PCS Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2000880,00.html Government for Sale: How Lobbyists Shaped the Financial Reform Bill The following is an abridged version of an article that appears in the July 12, 2010 print and iPad editions of TIME magazine. Two weeks ago, along a marble corridor in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, I watched about 40 well-dressed men (and two women) delivering huge value for their employers. Except that we, the taxpayers, weren't employing them. The nation's banks, mortgage lenders, stockbrokers, private-equity funds and derivatives traders were. They were lobbyists — the best bargain in Washington. Capitol Tax Partners, for example, is one of 1,900 firms that house more than 11,000 lobbyists registered to operate in Washington. Last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), firms like Capitol Tax were paid a total of $3.49 billion for unraveling the mysteries of the tax code for a variety of businesses. According to Capitol Tax co-founder Lindsay Hooper, his firm provided "input and technical advice on various tax matters" to such clients as Morgan Stanley, 3M, Goldman Sachs, Chanel, Ford and the Private Equity Council, which is a trade group trying to head off a plan to increase taxes on what's called carried interest, a form of income enjoyed by the heavy hitters who run venture-capital and other types of private-equity funds. (Time Warner, the parent company of TIME magazine, is also a client of Capitol Tax Partners.) *click link above for more* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Theres no lobbyists anymore, they were expunged by "The Man". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aREDSKIN Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 "Complexity is our enemy," says Elizabeth Warren, chair of the congressional panel overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, who conceived one of the legislation's marquee provisions — a consumer-protection agency to regulate mortgages, credit cards and other financial products. "The more complex these bills are," she complains, "the more they can outgun us." Read more: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2000880,00.html#ixzz0t6D2nZKA This is why Lawyers, who are politicians, are the parasites of society. If you ever have a chance to read one of these bills do it. Itappears that the writers of these bill have a PHd in convolutedness. They intentionally try to manipulate the system to their & their constituents advantage at the expense of the rest of the populace. It's not like it's a courtroom. Shakespeare had it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ax Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 This can't be true. Lobbyists are extinct now, right? Oh, and aREDSKIN, "This is why Lawyers, who are politicians, are the parasites of society". Beautiful. I wept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Just on the general subject of lobbyists, I'm often struck by how cheaply our government is for sale. I read about multi-billion dollar bills being greased by $50K campaign contributions, and I think "that's got to be the best investment that company has ever made in their corporate history". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 No doubt. Unless there are some well dispersed,well hidden "other" contributions,it's rather disappointing how cheap it can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 What the hell is everyone ****ing about? Money is speech and corporations are people. That's what you wanted and that's what you got. What the hell did you think would happen? I'm sick of the stupidity. We embrace deregulation and act shocked when greed brings down the house of cards, as if people doing shady things when no one is watching is something new. We embrace corporate personhood and equating cash to speech and they freak out when corporation write all of our laws and basically hand pick the people policing them. This is what America chose for itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 That's why I'm to the point that I laugh at political bickering. Like either party is really in control. They both do what the money wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Just on the general subject of lobbyists, I'm often struck by how cheaply our government is for sale. I read about multi-billion dollar bills being greased by $50K campaign contributions, and I think "that's got to be the best investment that company has ever made in their corporate history". But how much did that corporation spend to have their lobbyists present at all times and in front of everyone that mattered? That's the trick. They are always present when their issues come up. The rest of America is hearing about the next law to be discussed after these folks have already given every elected official a well thought out opinion on the subject. They offer to write legal language and create support for each bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 What the hell is everyone ****ing about? Money is speech and corporations are people. That's what you wanted and that's what you got. What the hell did you think would happen? What we want? What we want is immaterial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 What the hell is everyone ****ing about? Money is speech and corporations are people. That's what you wanted and that's what you got. What the hell did you think would happen? I'm sick of the stupidity. We embrace deregulation and act shocked when greed brings down the house of cards, as if people doing shady things when no one is watching is something new. We embrace corporate personhood and equating cash to speech and they freak out when corporation write all of our laws and basically hand pick the people policing them. This is what America chose for itself. :bsflag:This ain't deregulation. This is NO free market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 :bsflag:This ain't deregulation. This is NO free market. The kind of free market libertarians favor is as likely to succeed as communism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 The kind of free market libertarians favor is as likely to succeed as communism.:no: It is more toward human nature than communism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky21 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 What the hell is everyone ****ing about? Money is speech and corporations are people. That's what you wanted and that's what you got. What the hell did you think would happen? I'm sick of the stupidity. We embrace deregulation and act shocked when greed brings down the house of cards, as if people doing shady things when no one is watching is something new. We embrace corporate personhood and equating cash to speech and they freak out when corporation write all of our laws and basically hand pick the people policing them. This is what America chose for itself. Why do you hate capitalism? