As predicted in my brief piece on Friday, the bank stress test is indeed a joke, unless it was formulated to intentionally exacerbate the banking debacle. Even the so called extreme end of the parameters used to judge the banks’ abilities to stand up under pressure were well within the realm of reasonable possibility, so this was a test most of the banks were destined to fail.

The Treasury, still understaffed, is being manned by kids with crayons and coloring books whose homework is clearly above their pay grades.

The first piece of evidence supporting the above arrived this morning when Bank of America and Citigroup were informed that they’d have to raise additional capital and reserves in order to comply with the guidelines set forth, guidelines far less rigorous than would be required to insure a stable financial system.

Geithner, who made the stress test rather unstressful for his pals on the street (Wall, not Main), seems more of a mini-Paulson than a fresh face for change. While I understand that Obama wanted to preserve some continuity in his selection of a Treasury Secretary, he may well have done so at the expense of preserving the old boy network and their “heads I win, tails you lose” mentality.

They’re about to profit handsomely by, in effect, repurchasing the toxic assets they themselves created, which precipitated this money mess, for pennies on the dollar, with their risk backstopped by the government, AKA you and me, the taxpayers. We’re getting robbed, and then paying for the thieves’ defense.

It’s as if there’s a fourth branch of government, unencumbered by the checks and balances that the other three branches have to abide by. Let’s call it the rogue financial branch.

There’s got to be a Jack Bauer CPA type out there somewhere.

                          

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Granted, none of the recklessness that’s led to our current precarious state occurred during the Obama administration. But it’s time to change the script.

Geithner, Summers, Romer, Barnes, and even Biden’s economic adviser Jared Bernstein have to stop the spin and dig in. “We own the economy” is what they’ve got to convey now, and if they don’t own it soon, they are going to own the responsibility of GM failing, unemployment continuing to rise at an unprecedented pace (another 13 Yankee Stadium’s worth this past Thursday), and, perhaps worst of all from a political perspective, the increasingly tense and tenuous American atmosphere is going to be laid at this administration’s doorstep.

In the first few weeks following the inauguration the blame game may have been acceptable while the transition took place. Right now, the guy with the busted refrigerator who’s storing his family’s perishables outside in the snow because he doesn’t have the cash to buy a new one, also doesn’t give a hoot about who broke his bank. He just wants it fixed, and since Obama sought out the position of fixer-in-chief, the weight’s on O to turn oratory into reality.

America’s got a short attention span and a shorter fuse right now. Bush is already a distant memory. To borrow a phrase from schoolyard basketball, Obama’s got next.

And next is now. Game on.

                          

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This year my begrudging acceptance is morphing into raw fury. Paying taxes has turned from a civic duty to a nauseating leap of faith.

Now make no mistake, I’m a charitable sort. So much so that my accountant just informed me that the percentage of my income donated to charitable causes is high enough, for someone in my modest income bracket, to raise a red flag in the IRS dungeon deep within the bowels of the Treasury building.

Clearly I’m not adverse to lending a helping hand. I’m just not big on lending a trillion dollars.

I have no problem having my tax dollars pay for the victims of natural disasters. Following Katrina, and despite the horrific ineptitude of Brownie and Bushie, I’ve never for a moment regretted my money being used in the attempt to salvage what was left of the lives of folks I’ve never met and may well never meet. I’ll never fly in the space shuttle, but I’m happy to contribute to the well being of those who do. I’m happy to contribute to raw scientific research that may (or may not) lead to polished and societally useful applications.

Disease cures, time machines, environmental fixes, bring ‘em on; mi dinero es su dinero.

But paying taxes this year is different. It’s going to be impossible to figure out which distressed homeowners were duped, dumb, or avaricious, and treat each category accordingly. It’s going to be impossible to weed out the shady mortgage brokers, and the white-shoe firm hotshots who bundled together a bunch of toxic waste and sold them as bouquets of roses. And what exactly do you do with the greedy idiots who bought the stuff? Recapitalize them with your money, and with mine?

Yet our tax dollars are going to be used in ways even the best and the brightest can’t figure out, let along articulate. Geithner was one high IQ joke in his address to the nation. Not Mensa’s finest hour.

I think the shoe’s on the other foot this year. There’s probably a statute or two on the federal, state, and local books that makes it illegal for me to call for a moratorium on tax payments until the government gets its act together, so I won’t do that.

That said, it would certainly be righteous for the citizens of this nation to demand that our government fully explain, in terms that are clear to PhD’s in economics and Wal-Mart cashiers alike (and given the rash of layoffs, there may be some individuals who are both), exactly how the government plans to use our money this year.

