If Sequestration Goes Through, The GOP Gets One Of Their Dreams-- The Disabling Of The Regulatory System

Anti-family fanatic Mike Pompeo brags he sees a home run for the Koch brothers

When Boehner passed his Sequestration bill on August 1, 2011, he bragged that he got 98% of what he wanted. People who think the GOP Establishment cares only about lower taxes on the rich forget their other top priority-- dismantling the American regulatory systems, which they conflate with "liberty," the kind of liberty where the powerful prey on the weak and where there's no countervailing force to protect society from predators.

In other words, if some "job creator" wants to make a quick buck selling horse meat as hamburger, Republicans don't believe in government stopping them. That, according to simple-minded Ayn Rand followers, is the job of The Markets. And in Boehner's Sequestration the Republicans don't only get gigantic cutbacks in public workers-- particularly the teachers they so loathe-- but also a partial dismantling-- or at least disrupting-- of the federal regulatory system. Sure, the s&m party rejoices at the loss of 750,000-800,000 jobs, but even more joyous for them is the slashing of the watchdog agencies that keep an eye on the real GOP base-- Big Business. Republican congressmen are absolutely giddy-- remember Koch Industries very own congressman Mike Pompeo celebrating what others see as doom as a home run. There's almost nothing the nefarious Kochs want more than an ability to pillage and plunder the economy without any oversight. That's why they spent so much to put Pompeo in Congress in the first place!

A trio of the nation’s top financial regulators would face millions of dollars in cuts under the sequester-- a budget squeeze that could limit their ability to conduct examinations, purchase needed technology, and generally keep a close eye on Wall Street.

“We can’t travel, we can’t go to conferences, we can’t do the things we’re here and supposed to do and committed to do,” said Steven Adamske, spokesman for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

...According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), several of the nation’s top financial regulators would experience cuts of roughly 8 percent.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) $1.3 billion budget would fall by $108 million, while the CFTC would take a $17 million haircut to its $205 million budget.

The OMB’s report also states that the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)-- despite not having its budget set by Congress like the SEC and CFTC-- would also face cuts totaling $34 million from its $448 million budget.

The SEC and CFTC are already operating under budgets the White House claims are insufficient for their expanding workloads, which have grown since the Dodd-Frank financial reform law was enacted. The White House has requested hefty boosts for both agencies, but Republicans have argued their budgets should be cut rather than increased.

Time for the Kochs and their ilk to go back to the good old days of dumping pollutants from their businesses into rivers and lakes? Time for more crooked rich people getting richer by more crooked dealings? You betcha! And that makes Republican congressmen as happy as seeing unemployment numbers go sky high.

SUNDAY CLASSICS NOTE FROM KEN

Today's Boris Godunov post will follow at 5pm ET/2pm PT. When you see it, you'll be astonished that it can have required so much time and effort. All I can say is, well, yeah, it did.

#