Arianna: Why Are Bankers Still Being Treated As Beltway Royalty?

[Bluebear]

...Just this week, the bankers and their lobbyists -- who you might have reasonably thought would be the political equivalent of lepers in the halls of power these days -- have kneecapped substantive bankruptcy reform in the Senate, helped pull the plug on a government-brokered deal with Chrysler, and tried feverishly to throw up a roadblock in the way of credit card reform in the House.

You heard me right. America's bankers -- those wonderful folks who brought us the economic meltdown -- are still being treated as Beltway royalty by those in Congress.

According to Sen. Dick Durbin, the banks "are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place."

When it comes to reforming our financial system, we are truly through the looking glass. I mean, since when did it become "to the vanquished go the spoils"? How do the same banks that have repeatedly come to Washington over the last eight months with their hats in their hands, asking for billions to rescue them from their catastrophic mistakes, somehow still "own the place"?

But the banks continue to be rewarded for their many failures.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/why-are-bankers-still-bei_b_194242.html

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[MannyGoldstein]

2. Well... Look Who's In Charge Of Obama's Economic Policies?

Summers and Geithner, two very, very close friends of the bankers. What does that tell you about where bankers sit in the pecking order?

[rcrush]

3. We need more pies in billionares faces.

Did Bill Gates have that kid who piefaced him killed?

[earth mom]

4. Thought Obama kicked ALL the lobbyists out.

Guess that only applies to the peon lobbyists. :puke:

[anonymous171]

5. Bankers are scum. nt

[Wapsie B]

6. Sometimes I wonder if this isn't why banks spend so much on commercials on radio and tv.

They don't want to give the public time to think about what's really been going on behind the glossy ads and PR pieces.

[truedelphi]

7. Why does Obama sit inside the pocket of these people?

His latest explanation is that when he started to campaign for his party's nomination (ie Money Party Ib's nomination) the main things he had to focus on were the two wars this nation was fighting.

And then, out of the blue - BLAM! - the collapse of the housing bubble and stock market? Just plain out of the blue. I mean, I guess he never thought he'd ever have to focus on the ersatz economy. (now there's Presidential material for yah!) He didn't really consider the ECONOMY! So we should all be very forgiving because he cannot be asked to make good choices when he wasn't expecting to have to focus on something as trivial as the nation's economy.

What Obama doesn't mention is all the wonderful campaign monies he received from those connected to Wall Street. No wonder, that by the end of November 2008, the man who normally says he has to sit back and get an idea of what is really going on, nope, in November of 2008, when Asked by Sixty Minutes about economic issues, he is not trying to understand diddley - No,instead he already knows the direction he is to put his White House. Even though he claims this past week that he never really focused on the money issues.

So he answers, assuring them that he had met with Hank Paulson, and that "Hank was working hard."

Sort of a "Good job there, Brownie," moment that left me to realize how my vote had been taken away from me.

[dembotoz]

8. because we worship money

[inwiththenew]

9. Money talks

and bullshit walks.

[JDPriestly]

10. If money talked, then the banks would be silent, and we would be talking.

Because we taxpayers are funding the banks -- as depositors and as taxpayers to the government. And, by the way banks are paying 1/2 percent interest to depositors in some cases now.

And then they wonder why Americans don't save. Wouldn't you expect the interest rate you earn on your money to be higher than the interest rate you pay when you borrow? Seems to me the saver is supposed to be earning the interest. What am I not understanding here?

[dgibby]

11. The 2 biggest problems I have with Obama are

his economic policies and his reluctance to prosecute the criminals from the previous administration. Being in bed with either the banks or the Bushes is no my idea of change we can believe in. I'm also not very happy with his "embrace" of snarlin' Arlen, either, especially when he could back a real dem. in Joe Sestak.

Having said that, I'm very happy with the other things he's done, but I am really disappointed by the above.

[Danger Mouse]

12. One of my real problems with President Obama.