And they should tell us before April 15th.

This year, that should be their due date.

If they don’t, interest and penalties, withdrawn from their salaries, should accrue for each and every public official who lives off the public dime, until such time as they set themselves, and us, straight. And if they have trouble paying their bills, they can wake up in a nervous sweat just like the rest of us.

No taxation without justification. Tea party anyone?

                          

10:08 the end. about as good as it could have been, given that we’re human and imperfect. i hope it sticks.

10:05 kids see it much more clearly than us jaded wiseass grownup types. if there’s a God, God bless that child.

10:00 but, but, isn’t Jack Bauer an American? seriously, i think causing excruciating pain to one evil human to save the lives of thousands of innocent ones isn’t a bad trade-off.

9:57 it is hard to believe that the economic cost of the war in Iraq was kept out of the budget. that’s one gigantic piece of wool that was pulled over the nation’s eyes.

9:56 the check is in the mail. great.

9:55 i will not see my taxes increased a single dime.

9:53 attacking agri-business is a slippery slope. that’s going to be an engine of monstrous economic growth as we feed billions halfway around the world.

9:52 Schumer looks smarmier than Donald Trump. not easy.

9:51 it is with extreme humility that i point out that i was 10 minutes ahead of him in the video game condemnation department.

9:49 what Republican or bluedog Dem can scoff at the goal of regaining the upper hand regarding higher education?

9:44 we cannot consider ourselves civilized if all of our citizens don’t have access to quality health care. the fact that this is not self-evident reflects poorly on us all.

9:41 O’s making a valiant effort to get America away from the lethargy that led Grand Theft Auto and the WWE to matter more than the noble and necessary endeavors of the past, that made us the great nation he believes we still are and can continue to be

9:39 let’s see if domestic solar stocks rise tomorrow. look at ENER. disclosure: no position.

9:37 government catalyzed private enterprise. another excellent picture painted.

9:36 excellent line about sacrificing even worthy priorities.

9:35 Wrangel contemplates his eventual plea bargain.

9:33 but you have to help banks in order for them to help people. that’s how the system works.

9:29 i hope he knows how to recognize responsible families that are suffering. i can’t imagine the agency that’s going to be required, and the number of lie detectors that the agency will need to purchase. see my piece tomorrow on Taxation Without Justification for more on the subject.

9:26 slowly, O may be successfully turning this into a national family meeting around a large kitchen table, about a change in the economic status of the family, and what has to be done for the family to weather the bumpy road ahead.

9:22 O should be talking more about hard choices and paying the price for our excesses. he doesn’t need to sell a bill that’s already been signed into law.

9:19 good call to arms. now let’s get down to specifics. please.

9:06 full disclosure: i voted for Obama. yes, my first three entries were critical of Dems. for equal time, scroll down to the piece posted earlier today about cold hearted, opportunistic Bobby Jindal.

9:05 no duct tape on Geithner’s mouth. probably just an oversight.

9:00 Sully’s there! Sully’s there! landing this economy safely in the Hudson can’t be any tougher than what he did. or is it?

8:57 Biden and Pelosi look like they spent some time on their appearance tonight. are these the Oscars or a major political speech? too bad Biden can’t buy designer tact and Pelosi can’t buy a designer brain.

8:50 watching CNN. already heard about congressional behavior that’s worth a column unto itself. some congressmen got to the chamber as early as 8:30 this morning to reserve spots so that they could greet and be seen greeting the president. any notions that these are statesmen and not showmen have been put to rest.

7:45 p.m. ET Pregame show:

Unlike credentialed members of the media, I’m not given a copy of the President’s address ahead of time. I have no idea why that is.

My educated guess is that as a result of the multiple failures by member of Team O to communicate well over the past couple of weeks, followed by plenty of media flack about it, the President is prepped and ready to rock.

His delivery’s always good, and his content’s going to be on point, and on whatever target he wants to hit. He may not please all of the people all of the time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if tonight marks the beginning of the long and arduous process of moving the country in a positive direction.

I hope, for all of our sakes, that I’m right. With another 600,00 newly unemployed folks expected to be out on the street this week, it’s either get this train back on track or get ready for some serious civil unrest.

Be back at 9PM EST. – LK

                          

We’re about to give the same vultures who dropped us in the toxic security cesspool an opportunity to profit substantially with a minimum of risk, back-stopped by our very own tax dollars.

We are chumps, we are victims, we are marks.

Unless we choose not to be.

I’m thinking of a plan that gives willing taxpayers the right to divert their taxes to a hedge fund-like pool that can take the same risks, with the same limited downside, that the vultures are being offered.

Stay tuned.