Monday, March 30, 2009

NATIONALIZATION CONTINUES


The U.S. government's Anaconda Plan continues to claim victims. As the bailouts continue, the stranglehold by the government on the auto industry tightens. The latest victim is the chairman and CEO of GM, Rick Wagoner. He has been shown the door by the Obama administration as part of their twenty pounds of flesh for more bailout money. This nationalization began under the Bush administration when Secretary Henry Paulson tossed AIG CEO, Robert Willumstad under the bus and replaced him with Edward Liddy. We see where that has led us as now Liddy is under pressure to resign.

This appears to be a part of a continued plan to nationalize the largest industries of the U.S. first, I think in preparation to at least change the country to a mixed (European) economy. Once there, it would appear the Obama administration has its eye set on a full-blown command economy.

Make no mistake these CEOs losing their jobs are not sympathetic figures. The problem with this strategy is that the government is beginning to resemble the FDR Administration and its heavy-handed enforcement during the New Deal. Under the National Industrial Relations Act (NIRA) and the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), both passed in 1933, the government tried to exercise control of every industrial and agricultural entity in the U.S., essentially trying make them monopolies run by the government. These two pieces of legislation fixed prices and agricultural production quotas, even going so far as to pay farmers to destroy crops and livestock to control supply and raise prices. All this while people in the country were starving.

This system was based on that put in place by Mussolini in Italy. Both these government power grabs were struck down by the Supreme Court in 1935 after the storm trooper tactics of the National Recovery Administration (NRA) had pushed the U.S. down the road towards fascism, Italian style. The most insidious part of the NRA was its enforcement arm led by former General Hugh Johnson who led thousands of code enforcers who zealously enforced hundreds of business codes. Many stories came to light of business owners, including Jack Magid, a New Jersey tailor who was arrested, fined and jailed for pressing a suit for thiry-five cents, instead of the forty cents mandated by the government code.

According to the book "How Capitalism Saved America", by Thomas J. DiLorenzo this was common throughout the U.S. I recommend reading this book as it is a great primer on capitalism and the New Deal.

This excerpt from the book "The Roosevelt Myth" (1944) by John T. Flynn gives a chilling account of excessive government power:

“ The NRA was discovering it could not enforce its rules. Black markets grew up. Only the most violent police methods could procure enforcement. In Sidney Hillman’s garment industry the code authority employed enforcement police. They roamed through the garment district like storm troopers. They could enter a man’s factory, send him out, line up his employees, subject them to minute interrogation, take over his books on the instant. Night work was forbidden. Flying squadrons of these private coat-and-suit police went through the district at night, battering down doors with axes looking for men who were committing the crime of sewing together a pair of pants at night. But without these harsh methods many code authorities said there could be no compliance because the public was not back of it. ”

After all, our president is quite fond of declaring this the greatest crisis facing the U.S. since the Great Depression, it is wise to acquaint ourselves with the government led power grab from the past to warn against the present.

12 comments:

PRH said...

Ain't it great Steve? The Obamanation and Queen Michelle and the court jesters are taking us over the Niagra in a Barrel, without a shot being fired.

April 15th, the Tax Revolution Date, may be too late...and meanwhile Nero Soetoro fiddles in Europe with his 500+ man Posse', Rome(the USA) burns.

Law and Order Teacher said...

Pat,
Thanks for the visit.
I'm just sitting watching the news and being stunned by one revelation after another. The news people seem to be saying what most of America is, What the heck is this guy talking about?

Bloviating Zeppelin said...

It is a POWER GRAB to enable Social Engineering projects, PLAIN and SIMPLE.

BZ

Anonymous said...

Double bingo! You’ve laid an irrefutable predicate indicting socialism, LOT. And now, we have the government deciding who can be a corporate CEO, and who cannot. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we find that every one of Obama’s justifications for phenomenal amounts of bailout money were complete lies. He hasn’t stopped layoffs, and the money already doled out simply resulted in requests for billions more. That would be, billions with a capital “b.”

I almost feel sorry for Rick Wagoner even if his stewardship was fraught with incompetence and a lack of cohunes. Now imagine producing more inventories than could be sold under the contemporary economic conditions simply because he didn’t have the nerve to lay off workers or shut down plants to reduce costs. And the UAW, in their stupidity, would rather pursue higher wages and benefits than the company (or consumer) could afford to pay for, risking job cuts and plant closures, rather than supporting a common sense approach to problem solving. Finally, both entities defy credibility when their “plan” is limited to more government bailouts.

Personally, I would not be surprised to learn the UAW intended all along to manufacture a situation wherein the government would step in and “take over.” From their perspective, not even a welfare check could top that spicy deal. So here we are now: the Marxists in Washington have revealed themselves, one of our most important national defense industries is on the verge of collapse, auto-workers are losing their jobs and any prospect of reemployment, the taxpayers are thoroughly screwed, and America’s enemies are buying up our debt faster than anyone can possibly imagine. And this, of course, brings us to exactly where Obama and congressional democrats want us to be: an American economy, changed forever and solidly within the Marxist/Stalinist column.

For all you people out there who voted for Obama and an overwhelming democratic congress, good job—you idiots.

Law and Order Teacher said...

BZ,
Thanks for the visit. It is rather apparent what's going on, no? BO is playing it cool, but he walking steadily down the path.

Mustang,
Thanks for the visit. As always a pleasure to read your comments. I agree with your thesis. This is a lurch to the left that can only end in the socialist, at least, Marxist at most column.

The leaders of the UAW and AFL-CIO are socialists, plain and simple. Government take over of the industries within their unions and I put it that way on purpose, would represent to them a cash cow of unimaginable largesse.

The American taxpayer is seen by them as a cash cow that will never dry up. Instead, they have have had a major part in bankrupting the country, putting us in debt to our enemies and strangling the life out of our economy.

I wholeheartedly agree with your last sentiment.

Tapline said...

This is indeed an interesting read...Never a dull moment.... http://www.denverpost.comm/ci 12006596:source=email I don't know how true it is but....it certainly is interesting along with everything else that is happening....

Z said...

Hi, L&0..
would you STOP with the facts and how history shows we're destroying ourselves?
It's kind of blissful thinking "America always pulls through..don't worry"!!
No, I have to meet a history teacher who makes perfect sense and backs up his thoughts with FACTS! (Smile)

HELP!! It's SO MUCh and SO FAST!

Of course, every time I DO get optimistic, I also make the mistake of reading Mustang's excellent posts and REALLY spiral into fear!! HA!!

but, seriously, folks.......we have to DO SOMETHING!

Law and Order Teacher said...

Tap,
Thanks for the visit. I'll check it out.

Z,
Thanks for the visit. I certainly believe that the US is capable of escaping this move toward fascist socialism. It did when it survived Wilson's attempted take over and it did during the New Deal era, although WWII boosted the economy immensely.

Wilson's coup de tat was fairly successful. Remember, FDR was Wilson' Asst. Sec. of the Navy. Not important you say? I'll post on it later.

Bloviating Zeppelin said...

Tapline: I couldn't get that link to work!

BZ

Tapline said...

Z, the link was up yesterday. It is the Denverpost.com website and it told how the chosen one requested a list of vetted Ivyleague Muslims. A job listing I assume....

Tapline said...

L&O Teach, I copied the link for my last wrong. It is http://www.denverpost.comm/ci 12006596?source=email Sorry about that

Law and Order Teacher said...

Taps,
Thanks for the information.