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 :no: It is more toward human nature than communism. Not at all. Neither system has anything in place to counter human greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 What the hell is everyone ****ing about? Money is speech and corporations are people. That's what you wanted and that's what you got. What the hell did you think would happen? I'm sick of the stupidity. We embrace deregulation and act shocked when greed brings down the house of cards, as if people doing shady things when no one is watching is something new. We embrace corporate personhood and equating cash to speech and they freak out when corporation write all of our laws and basically hand pick the people policing them. This is what America chose for itself. Agreed. Once again we show that we have the best government money can buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Agreed.Once again we show that we have the best government money can buy. Yet ya'll wish to pass the blame to a campaign finance ruling. Blind leading the blind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Yet ya'll wish to pass the blame to a campaign finance ruling.Blind leading the blind If you create a system where money is speech, companies are people, and their employees are allowed to be in the faces of elected leaders 24/7 don't complain when elected leaders rely on those people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baculus Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 I am not sure what conservatives are complaining about, as far as this subject is concerned. Many on the Right opposed financial reform, period -- the GOP claimed such reform would lead to a "permanent bailout" -- and they also claimed that such reform would also mean "more government regulation." After all, conservatives have done nothing to try limiting lobbyist influence, because that would mean . . . more "socialist, anti-business" government regulation. So what's the right-wing beef? This is the pro-business world you wanted, after all. Look at the recent (conservative led) Supreme Court ruling allowing greater corporate campaign contribution limits, which is why the GOP will outspend Democrats by a three-to-one margin in the next campaign cycle. It's a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" type of situations for the Democrats: Don't involve the business lobby in financial reform, and they are called "communists"; involve the business lobby, and they are called "tools of Big Business." As a final note, it is the progressives who have been anti-lobbyist for over a century, so they are the ones who should be least happy with any undue business influence in financial reform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baculus Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Yet ya'll wish to pass the blame to a campaign finance ruling.Blind leading the blind Conservative justices on the Supreme Court pushed for this ruling, and it was conservatives and the GOP who praised the Court for the judgment. Meanwhile, liberals, leftists, the President, and Democrats condemned the Supreme Court's decision to overturn campaign limits. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders on conservatives -- this is what they wanted, and this is what they got. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34822247 In the end, the pro-corporate campaign finance ruling was a right-wing victory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubbs Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Not at all. Neither system has anything in place to counter human greed. Y'know, someday, if you're ever honestly interested in hearing why I think what I think, I'd be happy to answer whatever questions you have, including follow-ups, and follow-ups to the follow-ups, and follow-ups to the follow-up follow-ups. Until then, I'll just marvel at the fact that there are people who honestly think that Obama's policies fit the definition of Marxism, there are people who honestly think that Somalia fits the definition of libertarianism, and these two groups can interact with each other every day without ever being struck by an overdose of irony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Conservative justices on the Supreme Court pushed for this ruling, and it was conservatives and the GOP who praised the Court for the judgment. And it has nothing to do with this bill....other than being used as another lame excuse for no accountability. Not our fault it wuz dem evil corps/Reps/tooth fairy. No stones as Burgold would say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Until then, I'll just marvel at the fact that there are people who honestly think that Obama's policies fit the definition of Marxism, there are people who honestly think that Somalia fits the definition of libertarianism, and these two groups can interact with each other every day without ever being struck by an overdose of irony. That is, of course, assuming that a lot of what the people associated with the Tea Party stand for can be defined as Libertarianism. Somalia gets brought up to emphasize what the government does give us, which some Tea Party people seem to take for granted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baculus Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 And it has nothing to do with this bill....other than being used as another lame excuse for no accountability.Not our fault it wuz dem evil corps/Reps/tooth fairy. No stones as Burgold would say. I see you didn't make any effort to reply to anything else I said in that post. Again -- conservatives have been pro-business, so what is your issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 I see you didn't make any effort to reply to anything else I said in that post.Again -- conservatives have been pro-business, so what is your issue? I have no issue other than apologists for those that supposedly sold out. There is no one that can be bought that is not already for sale. Blaming the buyer is a cop out.....as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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