at the Wall Street Journal, Portfolio, National Review, Weekly Standard, Investors Business Daily and the like. Guaranteed you won’t hear Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson bringing up names like Donna Shalala, Jamie Gorelick, James Johnson or, heaven help us, William Jefferson Clinton.

A remarkable thing is occurring before our very eyes in Washington, though – Republicans and Democrats seem to be genuinely working together to implement a solution as quickly as possible to calm fears and the markets. Certainly there are many differences being voiced, but in general they are all in agreement and the final product will be a matter of hammering out the minutia, so to speak. This is actually more frightening than the actual financial crisis. Why? Because these are the folks that got us into this mess in the first place due to their own narrow self-serving interests, incompetence and corruption, and purposeful lack of oversight of the Leviathan wherein this meltdown began – Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The solution as it stands would give at present would give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson extraordinary, unprecedented and essentially dictatorial authority to essentially do what he pleases with $ 1 trillion in taxpayer money. The Wall Street Journal called it for what it is: “Lots of money. Lots of power. Naked, ugly dictatorial power.”

The actual language in the proposed bailout Act as written by Treasury lawyers doesn’t inspire comfort either: “Decisions by the Treasury pursuant to the Authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” This language is self-explanatory. And it is frightening.

And this is most likely only the beginning, the tip of the proverbial iceberg. On Monday former President Bill Clinton called for a bailout for all those homeowners who can’t afford to make their mortgage payments. The auto industry in Detroit is lining up for handouts to the tune of $50 billion minimum, a deal that has all but been cut between Detroit lobbyists and Speaker Pelosi. One can be sure that credit card debt will mushroom sooner rather than later and all those banks holding that debt will be demanding their share of the taxpayer-funded pie. The airlines won’t be far behind as they are being crushed by unprecedented fuel prices. And on it goes with no end in sight, and that is precisely the problem with government bailouts on such a massive scale; once they begin they do not end.

Right now it is difficult to assess whether we are still at the crossroads or if we have turned a corner toward authoritarian socialism, but is the language in the proposed plan is any indication suffice it to say that things to not look good for the future of a free market or for liberty in the US. And this is unconscionable.

In undertaking to engage in the extraordinary practice of massive government bailouts and nationalization of the most fundamental sector of the economy the US government has stepped into territory unknown since before the Revolutionary War. In fact, it was this exact type of arbitrary government authority that was the reason for fighting the Revolutionary War. While the talking heads on TV and radio speak of entering into “uncharted territory,” the brutal fact of the matter is that this is far from uncharted territory for this same unchecked and arbitrary government power was seen, understood and resisted the Founding Fathers of our republic as they were not afraid to call it for what it is. It is called tyranny.  

It is no secret to anyone who has read the Constitution of the United States with even a modicum of understanding that al three branches of the Federal Government have been violating their Constitutional authority for quite some time now. However, the actions taken by the government over the course of the last week are truly unprecedented. No branch of the government has any Constitutional authority whatsoever to takeover operations of a private business. No government authority is granted by the Constitution to appropriate public fund for such purposes. And certainly no Constitutional authority exists to allow for granting dictatorial powers to a cabinet secretary to run and attempt to manipulate the economy as he sees fit. It is unprecedented and entirely unconstitutional.

And yet knowing it is unconstitutional, out of fear this Congress will overwhelmingly approve this illegal action. And they will hope and pray that it works. And if it doesn’t? It this plan doesn’t work – and keep in mind that there is no Plan B because this is Plan B – amid all the uncertainly that would follow such events, the one thing you can be assured of is even more invasive and strict government intervention. But to what end? Government issued and approved credit becoming mandatory and the sole acceptable manner of conducting commerce? Government seizure and control of all banks and credit issuing agencies? Where does it end?

And what if it does work? What if those administering the government later decide that the government should remain in total control of the financial sector and through still more illegal Acts of Congress continue to "renew" the contrived authority to seize and maintain private companies in conservatorship? What then? 

Perhaps most frightening is that no one in government is listening to anyone who is raising these concerns because that is what happens when fear rules the day, and more alarming still is the known fact people will accept anything that promises even temporary security when real fear is being held over their heads. Hitler, Stalin and Mao did not rise to power because people were happy and comfortable and felt secure politically and economically. Fear is a dangerous weapon and history has shown time and again how fear, when employed and exploited by government, always proves fatal to liberty. And when government moves quickly to address a problem, even a well-intentioned solution will result in some very foreseeable repercussions that no one in Washington wants to acknowledge, much less address.

When a people willingly sacrifice their liberty – as is about to occur here – they are no longer sovereign, but subjects, for a republic exists only when a free people willingly submit to a governmental authority de jure, that is an established and mutually agreed upon system of government that by law may operate only with clearly defined limitations, purpose and intent. Should said government exceed any or all of those limitations, thereby exceeding its constitutional authority, it is the responsibility of a free people to take what power with which it is vested – that is all real power – and bring an abrupt end to government abuses of authority. 

