Many readers have, no doubt, read various reports in the establishment media that one of President Obama’s many appointed “czars” made waves by announcing that the top executives of the large mega-corporations that received federal bail-out monies would be required to drastically cut their salaries. The USA Today version of this story is the first link below and the FOX News account is the second link. The FOX News account states the government czar wanted to “order” these salary cuts. However, the story came out later that the “czar,” Kenneth Feinberg, who ordered these executive pay cuts “did not even seek the president’s approval before making his decision” (see third link). The fact that these “czars” apparently feel empowered to impose their personal “diktats” upon the USA without bothering to check with the White House or Congress (Oh, yes! Remember Congress? Are they even “in the loop” any longer in Washington, DC?) raises extremely serious issues to consider.
To begin with, let me state that I agree with any law that would drastically scale back the executive compensations of the reckless firms which got bailed out with taxpayer funds. Indeed, the obscenely-high salaries and bonuses paid to the entire reckless Wall Street crowd ought to be cut drastically across the board. These are the very people who almost collapsed the entire global economy in September, 2008. How can anyone justify giving these people a single dollar? These reckless executives ought to have the government and shareholders up in arms and implementing “claw-backs” on all of their compensation packages. However, this should be done lawfully if we are to live in a nation governed by the rule of law. It should not be done by unelected and unaccountable “czars” (a Russian title I might add).
The appointed czar who issued this diktat has no Constitutional standing to issue any orders or make any laws whatsoever. That he felt empowered to do so speaks volumes about the presumptuousness of these “czars.” Our Constitution gives Congress the right and duty to make laws in our nation. The executive branch is to implement the laws that the legislative branch passes. The executive branch is not empowered to “make laws” in the U.S. Constitution. However, given the endless number of executive branch agencies that “make laws” by simply publishing diktats in the Federal Register, it would seem that the federal government has paid little or no attention to the U.S. Constitution in a long time. So, as much as I agree with the intent of “Czar” Kenneth Feinberg’s diktat, I would point out that Congress is the responsible Constitutional body for issuing such a law. Unfortunately, this gets to the crux of the problem. Congress is composed of politicians who are so “owned” by the special interests that contribute millions to their re-election campaigns that Congress seems incapable of acting in the national or public interest any longer. Congress does whatever their special interests want them to do, not what the national interest requires (or their constituents want) them to do.
We have a very severe governmental problem. Congress is supposed to govern the nation by making laws. However, they have become such a circus of clowns that they vote on lengthy bills (written by the executive branch) without even bothering to read them! Seriously, how do we Americans keep re-electing these clueless clowns to office each time they run for office? So Congress, which should be making the laws, can’t get anything done. The executive branch, which can’t actually make law according to the U.S. Constitution, is making laws all over the place. The U.S. Supreme Court, which is supposed to be the guardian of the U.S. Constitution by making sure the other branches of government obey the Constitution, allows this governmental tragicomedy to take place without laying down “the law” to the other branches of the federal government to act in compliance with the U.S. Constitution.
Particularly worrisome is the fact that Czar Feinberg didn’t even feel any need to consult the White House before issuing his diktat. While I’m sure he wouldn’t say so openly, his action declares that Czar Feinberg didn’t feel he was accountable to President Obama or anyone else. He thought he had dictatorial powers. Do all the other “czars” feel the same way? Is President Obama “in the loop” any longer when decisions are made in the Executive Branch? Apparently not. At a time when very important decisions need to be made on many vital issues, Obama flees the scene. He flees to Copenhagen to lobby for his old Chicago bosses to get a future Olympics, he goes on David Letterman’s show or flits about the nation and world making speeches on this or that subject. Obama receives the Nobel Peace Prize even though many pundits and foreign media have noted he didn’t do anything to deserve it. Indeed, Obama seems incapable of making a hard decision on anything. My own opinion is that he seems to somehow need validation, adulation or worship from the masses and crowds. He realize that making hard decisions will make large swaths of the voting public very angry at him. When tough issues were before the Illinois Legislature, Obama would simply vote “present” to not alienate anyone. Now that he is President, he can’t even bring himself to vote “present.” He simply leaves town to avoid making decisions.
The United States of America is in crisis. Our government has drifted far from its Constitutional limits and responsibilities, our leaders serve the special interests instead of the public and national interests. We have a president who had no resume or experience for the job that awaited him in the Oval Office. His appointment of a plethora of czars to oversee areas of the U.S. Executive branch is an unspoken admission on his part that he has no governing skills in any of these areas. A sad situation, indeed.
So who is in charge of the US Government? Congress has abdicated its powers to the executive branch. President Obama, the head of the executive branch, has abdicated his powers to various “czars” who issue their own diktats as if Obama himself is an irrelevant figurehead of a president. The U.S. Supreme Court does nothing about this governmental crisis. The U.S. Federal Reserve Board (a private bank) is creating endless amounts of new U.S. dollars from some fiscal “black hole” and it hopes the world will agree to pretend all this new money is “real.” Is anyone truly in charge of the U.S. Government or is our ship of state completely adrift in an increasingly-dangerous world? I only pose the question. I don’t know the answer.
The first few chapters of Isaiah accurately describe our current national situation. Isaiah 1:2-4 states: “They have rebelled against me…Israel does not know, my people do not consider, Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity…they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” Does that sound like the USA, a nation which has forsaken its God and the Judeo-Christian laws on which our nation was founded and via which it rose to greatness? Isaiah 1:10 addresses the rulers and citizens of this sinful nation in this manner: “Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom, give ear unto the law of God, you people of Gomorrah.” Does this accurately describe the modern trends in the USA or not? Isaiah 1:23 says of this sinful nation: “Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loves bribes and follows after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come unto them.” Does this sound like our modern politicians (“princes”) who receive millions of dollars in “campaign contributions” (what God calls “bribes”) which make them puppets of the special interests and oblivious to the pain being felt by common people and the powerless members of society? If you wish, read the first five chapters of Isaiah and think about how much of its content applies very accurately to modern America.
The modern leaders of America who have rebelled against God, the U.S. Constitution (which God gave to our nation as our foundational law) and common sense itself are heading for a Judgment Day that they have not expected. A blog will be posted soon re: how the prophesied Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 are likely to interject themselves into the governing affairs of the modern nations. The Bible gives us some good indications of what they will do, and the nations will not find it a pleasant experience. If you wish to read some background material for this upcoming blog, please read my article about “The Two Witnesses” available at the articles link at this website. The nations are in for a surprise which they neither want nor expect.
http://www.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2009-10-22-1Aexecpay22_ST_U.htm?csp=34
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/21/obama-administration-order-steep-pay-cuts-bailed-companies/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/22/pay-czar-feinberg-obama-decision-slash-executive-pay/
