Beware Santa’s Secret Legislation

Crossing Wall Street contributor Gary Alexander notes that this time of year has become famous for secret legislation:
It’s no secret this time around, but once again we see the unseemly prospect of a select group of key legislators staying up all night and delaying their Christmas break long enough to muscle-through some controversial legislation before the close of the year. In doing so, they are continuing a grand tradition. December 23 or 24 has been a great time to pass controversial laws, while nobody’s watching too closely. Here are a few examples of what skullduggery the President and/or a few loyal Congressmen have enacted on December 23 or 24 in history:

• On December 23, 1975: President Ford signed the Metric Conversion Act, still a controversial law, and still widely ignored 34 years later.
• On December 23, 1982: Congress passed an unpopular five-cent-per-gallon Gas Tax increase, on the premise that would nobody would notice the nickel, or the secret vote.

While those items might seem trivial and harmless in the rear-view mirror, some of the worst legislation in American history was also hatched on Christmas Eve:

• On December 24, 1827, a group of Congressmen under the control of Andrew Jackson drafted a tariff bill so outrageously protectionist that it was later dubbed “The Tariff of Abominations.” It didn’t pass until the next Spring, but it had the intended outcome of helping Jackson oust John Q. Adams in the 1828 election – and alienating the South.
• On December 23, 1913, Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act, President Woodrow Wilson’s economic initiative for the creation of a national bank to match those in Europe, President Wilson quietly signed the Federal Reserve into existence on Christmas Eve, while most of the press was on holiday break, ignoring the epochal news.
• And on December 24, 2009, a massive new healthcare bill is likely to pass, one for which the recent head of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean, said that he would NOT vote.

Posted by on December 23rd, 2009 at 1:10 am


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.