I was reading an article about the financial reform bill on OpenMarket.org tonight and I found this comment that got me thinking:

 And the bill’s definition of  “nonbank financial company” is so broad that it could cover manufacturers only tangentially involved in extending credit, such as those that lease equipment to their customers.

So, I decided to check it out.  I went to Senator Dodd’s web-site and downloaded the 1300+ page bill (ugh). Fortunately the pertinent section was in Section 113 on page 31 — AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE SUPERVISION AND REGULATION OF CERTAIN NON-BANK FINANCIAL COMPANIES.

The only basis for qualifying as a non-bank financial company is that a council made up of nine appointees determine that this company poses a significant threat to the financial stability of the United States (Section 113 (a) (1)).  This determination can be for ANY reason of the Council’s choosing (Section 2 (G) and (J)).

This is really pretty scary.  The most immediate industry that comes to my mind (one that has already been demonized by Obama) is the oil industry.  When oil prices rise to record levels because of years and years of the Democrat’s anti-drilling policies, they can be taken over by the Council and a new board appointed.  Skeptical about this scenario?  Well, it’s not like he already controls the auto industry, the student loan industry, the health insurance industry and much of the banking industry, is it?  Next up — Wall Street and Big Oil!