The great Peter Wallison of the American Enterprise Institute has a very good piece in the Wall Street Journal about the president’s plan for the country’s financial industry. As Wallison mentions, Obama of course didn’t fail to pay lip service to the free-market, but then demonstrated that, fundamentally, he either doesn’t get it, or he dislikes it. In the end, the product will be one that Wallison has been fighting for 25 years, something that resembles Freddie and Fannie. Just bigger.

In other words, the administration’s plan would create what are essentially government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in every sector of the financial economy — insurers, securities firms, finance companies, bank holding companies, and hedge funds — where these specially regulated firms are to be designated. The result will be devastating for competition. Larger firms will squeeze out smaller ones and aggressive small companies will have less opportunity to overcome the government-backed winners.

Wallison concludes:

The president has said on several occasions, including in yesterday’s speech, that “I’ve always been a strong believer in the power of the free market.” But his administration’s prescriptions tell a different story. In AIG, GM, Chrysler, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac we can see the future that the administration envisions for our economy — a sclerotic and unchanging structure of big companies working with, protected by, and relying on big government.

Here is Wallison talking about the financial crisis at Reason in Hollywood back in November.