President Obama responded to media outrage over the resumption of Wall Street bonuses by proposing a series of ambitious new regulations of the American banking system. The gist of the scheme was to prohibit banks from running their own trading desks and”owning, investing in or sponsoring” hedge funds and private-equity investment groups. During a photo-op for the announcement, Obama intoned: “Never again will the American taxpayer be held hostage by a bank that is too big to fail.”
His metaphor was screwed up – as, with increasing frequency, his metaphors are. Banks don’t take hostages, Barack. Bank robbers do. And your passel of new regs is the biggest Tommy gun in the room
