Emptywheel's perfectly good question

Emptywheel posted something that would make a perfectly good question for our Treasury Department (preferably in an open hearing - televised in prime time).

I'm paraphrasing here, but here it goes:

How is it that the US government can force car companies to cut the wages of line workers, the US government cannot force bankers to cut the wages of the thugs who broke the global financial system?

Well...?