sophiaserpentia (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophiaserpentia) wrote2009-04-09 01:33 pm
sophiaserpentia) wrote2009-04-09 01:33 pm
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i am becoming increasingly frustrated with and mistrustful of the obama administration
This week alone, the Obama Administration has:
Actively fought efforts to undo telecom immunity and hold the government accountable for past and present spying on private citizens. This is of course the opposite of what Obama promised when he campaigned: he vowed to make government more transparent, more accountable, and more respecting of civil liberties, and as time passes, this is turning out to have been an out-and-out lie.
Actively sought to forever immunize the government from ever being held accountable for wrongdoing, whether for torture or domestic surveillance. On these issues the Obama administration has so far been to the right of Dick Cheney.
Extended Wall Street's plunder of the American people to the FDIC. The FDIC is a relatively small fund (capped by law at $30B) which is now tasked by the PPIP (the federal program buying up toxic assets from flailing banks) with insuring over $1T in toxic asset purchases. If they lose money, they plan to assess fees from the banks they're insuring... unless those banks are bankrupt, in which case they'll simply ask the Treasury Department to print them the money. Put another way, the Treasury is holding its door wide open for bankers to take as much money as they want, keeping whatever profits they make and not having to worry about any losses they incur. Said bankers will also never have to worry about sleeping under a bridge or living in a tent or applying for food stamps. Meanwhile, if the FDIC becomes defunct because of this latest bizarre development, who's going to cover our measly little bank accounts in the event of a sector-wide banking breakdown?
Actively fought efforts to undo telecom immunity and hold the government accountable for past and present spying on private citizens. This is of course the opposite of what Obama promised when he campaigned: he vowed to make government more transparent, more accountable, and more respecting of civil liberties, and as time passes, this is turning out to have been an out-and-out lie.
Actively sought to forever immunize the government from ever being held accountable for wrongdoing, whether for torture or domestic surveillance. On these issues the Obama administration has so far been to the right of Dick Cheney.
Extended Wall Street's plunder of the American people to the FDIC. The FDIC is a relatively small fund (capped by law at $30B) which is now tasked by the PPIP (the federal program buying up toxic assets from flailing banks) with insuring over $1T in toxic asset purchases. If they lose money, they plan to assess fees from the banks they're insuring... unless those banks are bankrupt, in which case they'll simply ask the Treasury Department to print them the money. Put another way, the Treasury is holding its door wide open for bankers to take as much money as they want, keeping whatever profits they make and not having to worry about any losses they incur. Said bankers will also never have to worry about sleeping under a bridge or living in a tent or applying for food stamps. Meanwhile, if the FDIC becomes defunct because of this latest bizarre development, who's going to cover our measly little bank accounts in the event of a sector-wide banking breakdown?
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But on matters of civil liberties, human rights, accountability, transparency, sunshine laws, i've long been concerned that there is no difference between the major parties at all. When the Democrats won Congress in 2006 they did nothing to reverse Bush's abuses in these regards. Now the Democrats have the White House too, and they are not reversing the abuses, they are actively trying to make them worse.
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Of course I'd point out that the very structure of the government, including the constitution is that kind of plea...but still it underscores the flawed premise behind reformist liberalism. A politician's first allegiance is always to his own power over.