Good for the Goose

In a development so typical of the two-faced nature of the "powers" in Washington we find the executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac anticipating retention bonuses which run to well over a million dollars for individual persons. Despite any pleadings to the contrary, these federally backed agencies are engaging in exactly the same shenanigans that were attacked so vigorously on Wednesday in the AIG hearings. The difference is that they have been an arm of the federal establishment and not a recently acquired asset.

Both of the Macs were seized by the government in September of 2008 and federal authorities had no difficulty acknowledging the necessity for retention of key executives to sustain normal operations. Hence they authorized bonuses for the outfit whose failed policies contributed so much to the financial meltdown.

Overlooked in the reportage is the highly personal relationship which exists between some of the most caustically critical Senators and the rewarded executives in all the companies cited. AIG is on record for having contributed to, among many others, Sen. Dodd (D-CN and Chairman of the Banking Committee) $101,000+ and to the president, (at the time D-Il) 103,000+ for campaign purposes. Nearly every sentient observer is well aware of the relationship between Freddie’s Frank Raines and Barney Frank (D-People’s Republic of Massachusetts.) The hypocrisy in the committee room was so thick it hung like a pall of sour pudding over the podium.

The principal victim in the room was a venerable construct of law—the contract. One of the keystones of liberty which is celebrated in our Constitution is the ability of bodies live and corporate to enter into agreements which affirm and assure that their terms are met. There is no mention of the ability of either the executive or the legislative branches to negate an existing legal contract. The court system and, if necessary, the Supreme Court is the arbiter of contract law. The intrusion of the other two branches into this arena is unfair, unwelcome and illegal. This concept is a rudimentary requirement for first year law students but has somehow escaped the attention of those solons—most with a legal background—so intent on grandstanding before the public to demonize the parties with such agreements.

Contracts, once agreed, require fulfillment. These senators are the same parties which encouraged contracts between unqualified borrowers and the banking institutions they criticize which brought about the current meltdown. They further seek to extract their “pound of flesh” through exceptional taxation on the parties concerned to recover what they falsely perceive to be ill gotten gains.

My first reaction to the committee-room circus was embarrassment at the ignorance of our elected representatives. When it became obvious that they were totally ruled by self interest and not national concern for the republic my response turned to outrage. Mr. Liddy, a capable executive faced with an impossible problem, was greeted with hostility and derision. His self control was admirable in the face of such opposition of a purely partisan nature. Unlike the “fat cats” who grilled him, he has agreed to endure this for the princely sum of $1.00 per year. That is not an error in reporting; he does it for an annual remuneration that won’t buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of gas. Unlike his tormentors, he has put his money where his mouth is for the benefit of the republic. Shame, Shame, Shame, on the Senate!!!

The tendency of our current leadership, both executive and legislative, to erect a “straw man” to divert the public’s attention from problems which are real and do require solutions is alarming. The bonuses constitute a minuscule fraction of 1% of the bail out monies required for AIG. Compared to the unprecedented ongoing rape of the treasury it is not even a gnat on an elephant’s posterior which would be best expressed as .000055%. While 165 million appears an immense amount to the average bear it is less than petty in the grand scheme of things. If your hand held calculator cost less than $50, it probably will not even accept an entry of one trillion.

We are being treated like simple minded, trusting children and are also being suckered into the fascination of distractions to keep our minds off the actual threats to our nation. Edward Liddy, Rush, and myriad others are only shiny objects which divert us from the realities of an onrushing socialist agenda. If we do not soon wake up and demand our rightful protection from our government, we shall soon be ground under its heel.

In His abiding love,


Cecil Moon

Much of inspiration for this piece came from this article.