The Brilliance Of The U.S. Government Bailout 9/23/2008 1:30:00 PM From the time the founders drafted the Constitution, Presidents and the Congress have often been in a tug-of-war over the scope of executive power. After Lincoln voided rights of secession and suspended Habeas Corpus, Congress nearly impeached his successor, Andrew Johnson. When Franklin Roosevelt broke the unwritten rule that limited presidents to two terms in office, Congress wrote the two-term rule down in the form of the 22nd Amendment. But this time, it's different. The expansion of executive power is not because of national security, war, or political scandal. This time, the president wants power without precedent because the debt-based, monopoly-currency financial system has failed. The executive wants to intervene in the private sector via a blank check the Treasury will use to buy assets on a staggering scale. What's more, the power the executive wants goes beyond usurping it from Congress. They're taking it from the private sector. With your money. The sub-prime and credit crises will now cost $700 billion dollars to "fix." That’s a government-estimated figure. They also estimated the Iraq War – excuse me, Operation Iraqi Freedom – would cost $2 billion (and would be over in 6 months!) If banks ran as they should, they'd never have gotten us into this mess. The FDIC, Fannie, Freddie, and the rest of them all serve to make it easier for banks to make loans. Translation: the FDIC, Fannie, Freddie, etc. all exist to make it easier for banks to be more reckless with your money. If bankers were left holding the bag for the bad loans they themselves made, how many lenders would approve sub-prime mortgage loans? Zero, dear reader. Banks are not stupid; they're in it to make a buck by taking rational risks. But if they can make a less-than-rational loan, and make their buck by selling it to Fannie and Freddie, of course they will make that loan. Not only did Government Sponsored Enterprises remove the need for banks to make rational loans, the SEC and Treasury also authorized five firms to increase their leverage limits from 12 to 1 to as much as 36 to 1. Their names might be familiar, although now on headstones: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers. So who are we supposed to rely on for help? Apparently, the same U.S. government that produced the FDIC, Fannie, Freddie, etc. If we want their help to "fix" problems that they caused in the first place, it will come at a price. We the people will now surrender our own free market rights, pay for it out of our own pockets, and say thank-you-sir-may-I-have-another. The worst phrase you could possibly hear is "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help." This time, we're hearing "I'm from the government. I'm here to help. And my mistakes are going to cost you. Severely." In this month's Elliott Wave Theorist and interim issue, Bob Prechter lays bare the awful truth -- yet he also makes it clear that there is something you can do to help yourself. Find out more right here.