We’ve been warning the public for some time that the Obama administration will transfer the power over many to a very few. These few are NOT elected, do not at all answer to the people, and have unprecedented power.
Next up, the “Pay Czar,” Kenneth Feinberg. This is what he has done.
White House pay czar Kenneth Feinberg was the driving force behind the move to order steep pay cuts from bailed-out executives, and did not even seek the president’s approval before making his decision.
The Treasury Department is expected to formally announce in the next few days a plan to slash annual salaries by about 90 percent from last year for the 25 highest-paid executives at the seven companies that received the most from the Wall Street bailout. Total compensation for the top executives at the firms would decline, on average, by about 50 percent.
The sweeping decision, though, came from Feinberg and not from President Obama.
One official told Fox News that Feinberg from the start had the independent authority to work with companies and make such a call. Obama was never required to sign off before final decisions were made.
So, ONE MAN, in an un-elected position, was able to dictate pay decisions to private corporations. This man was appointed by the administration. The Senate did not confirm him. There was NO input, feedback, or even consultation with any other branch of government. He was granted great power by the administration, with absolutely no oversight or counterbalance. I believe that this sets the stage for other usurpations of the separation of powers, the Tenth Amendment, the rest of our Constitution, and the eventual tyranny that is to come.
Now, some will say that this was appropriate because the companies affected had taken government money via the TARP, or were taken over by the government. However, the response is two-fold. One is that there should never have been a TARP. There is no Constitutional precedent for taking over banking institutions, or private companies. The second is that this established the precedent for more and more government intervention and control.
Why do I say this? Let’s consider the following:
The government has taken over the student loan program. Since students will be receiving government money to pay for their education, will the government put requirements on what the recipients can and cannot do? Oops! Remember the GIVE Act?
Think about people that receive existing government benefits. Will the government tell people in public housing how high or low their thermostat can be set? Can people receiving public assistance be told that they can no longer buy fattening food? If you accept unemployment, will you be told where you can work, and for what wage? You might scoff at that, but what is to stop the government? If they can tell bankers what they can earn, in spite of the legal contract that they have with the companies, what is to stop them? If they’ve done it before, they can do it again, and I predict that they will.
The government is setting the table for expanding government services for more and more people. As their policies cause the recession/depression to deepen, more people will lose their jobs. There will be more foreclosures, as well as all the other problems that go with joblessness and poverty. A desperate people will turn to the government for help, and the administration will be happy to accommodate them. Then, the more and more people that accept the government drug, the more people that get ensnared by the “nudging” of Cass Sunstein, the “coercion” of the Secretary of Transportation, and are otherwise entrapped in the pit of government “assistance.” This leaves the government in its dream scenario. Allowing them to gain more and more control over the people and their private dealings.
Seeing the pattern? I know that some will see this as a “conspiracy theory,” but I would invite those people to look at this situation in a functional way: The government causes problems; the government offers more government to “solve” the problem. When one accepts the drug, they have to agree to a few…conditions. Alternatively, as with the bonus situation and the salary controversy, the government reserves the right to simply change their minds or just make it up as they go along. Who will stop them? The Republicans can’t, they’re too weak right now. The Democrats won’t, the want this level of control.
This is only the latest of many examples. As time wears on, we will see more and more “chipping away” of our freedoms and liberty. More as it emerges…
BTW, I haven’t said this for a while, but…
How ya likin’ that change?
Links: The Augur also has an article on this topic, as does Political Realities.
For highly intelligent Conservative News and Opinion, please consider the The Liberty Pen . 
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I believe that future generations should have the same opportunities that myself, and those that came before me, had. My parents taught me that I could do anything I wanted to do. I don’t want to have to tell my daughter, “You can do whatever the government tells you to do.” We are at a crossroads in this country; are we going to be free, or are we going to be slaves to the nanny state. I choose freedom. 
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Thanks for linking to my article, Matt.
Your argument about “where will it stop” is the exact one I have used against the gun control advocates. Once they get their foot in the door, they don’t know where to stop.
As for the pay/compensation issue, there is a valid point to be made about the government having the right to intercede because they have provided so much money to the companies. However, the bailouts should never have taken place to begin with. It is a messed up deal all the way around.
Great piece, Matt. Once the Constitution’s firewalls are breached, what is then in place to stop the creep of socialism? We are experiencing a soft tyranny. Let us be vigilant in order that we can reverse it.
If someone does something wrong, and then they follow with something else that looks “right,” does that make it right? Under the Constitution the TARP was illegal and so is the mandated pay cuts. That is not what this country is all about.
I’m glad that someone is finally saying it. The bailouts, the banks, the stimulus, – all of it are “crisis’” that have been created to say American from herself. The more debt that is created, they worse it gets, the more saving the people need. This is all about convincing Americans that we are not able to handle any of these crisis’ ourselves or even our daily decisions ourselves.
Who would have ever thought that our government thought they had the right to tell us how much we can make or that we should buy health-insurance. I mean really?!
Thanks for writing this article.
to “save” America from herself. Sorry about that..
Nothing better than an unelected official making policy decisions. Hmmm? Is that how a Republic work? Sounds like another form of government to me, an Oligarchy. Every day we are becoming more like ancient Rome
@ LD, That is very true of the gun grabbers. If they can’t do it outright, they’ll do it bit by bit.
@ Don, that soft tyranny will turn rather hard if we let it. Once any government gains tremendous power, their chief objective becomes maintaining it. That’s when life will get interesting.
@ Dominique, yes, they did do a bit of Cloward-Piven to get the ball rolling. I fear it will be a cascading effect from there. Thanks!
@ Trestin, I have to do some more work on getting the progressive thing down. They seem a blend of fascism, communism, and good old fashioned elitism to me. Oligarchy fits well, given their attitude towards us.
This is an old and ongoing story. Anytime a party with a very specific ideology comes into almost complete control of the all the organs of power it will push as far as it can as quickly as it can until restrained by the evitable backlash of public opinion and the next election cycle. The problem is that this time around the changes will be difficult if not impossible to reverse in some cases. The pendulum cannot always swing back. When this happens the clock stops and remains broken until the master clock-maker is called in. The question however is, “who is this master clock-maker”? Just a nutty idea of mine, but sounds good!!
Absolutely right, Matt. This is scary stuff. Thankfully, a lot of us (though maybe not enough) are wising up.