Taxpayer Privilege

What would happen if we sneaked a tiny little clause in the fine print of new finance regulations that will allow our President to invoke Taxpayer Privilege in using inside info to manipulate the market on behalf of taxpayers?

Scenario 1. Health care reform doesn't pass. Health insurance and medical companies' stocks make a rally. The White House knows about the deal before the news reach the market and instructs the Treasury to buy health stocks. With the trillion profits it will make selling them after the news is out, it bails out taxpayers. That's Sweet!

Scenario 2. The health bill can pass but the White House announces that it doesn't have the deal it wants. Technically speaking, that is an accurate statement of the government's intentions. The market interprets it as no-deal on health care and stocks rally. The Treasury sells the stocks short. Profits and health care go back to the taxpayers. That's sweet-killing of two birds with one stone. Sweet nevertheless!

That's all good and nice in "A Perfect World" where free markets exist.

Since we don't live in "A Perfect World", we get to make up for loss of free markets with plenty of free imagination.

In executing some of my free supply of it, I imagine a unanimous vote on the Executive Privilege of allowing the President to invoke Taxpayer Privilege and have the market pay back taxpayers for free! :))

http://www.thinkaloo.com