The Obama administration and congress may now take on the issues arising from the near collapse of the financial system last year — how to deal with financial institutions that "are too big to fail." A senior administration official said Sunday that Representative Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, would make it easier for the government to seize troubled financial institutions, toss out management, throw out the shareholders and change the terms of existing loans held by the institution. It's a start. We did it with the banks in the 1930s, and the S&Ls in the 1980s and it worked, and Sweden did it with their banks in the 1990s. England did it with Northern Rock - the nation's largest bank - just last year. The best solution to toxic banks is to throw the bums out and start over!
In Strange News...Dallas Woman Ticketed For Not Speaking English. The Dallas Morning News reports that Ernestina Mondragon, a native Spanish-speaker who is still learning English, was wrongfully issued a ticket by an officer in training for not speaking English. Non-English speakers aren’t allowed to operate taxis or commercial vehicles in Texas, however Mondragon has every right to be on the road in her private car according to state and local law. Throughout the years, English-only bills have been considered by the Texas state legislature — including one that sought to designate English as the official language of the State of Texas. Yet so far, non-English speakers in Texas are still allowed to drive.