In a republic, government exists and operates at the pleasure and by the authority of the people. That is what is meant by government de jure – government by and of legitimate law. When government abuses its power and acts outside of its legally defined authority it acts arbitrarily and becomes a government de facto, that is government by decree or imposition. In such a case citizens are no longer sovereign, but subjects; and, so it almost goes without saying that given the purpose of government being control, thus it’s natural tendency to encroach on liberty and thereby necessitating a clear legal definition of its valid scope of authority, once government exceeds said limitations of authority with impunity it will continue to do so. And in doing so it will continue to encroach upon and usurp individual rights and liberty unless the people fulfill their own obligations as a free people and stop it. 

In a republic such as ours, all true, valid and legitimate power and authority is vested in the people, not in the government. That is unless or until the people relinquish that power either by action or inaction to the government. Such is our present predicament.

As stated above, we all know that all three branches of our government have been exceeding their legitimate authority for many, many years now, encroaching on liberty and violating the Constitution. With this latest government incursion and illegitimate execution of authority it does not have the stakes have become frighteningly high and all too real in a vey short span of time. Now is the time for the people to decide: subject or sovereign, courage or cowardice. This action now being undertaken by the US Government takes the idea of sanctioning the violating of the Constitution to an unprecedented and very dangerous level. This time the politicians and bureaucrats have not only arrogantly wiped their hind-sides with the Constitution, but once they are finished wiping they intend to rub it in our collective faces – but only if we let them. 

If we rise up and let our voices be heard, they will respond, for nothing motivates career politicians like fear, especially in an election year and with the elections a little over a month away. We have a choice: we can make our collective voices heard now, loud and clear and force them to respond, or we can wait and see what happens. The problem with the latter choice is that the next time the people decide to rise up in the face of tyranny they may have to do it with torches and pitchforks and rifles.

So what is a trillion dollar government bailout really worth? What does it really cost? The true cost of the thing is liberty and a free market economy. The price we will eventually pay is subjection to tyranny.

Have you seen the news? Have you been watching the financial sector self-destruct? Did you hear about the latest $85 billion bailout of AIG? Did you hear Dana Perino’s briefing from the White House today? Here’s a little exchange that caught my attention:

Begin transcript

“Q And to the people who say, you know what, AIG should have failed so that you clean out the system and you don't delay whatever recovery -- you have a bottom and you start to move up. What do you say to that?

MS. PERINO: Well, we remain concerned about other companies, and that's why the Secretary of the Treasury continues to work with the team to see if we can stem any other losses.

But they're -- as I said, they're taking this on a case-by-case basis, and we will have to continue to do so; at the same time, looking at what we do to make sure that the taxpayers, to the greatest extent possible, are protected. But the considered judgment here was that if you don't take the recommendations of the senior economic advisors, who are very experienced and have decided on decisive action that can help stem the tide of broader economic damage, that that's the best thing that we can do to try to help protect all taxpayers in the long run.

[W]e are dealing with very challenging times and Secretary Paulson -- I'm sorry, the Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, and the President's economic advisors had determined that there were some -- some of these companies were so big that to allow them to fail would have caused even greater harm and damage to the economy.

So the goal has been to take action where necessary to promote stability and strength in the marketplace, so that we can prevent or limit more damage to the broader economy. In all cases, the President has wanted to make sure that the taxpayers are kept foremost in mind. In these agreements, if you look back, the shareholders have been wiped out. A lot of employees have lost their jobs. Management has been replaced. And the taxpayers will be paid back first.

While no one would have liked to have ended up in this situation, you have a government that is willing to lead, act where appropriate, and govern, to make sure that we limit broader financial harm to the economy.

Q You say taxpayers will be paid back first. They may not be paid back at all.

MS. PERINO: Well, that is true. And that is why we take great care in making sure that President has asked a lot of questions, to make sure that his economic advisors have thought things through, have made the best determination and have moved forward. But I think the tax -- I think the argument is that the taxpayers might be harmed even worse if the economy was -- if we allowed it to just have a lot broader damage.

And we think that the actions that have been taken were appropriate ones. I believe that Treasury thinks that they will be able to pay the taxpayers back. But it's just going to take us some time to work through this crisis.

Q Where does it stop? (The Bailouts)

MS. PERINO: You know, I would be misleading you if I knew. What we are doing is taking this on a case-by-case basis, evaluating each one carefully.

Then there was this exchange that really caught my attention:

Q Dana, what do you say to Americans who are looking at the AIG deal and saying, we don't have a free market economy; how can you call this a free market economy?

MS. PERINO: We do have a free market -- the free market is alive and well, and we have systems in place here in our country to be able to deal with shocks to the system like this. And Secretary Paulson and the Fed Chairman have taken action where they think necessary in order to prevent broader shocks to the economy.

Look, the market has had a lot of information to digest over the past several days, and it's going to take a little bit of time for us to see where this goes. But I think the considered judgment -- the collective judgment of most people today is that the action they took last night on AIG was the right move.

Q And to the people who say, you know what, AIG should have failed so that you clean out the system and you don't delay whatever recovery -- you have a bottom and you start to move up. What do you say to that?

