The nationaliztion question that demands an answer

...is We already own the banks -- shouldn't we run them?

(Via CJR)

…it’s obvious that nationalization of the banks is a done deal. We bought them. We own them.

The only problem is that we’ve failed to exercise our right to control them…

The cash injections alone are almost enough to buy up all of BofA’s outstanding common stock twice over and Citi’s stock three times over. Yet the government has failed to demand any specific performance in return. There have been no sackings of management and no mandate that the money be applied to support loans in credit-strapped sectors, like small and medium-size businesses.

The author, Michael Hilzik, takes everybody to task and just spells out where we're at and what needs to be done.

Here's my favorite bit:

Step One should be dumping current management, he says. The banks' CEOs argue that their executive caste needs to stay put because they know best how to run the place. This is the sort of argument my mother used to characterize as, "I like me, who do you like?"

Even if one agrees that a core of professional management should be left intact, what's the rationale for not firing the boards? Bank directors presided over a disaster in a collective stupor, yet unaccountably continue to hold on to their seats with what George Orwell called "prehensile bottoms."

Pure gold, start to finish.