How finance, insurance, and real estate lobbyists bought a bailout

The American Conservative -- Fire Sale

  I really like these Paleocons. Conservatives trashing McCain, the Hanke-Panke bailout, lobbyists: what's not to like? Keep it up and they might give conservatives a good name.

How finance, insurance, and real estate lobbyists bought a bailout.

By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

There was little in the federal bailout bill that most Americans could wrap their arms, much less their minds, around. What did strike a chord—and one of the rare notes of consensus—was that greedy executives of failed institutions should have to give up their high salaries and golden parachutes before getting a life raft from Uncle Sam.

But the CEO’s needn’t be too alarmed. The $2 billion their industry has invested in Washington politicians over the last 20 years will likely bring healthy returns. Pesky details like “who” and “how much” to penalize were kicked down the road or left wide open for interpretation—nothing a few fat friends on the right committees and a team of crack lobbyists can’t handle.

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