‘We call it theft’

Investor's Business Daily remains a publication bold enough to challenge the trance from which many Americans seem to be watching "Obama-nomics" unfold.

The White House plan for General Motors' bankruptcy "pushes bondholders aside in favor of the U.S. government and the UAW," the daily noted on Monday. "The government, with roughly two times what private bondholders have on the table, gets a stake five times bigger. And the union, with about a third as much 'invested,' gets a 70 percent bigger stake," IBD notes. "They call it 'restructuring.' We call it theft."

The deal "will make investors -- domestic and foreign alike -- think twice about investing in an American stock or bond in the coming years," the business daily warns. But beyond that, "We don't believe the government's actions are even legal. ...

"Our Constitution is very specific. It limits the executive branch's rights to those enumerated therein. ... That's why in 1952, when President Harry S. Truman tried to seize control of the U.S. steel industry during a debilitating strike, the Supreme Court made him back down. ..."

The business daily concludes by asking "Next stop: Federal court?"

It would indeed be interesting to hear this White House explain where, in our written Constitution, it finds the delegated power to step in, seize, and dole out ownership shares in a privately held American enterprise.