The Wall Street Journal has a timely article that comes out in the middle of the current debate over the Democrat's proposed new regulations for banks and investment firms...which Republicans have argued will only serve to institutionalize "bailouts" of such companies by taxpayers, rather than letting them fail.

The complaint is that, when companies have a specific promise that, if they start to go under the government will come in and bail them out, they act differently.  They take more risks, and other actors in a free market treat them differently, (because they've got that nice government "insurance policy").  In other words, "crony capitalism".

The Journal article is interesting because it points out that, out of all the financial institutions that received bailouts (under the TARP program), most of them have paid almost all of the funds back...except for the "Government Sponsored Entities" (GSE's) of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...which were set up by Congress...allowed to play in the free market as quasi-private actors, but with the taxpayers' line of credit.  They're still in the hole for almost $380 billion...and the Treasury Department even went so far late last year as to remove their previous $400 billion dollar credit limit.

From the article:  read more »

It seems touch-and-go.  The White House, using a predictable basketball analogy, calls it a "jump ball." One day I hear Pelosi has the votes, the next day I hear she doesn't.  Grass roots liberty organizations encourage us to call, write, fax or visit our congressional representative yet again to register once more our unalterable opposition.

Been, there, done that.  They know. A Colorado grassroots organizer said

I was in Jared Polis [D-CO2]office yesterday and a few months ago took a group of Doctors , Nurses, Engineers, CEO and other professional and met with him.  He has made it clear that he is voting for this health care bill and he also was pushing getting the Government Option back into the bill.  I have had people sign letters and have delivered them to him, it still does not matter.  Jared Polis will vote for this bill no matter what we do.

In reviewing this last week's polls, Rasmussen wrote:

Are national Democrats on a kamikaze mission to pass their health care reform plan and destroy themselves at the polls in November? That’s what it seems like...

So what will happen if Pelosi convinces them to pass the bill and the president and the senate do the "reconciliation" process?  Will Americans rise up in revolt?  Will they storm the barricades, fire-bomb congressional offices, march into the legislatures and literally throw the bums out? That would send a message that would stop the madness, wouldn't it?  Wasn't King George burned in effigy more than once and the tea dumped into Boston Harbor?  Does not the Declaration of Independence read:  read more »