Minister of Silly Ideas

[Winstonm]

George W. Bush nominated John C. Dugan as Comptroller of the Currency. Dugan produded a 750-page manifesto on bank reform that led Congress to adopt many of the changes recommended.

Regarding the Dugan changes to bank regulation, Kansas City Federal Reserve president Thomas Hoenig, in an August 6 2009 speech, made the following observations:

 

“There were two pieces of legislation that facilitated our migration toward too big to fail… Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, which permitted banks to grow across state lines, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which eliminated the separation of commercial and investment banking. Since 1990, the largest twenty institutions grew from controlling about 35% of industry assets to controlling 70% of assets today.”

 

Note that both of these legislations enacted into law changes proposed by Dugan.

 

End result - The Great Recession and the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression that cost taxpayers bilions in bailout funds.

 

I understand in Washington, D.C., it is nearly impossible to get blame to stick, and the same old idiots are recycled again and again into various government positions, but isn't it about time we weeded out the most lame idiots of the bunch and at least put them where they can do no real harm???

 

I propose the establishment of the United States Ministry of Silly Ideas, the sole purpose of which is to grant government positions to those whose ideas are too dangerous to the rest of us for them to actually affect policy but as beltway insiders are too ingrained politically to be rid of completely. And as first Minister of Silly Ideas I hereby nominate John C. Dugan as a perfect model.

 

Other nominations are now open.

[matmat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w