Bank lobbyists out!
Bloomberg is reporting comments of President Obama’s senior advisor David Axelrod in reference to financial markets…
~~~~ “There are a variety of things that we need to do in order to win the trust and confidence of the American people,” Axelrod said. “And we’ll address these other issues down the road, but right now, we’ve got to work with what we’ve got.” ~~~~
Yes, Mr. Axelrod… it’s critical that the Administration take real steps to distance themselves from the influence of the largest banks in this country as the new government considers what options might be the most effective in mitigating the financial crisis.
The new administration must exclude these institutions from the deliberations. The management of these companies are the ones which have brought us to this place. They do not deserve access to the decision making about the restructuring of the financial system.
US banks have already received hundreds of billions of dollars of US Treasury and Federal Reserve support. Transparency and oversight of this process has been pitiful. Officials have cited “the urgent need to stabilize the financial system” as the reason for secrecy and obfuscation.
But the real question is who has access to the decision making process? And how do we know that the interests of the American taxpayers are being fully protected?
Let’s name the recipients of federal funds — from The New York Times Bailout Tracker:
Bank | New York | $50,000 | ||||
U.S. cities | N.A. | $50,000 | ||||
Bank | Charlotte, N.C. | $45,000 | ||||
Insurer | New York | $40,000 | ||||
Bank | New York | $25,000 | ||||
Bank | San Francisco | $25,000 | ||||
Automaker | Detroit | $14,284 | ||||
Bank | New York | $10,000 | ||||
Bank | New York | $10,000 | ||||
Bank | Pittsburgh | $7,579 | ||||
Bank | Minneapolis | $6,599 | ||||
Specialty lender | New York | $5,000 | ||||
Bank | Atlanta | $4,850 | ||||
Automaker | Auburn Hills, Mich. | $4,000 | ||||
Bank | McLean, Va. | $3,555 | ||||
Bank | Birmingham, Ala. | $3,500 | ||||
Bank | Cincinnati | $3,408 | ||||
Insurer | Hartford, Conn. | $3,400 | ||||
Specialty lender | New York | $3,389 | ||||
Bank | Winston-Salem, N.C. | $3,134 | ||||
Bank | New York | $3,000 | ||||
Bank | Cleveland | $2,500 | ||||
Specialty lender | New York | $2,330 | ||||
Bank | Dallas | $2,250 | ||||
Bank | Boston | $2,000 | ||||
Bank | Des Moines, Iowa | $2,000 | ||||
Bank | Milwaukee | $1,715 | ||||
Bank | Chicago | $1,576 | ||||
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The Hill.com reports… ~~~~ “A group of lobbyists is — not surprisingly — lobbying against new Treasury Department rules designed to curb K Street’s ability to influence how billions of dollars in financial bailout money is distributed.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the American League of Lobbyists questioned the constitutionality of new lobbying restrictions, noting the First Amendment grants citizens the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.” ~~~~
I notice that they focus on the constitutionality, and ignore decency and propriety. That’s why I say that we need to nationalize. Anything less is a victory for the banking lobby.