Jeff Koopersmith says that it’s time to seize the criminal banks, rein in the banksters, and set things sincere.

May 9, 2009 – Geneva (apj.us) – Just take a look at Bank of America.

What on earth gave them, with any sense of decency, the right to purchase another crooked company, Merrill Lynch, for $50 billion in September of 2008 – and then go crying straight to the Fed after they “didn’t realize” just how bad things were at Merrill?

Lawsuits abound on just this issue, and now BoA is groveling before “Helicopter Ben” Bernanke once again, asking for another $40 billion this week by pretending they can raise these funds privately some time down the road.

But if they can’t, the US taxpayer will give it to them – so why not stay in fantasy land?

Here is the trillion dollar question: Just who the heck is going to buy stock or bonds from the top “banking Stress Test” losers?

The Obama Administration had an interesting idea: lend support banks that “were too big to fail” and let them have breathing room to rebuild their strength.

It didn’t work.

The only problem here: Americans cannot afford to rescue banks the size of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley – which only became a “bank” to save it own butt and grab as much of the bail-out money as possible.

Secretary of the Treasury Geithner’s “Stress Test” was a adorable idea, but I am convinced he might not have realized how traumatic the scores might be.  The very large banks he is trying to save cannot be saved – and his stress test proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

American banks - the smaller ones seen to be failing are seized by the government every day.  You can see lists of them just by using any search engine – Search for “Bank failures 2008-2009” to get an eyeful.

There is no reason that taxpayers or anyone else other than the federal government has to solve this problem.  As much as I hate to say it, it’s time for Washington to take over those banks that failed the stress test  – a test that proved nothing at all, but provided the excuse to give the biggest banks another $100 Billion or so, until they need the next $100 billion – and on, and on.

So it’s time now to seize these large banks, just as the Federal Deposit Insurance people seize smaller banks by the dozens every quarter.  This doesn’t mean that Bank of America and its colleague losers will go out of business. 

What is does mean is that the full faith and credit of the United States will now be one and the same as the not-so-full faith and credit we gave our banking industry, and they do not give us. 

This will force banks to stop looking to save their sorry behinds  by charging you $50 because you overdrew your checking account by ten cents for two hours last Thursday. It should also allow credit card rates to settle at some reasonable rate – and not change every time some Bank CEO needs a new Bentley, or more security guards to protect him from the “really angry people”.

There’s more to this.  Just take a look at Bank of America – What on earth gave them, with any sense of decency, the right to purchase another crooked company – Merrill Lynch for $50 billion in September of 2008 and then come crying to the Fed that they didn’t realize just how bad things were at Merrill.  Law suits abound on just this issue, and now BOA is back asking for another $40 billion this week by pretending they can raise these funds privately some time down the road – But if they can’t the US taxpayer will give it to them – so why not stay in fantasy land.

Who on earth is going to buy stock or bonds from the top banking Stress Test losers?

The government must at least temporarily seize these large phony banks. Get rid of the jokers running them, pay off some of their debts and then sell them to more honest private investors who will be glad for the chance, once the debris is cleared from their board rooms and corner offices.

To continue to engage in what is nothing more than charade rewarding the worst of the worst is suicidal both for a well-intentioned President and the average American who has to worry about keeping his or her job, not filling up private planes with jet fuel so weasels like BOA’s Ken Lewis can come crying to Daddy Warbucks in the Treasury Building.

Neoconservative nuts will tell you that if the Untied States seizes these big banks we will have become a socialist nation.

That’s absolute nonsense. 

What these loudmouths – who think you are all dimwits - are really trying to accomplish by spinning this yarn is to save the people who support their political agenda not yours, the rich and the wannabee rich - the same idiots who loaned money to or invested in these criminally-insane banks in the first place.

Socialist nation?    Seems a misnomer to me. 

This is the same nation who produced Dick Cheney – a guy who never earned much more than $100 grand a year while “in public service” but then “served himself” to a couple of hundred of million bucks supporting his favorite rats – the oil and war apparatchiks who were ready, willing and able to have our kids killed and crippled in Iraq just to puff up their bottom lines – not to stop terrorism.  Yeah, maybe they didn’t actually “set out to” do that – but do it they have, and without shedding many tears.

Somehow when the government pays the entire bill and more for the operation of a war machine it’s not socialism, it is “defense.”  Somehow when they prop up oil companies and oil company execs, that’s not socialism either – that’s “protecting national security.”

Well let me tell you this – Seizing these illicit banks and paying the outrageous sums they owe while reorganizing them so they are viable to sell privately under more stringent regulations is not Socialism – its just darn good common sense.

Jeff Koopersmith is an internationally renowned political consultant, opinion research authority and policy analyst. He has lobbied for causes including the alternative fuel sector and women's health, and is an expert on the international real estate market. He lives in Philadelphia, Washington and Geneva.