The short answer: Key members of Congress are owned by the financial services group’s lobbyists.
The longer answer: Lobbyists from the financial industry have paid hundreds of millions to Congress, the Bush and Obama administrations. (See yesterday’s Total Campaign Contributions/Lobbying by TARP Recipients)
Virtually all key Congressional members and senators on committees overseeing finances and banking are owned by the industry — they are Bought and Paid For.
This is easy to confirm in black-and-white. See for yourself: here, here, here, here, here and here.
Manhattan Institute senior fellow Nicole Gelinas says:
The too-big-to-fail financial industry has been good to elected officials and former elected officials of both parties over its 25-year life span
And economic historian Niall Ferguson says:
Guess which institutions are among the biggest lobbyists and campaign-finance contributors? Surprise! None other than the TBTFs [too big to fails].
No wonder two powerful congressmen said that banks run Congress.
And they are not alone, Two leading IMF officials, the former Vice President of the Dallas Federal Reserve, and the President of the Kansas City Federal Reserve have each observed that the United States is controlled by a financial oligarchy.
There are obvious exceptions: Ron Paul, Alan Grayson, and others — many of whom are independently wealthy — have resisted the siren call of lobbyists dirty money.
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Hat Tip: Washingtons Blog
Sources:
Top Financial Services Committee Members Rely Heavily On Finance Campaign Contributions
Paul Blumenthal
Sunlight Foundation, 10/09/09 @ 2:33 pm
http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2009/10/09/top-financial-services-committee-members-rely-heavily-on-finance-campaign-contributions/
TARP Recipients Paid Out $114 Million for Politicking Last Year
Open Secret.Org February 4, 2009 9:52 AM
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/02/tarp-recipients-paid-out-114-m.html
Congress Helped Banks Defang Key Rule
SUSAN PULLIAM and TOM MCGINTY
WSJ, June 3, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124396078596677535.html
Experts On Third World Banana Republics: The U.S. has Become a Third World Banana Republic
Washingtons Blog, March 27, 2009
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/03/experts-on-third-world-banana-republics.html
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