ACORN in the news: leftist group launches campaign of lawlessness to seize foreclosed homes, mysterious bank payment of $2 million, Obama promises ACORN role in White House policy, and NY ACORN leader confronted by TV anchor. In other news, regulators inch towards bank ownership, Medicaid receives emergency $15 billion from spending bill, economists predict recovery in 2010, Biden appointed “stimulus Czar”, and poll shows Americans trust politicians more than business leaders to run economy…just the latest in your Freedom Under Fire Report!

Everyday our liberties and freedom come under fire. The American Republic once protected its citizens from arbitrary abuse, extortion, and deliberate social engineering. Now the very same public servants who were meant to work for us connive daily on how to control our lives. The Republic is gone and we are left to fend for ourselves, to put up resistance to every encroachment on individual self-determination. The Freedom Under Fire Report provides daily coverage of the most important issues, so that you remain informed and ready to defend yourself. Read on and pass this around to everyone you think could benefit:

Regulators Inch Toward Bank Nationalization. Federal regulators will launch a revamped program to “shore up the nation’s troubled banks,” including the option of increasing government ownership. Reluctant to head down the road to nationalization, regulators continue to suggest that keeping banks private in the long run is still a priority: “Because our economy functions better when financial institutions are well managed in the private sector, the strong presumption is that banks should remain in private hands.”

Medicaid to Receive $15 billion from Spending Bill. Addressing the nation’s governors, President Obama announced that $15 billion of the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be immediately available for Medicaid. Medicaid is a jointly underwritten program between the federal and state governments, designed to provide health coverage for the poor.

Economists Predict Recovery in 2010. A survey of leading economists forecasts a deep and painful recession through the end of 2009, at which point they see a modest recovery, followed by solid growth in 2010.

New Role for Vice President Biden: “Stimulus Czar”. Vice President Joe Biden has been appointed to oversee implementation of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Part of the spending bill will be maid immediately available this week for Medicaid programs.

Poll: People Trust Politicians More than Business Leaders to Fix Economy. According to a new poll it seems as though people have more faith in politicians to manage the economy than they do business owners and managers. 30% of those questioned have confidence in Wall Street executives to make the right decisions, while 75% believe Obama can do better. Republicans scored 53%, while Democrats in Congress scored 66%. Can lawyers and career bureaucrats really run businesses better than those who actually run businesses? This well written, witty article suggests Congress runs its business horribly. In fact, Congress manages its affairs so poorly that if it were held to the same standards to which it forces businesses, most members would be fired, or imprisoned.

Why is a Bank Paying Off a Leftist Group Attacking Banks? Bank of America forks over $2 million to ACORN Housing Corporation to “prevent foreclosures and educate people about finances and purchasing homes.” President Obama has long worked witih ACORN in his community organizing days, which explains why the majority of the Bank of America payoff is going to ACORN’s Chicago chapter.

NY ACORN Leader, Bertha Lewis, Confronted on Fox Business. Fox Business host, Stuart Varney, confronts ACORN leader about the group’s home squatting program. “Do you think that you’ve got a right to these houses? They’ve got a right to the house even though they haven’t been paying their bills?” “What right do you have to get my money to pay for you? I’ve read the Constitution and I don’t see that right.” Lewis tries several times to dodge Varney’s questions, positing parallel arguments, but Varney stops her on every occasion. Ultimately, the ACORN leader states:

“I wish we could force banks to our will, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

Obama Calls on ACORN to Shape Federal Agenda. With the recent resurgence of the radical leftist group, ACORN, which is receiving federal funding, and $2 million from Bank of America directly to the group’s chicago chapter, it raises questions as to the influence this group now holds over government. In a speech to thousands of community organizers, including ACORN, at the Heartland Democratic Presidential Forum on 12/1/07, Obama clearly sends a signal of support for the group saying:

“Before i even get inaugurated, we’re going to be calling you all in to help shape the agenda. We’re going to be having meetings all across the country with community organizations so that you have input in the agenda of the next presidency of the United States of America.”

Obama later refuted direct affiliation with ACORN, saying that his campaign does not need the group’s help. Obama could have been merely posturing to the group in the 2007 rally hoping to gain votes, but recent funding and other support for the group at least raises serious questions.

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With all the speculation on a government takeover of the banking industry, including Alan Greenspan’s statement that “the U.S. may have to temporarily nationalize some banks until the industry is restructured,” we should do some serious soul searching. America has a long tradition of respecting property rights and restricting government power from the private domain. Overt nationalization would be unconstitutional, but change is in the air…

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Sen. Chuck Schumer said that “failed ‘zombie’ banks, no matter what their size, should be taken over by the government, which should then wipe out shareholders, fire management, clean up the banks and quickly resell them into the marketplace.” Schumer also declared this to be a bad last resort and should be stressed as temporary.

Debunking the notion of long-term government bank ownership, Schumer stated:

“The government is not good at making these decisions and managing assets in general. It’s a different way of thinking in government. The government bureaucrats make for bad bankers and you’d probably end up making it worse,”

Comments like “wipe out shareholders” have literally been wiping out shareholders, tearing apart some of the banks speculated to be in Congress’s cross-hairs:

Senator Schumer is right that government would not be good at running banks. What is left out from the discussion, however, is that Congress has been doing a terrible job managing its own affairs. Many banks may be at, or nearing, insolvency, but Congress has long ago led America towards a similar fate. Consider the $10.8 trillion in public debt, the $1.2 trillion budget deficit this year, $52.7 trillion in unfunded liabilities for Social Security, Medicare, and medicaid, as quick examples of how well government runs its own business. If Congress followed the same accounting rules as the private market it purports to oversee, all its members would be fired and possibly thrown into prison.

Now we must ask ourselves why banks are insolvent? Why did they take on so much risk? Was it greed, bad business, or incompetence? It may be all of these and more, but a critical factor in the equation is government. Between Congress, the Executive, and the Federal Reserve, business conditions were so warped, money supply so inflated, and incentives so distorted that we should have expected a good deal of malinvestment. In fact, given that nothing has changed in government’s business model, we should expect to see more of the same in the economy.

Let’s recap a few big mistakes government made that caused the financial meltdown:

• Federal Reserve set interest rates too low for too long, causing explosive growth in the money supply following 9/11
• Congressional mandates to Fannie and Freddie to expand subprime debt in their portfolios
• Expansion of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs to make it easy for low-income buyers to get loans

Even now, govenrment’s solution is to encourage subprime loans with HUD, while Fannie Mae “drop[s] some credit-score requirements, reduce[s] income-documentation standards and waive[s] the need for appraisals in some cases.”

Let’s hold members of the Senate Banking Committee, and the House Committee on Financial Services (excluding Ron Paul) at least as responsible as banking executives.  So really, why are we talking about nationalizing banks, rather than privatizing Congress?

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