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(Image:
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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...
Michael
J. Panzner
Editor, Financialarmageddon.com
Michael J. Panzner is a
25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets and the
author of Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending
Catastrophes, published by Kaplan Publishing.
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