'Dizzying'

(Image: Source)

For those who want to know why hardly anybody in the financial industry has been called to account (or fired or locked up) for the role they played in bringing about the worst financial crisis this century, or why the meltdown we experienced in 2007-2008 hasn't spawned the kinds of reforms that past crises have, look no further than the following Washington Post article, "Report: More than 1,400 Former Lawmakers, Hill Staffers Are Financial Lobbyists":

Even for Washington, the revolving door between government and Wall Street spins at a dizzying pace.

More than 1,400 former members of Congress, Capitol Hill staffers or federal employees registered as lobbyists on behalf of the financial services sector since the start of 2009, according to an exhaustive new study issued Thursday.

The analysis by two nonpartisan groups, Public Citizen and the Center for Responsive Politics, found that the "small army" of financial lobbyists included at least 73 former lawmakers and 148 former congressional staffers connected to the House or Senate banking committees. More than 40 former Treasury Department employees also ply their trade as lobbyists for Wall Street firms, the study found.

Some of the biggest names highlighted in the study include former Senate majority leaders Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.); former House majority leaders Richard K. Armey (R-Texas) and Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.); and former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). Ex-Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.) has the largest number of financial-services clients of any former lawmaker, representing 13 companies and groups, including Deloitte, Ernst & Young and the Real Estate Roundtable, the report shows.

The revolving door is evident in almost every major issue that comes before Congress, from regulation of the coal industry to the auto industry to the health-care sector.

But the sheer scale of the overlap within the financial sector is remarkable: For every sitting member of Congress, the new study shows, there are three former colleagues or government staffers lobbying on behalf of the banks.

Banana republic-ville, here we come...

Comments

[HSP]

On a smaller scale:

I live in a small town. The town is run by the local bank. The school is run by the local bank. The city government is run by the local bank. The school administration office even rents, and is located in, space in the local bank. The bank says who gets to open a business or not, through their pawns in the city council. The bank decides almost all issues, including who gets elected mayor or councilmen. The bank also runs a lot of the county business, through getting a local bank board member elected County Judge.

As I said, same thing, smaller scale than the feds. What else is new?

[Elf]

It's called Control Fraud. It's an inevitable consequence of a large overweening government with ever increasing powers. Power corrupts. For those who wanted a large government - well, here it is.

Of course as you have a President and a Party who believe in the State getting involved with everything and running (ruining) businesses then people are going to cash in on their government service. It's the real payoff for working as a lowly paid civil servant. Record powers of government = Record number of lobbyists. When the Mafia runs things, wise men seek the protection and friendship of wise guys.