MS. PERINO: Well, we remain concerned about other companies, and that's why the Secretary of the Treasury continues to work with the team to see if we can stem any other losses.”

End Transcript

Is it just me, or is everyone in Washington kind of sticking their collective heads in the sand and pretending that waving the flag around and pontificating on what little they know of the Constitution and the actual limits and constraints upon governmental authority relative to the economy, they will be able once again to bamboozle the people into thinking that big-daddy Uncle Sam will make everything OK?

It is disgusting, it is unconstitutional and it is very, very disturbing. And I am one very, very pissed off American today. I don’t usually use such language on this blog, but I just don’t know any other words to describe how I feel – OK I do, but if I use them they’ll throw me out of here.

I am pissed off that everybody in DC says they didn’t see this coming, but the evidence shows otherwise.

I am pissed off that every branch of the government is deliberately exceeding its Constitutional authority and doing whatever it feels like with impunity, because they think that the people are so apathetic that if they just throw us a bone here and there we’ll simply ignore their gross transgressions.

I am pissed off that these politicians and bureaucrats pretend like there is nothing wrong with calling our system a "free market" economy while at the same time they are messing with it from the Fed and thereby making it anything but free.  The fundamentals of a strong economy are indeed ther, and it would work if only government would let it instead of trying to constantly manipulate it.

I am most pissed off that no one will speak the truth in DC! How stupid do they think we are? Am I the only one who feels insulted? 

When you look at the players in this meltdown and trace the money and people, you get back to Clinton’s pandering to minorities and the poor and pushing that multiculturalism nonsense that the progressives love so much. You also inevitably get back to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae – two unconstitutional quasi-government agencies that cost taxpayers a bundle and make rich bankers richer and hook up members of Congress with a money machine that is akin to an ATM, so that these behemoths will never die, cause no one wants to turn off the money spigot.

I have no problem whatsoever with people getting rich, but not on my dime - not at the public trough.  And, I want to know why the former executives of Freddie and Fannie are still getting paid to stay on for the "transition."  Only in Washington DC can you ruin the financial sustem of the nation and get rewarded for it.  Freddie Mac’s Richard Syron and Fannie Mae's, Daniel Mudd are still getting paid, even though they knew what was going on.  You and I both know that if they worked for a true privately held firm, they'd be persona-non-grata and awaiting indictment and trial.  But there will be no trial.  Probably no hearings either.  nancy Pelosi is a big fan and recipient of Fred and Fan's lobbying money.  Imagine that!

You also have career political hacks that would sell their souls for money, dark amoral people who can smile and put on a look of concern and lie right to your face and mean it at that moment. People like Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Jamie Gorelick, Franklin Raines, et al.

You have people who do not give a crap about people like you and me because they are better than us – they work in DC. They are members of Congress. They are bureaucrats.

They are all liars!

You have a guy like Obama who’s bemoaning greed and avarice on Wall Street, and talking nonsense like this: “’Since this turmoil began over a year ago," the Illinois senator said, "the housing market has all but collapsed. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had to be effectively taken over by the government. Three of America's five largest investment banks failed or have been sold off in distress. Yesterday, Wall Street suffered its worst losses since just after 9/11.’ He said McCain and President Bush subscribe to the same approach: ‘support ideological policies that made the crisis more likely, do nothing as the crisis hits and then scramble as the whole thing collapses.’”

Wow! Suddenly he’s outraged about Freddie and Fannie. Gee, he didn’t seem too upset over the fact that he has accepted $126,349 in lobbying money from Freddie and Fannie since 2004. In fact he’s the Number Two recipient of money from those two abominations. And let me put it in the proper context for you: the list at opensecrets.org was compiled from 1989 to 2008. Obama is second on the list. Chris Dodd is Number One, having received $165,400 since 1989. Obama received $126,349 in just four years, and half of that time he’s been running for President.

Why the hell isn’t anyone except those of us on the blogs talking about it? Why won’t McCain bring it up? I don’t know – maybe he has, but I haven’t heard about it.

This stuff isn’t secret – it’s all public information.

And now McCain goes and disappoints me terribly by flip-flopping on the bailouts in just 24 hours. Yesterday at this time he was against them. Today he says it was the right decision. Helloooooo! How the hell is tacking $85 billion onto the taxpayer’s tab to bail out foreign interests the right decision? Oh, you didn’t know that? Yeah, AIG is a multinational corporation whose holding company, which was the entity bailed out, is backed 85% by foreign central banks. Where is the outrage? Where does it stop?

It’s wrong and it’s unconstitutional! McCain ought to know better!

Where does it stop? It won’t unless the people make them.

This has prompted me to do something different: I am writing several articles in various parts not only about this financial meltdown, but also on my take on our economy and the Constitution. I’ll be posting them in several parts, each with a disclaimer, because it is possible that without first reading the preceding parts, a current post may not make much sense. 

To my readers, I thank you for reading and I apologize for my ranting format – and language. I would also ask that, if you can, to please let me know when I post these multi-part articles if they flow and work for you – if they are coherent and lucid, so to speak. 

Until tomorrow, I’ll be pissed off and writing…