Wasn’t our president at one time called Professor of Constitutional Law Obama? Why wouldn’t President Obama just put it out there on 60 Minutes or during his press conference? The House confiscation bill that taxes financial institution bonus recipients, is unconstitutional on its face. Obama knows that. Where's the transparency professor, uh, Mr. President? Who changed the rules?

But that’s really not the only issue. The issue for community bankers is what other surprises are in the congressional hopper, should they assume the risk of participating in the TARP or TALF program - both of which may be covered in fleas. How can I, as an attorney and board member of any bank, properly and ethically advise my clients as to what may happen in the future, should they decide to get involved? What would you advise them?

As an investor, this really does matter, and ultimately, it impacts the economy, our portfolios and every company’s bottom line. Central to the economic recovery and the success of the Obama stimulus plan is for the reengagement by the business community in the credit markets.

We desperately need the functioning banks to open the windows to available capital to credit worthy businesses and the entrepeneurs that create the jobs this economy so badly needs. For most small businesses, that activity begins at a local community bank

It's the community bank that makes the loan for the new McDonald’s franchisee on your corner, or the strip center with Kroger and Big Lots as the anchor tenants. The Auto Zone real-estate acqusition and lease management often begins at the local banking level. The Starbucks lease and start-up pizza delivery companies like a Papa John’s or Domino’s were originally financed by a local community bank.

However, as things now stand among community bankers, the backbone of the small business community is reluctant, if not unwilling, to participate in a TARP or TALF government-sponsored program with no assurances as to what the rules are, and with no confidence in the future as to how the rules may change.

These institutions are not frozen by a lack of liquidity, and in most cases, there's no real significant capitalization concern. The real concern is in doing business with their own government and a regulatory system with new rules, guidelines and regulatory loan parameters that aren't yet defined.



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