Looking past the rhetoric of the $700 billion bailout

Those fear-based arguments are back in full swing as Bushis saying that we will find ourselves in another Great Depression unless Congress passes his proposed bailout, no questions asked, no concessions given.

What is not often mentioned - but what NPR reported this week - is that the $700B bailout would be one of, if not the largest transfer of power from Congress to the Executive branch in our nation's history - even bigger than the Patriot Act.

The Secretary of the Treasury would have exclusive control over the $700B and how its used. The bailout includes a provision that immunizes him and the actions he takes from legal scrutiny:

"Decisions by the Secretary 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."

It's unlikely such a provision would be upheld if challenged in the courts (despite this language, someone can still sue! I love the law...), but with a conservative U.S. Supreme Court that believes in expanding the power of the Executive branch, who knows. What's scary is that the Secretary is appointed by the President, answerable only to the President and his interests under this scheme.

While getting the economy back on track is an absolute necessity, if they were serious about reforming the system why would they be hiring the same banks that perpetuated the financial crisis to help fix our economy?