I'm 29 and still don't know exactly why Congress can't be sincere about fixing problems. There's a deep question there that I don't think just has to do with greed. Perhaps, it's mindless.

The Too-big-to-fail bill that was unveiled the other day seems to have almost no real sincerity for fixing the problem of too-big-to-fail bailouts. Regulation is done in secret, the Federal Reserve still gets to decide some of the things that create too-big-to-fail (cash reserve ratios, etc.). David Sirota writes the following:

"At a recent hearing, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., called the language "TARP on steroids," noting the provisions would deliberately let the executive branch enact even bigger, more unregulated bailouts than ever – and by unilateral fiat.

Whereas the original TARP included some oversight language and power to limit Wall Street bonuses, TARP on Steroids includes no specific oversight or executive pay constraints. Whereas TARP permitted the government to underwrite both small and large banks, TARP on Steroids allows taxpayer cash to go only to the behemoths (which, not coincidentally, tend to make the biggest campaign contributions). And whereas TARP limited the treasury secretary's check-writing authority to two years and $700 billion, TARP on Steroids would let him spend as much as he wants for as long as he wants.

This last point is what poker players call "the tell" – the inadvertent tip exposing a scam. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's tell came when he publicly said the Obama administration would oppose amendments limiting the new bailout power – even if the limit was a $1 trillion cap.

The former financial executives inside the Obama administration have labeled their bill the "Financial Stability Improvement Act," and some might say that's like Bush officials oxymoronically calling their own anti-environment initiatives a "Clear Skies" agenda. But that's not a totally fair comparison because there's an underlying consistency here: While these new "financial stability" powers may destabilize the nation's finances, they would more than stabilize Wall Street's larcenous profits.

That thievery, of course, has been the big problem all along – and now, only another 9/29 can prevent it from getting worse.

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