Wall Street and the Supercommittee: The $41 Million Question
September 28, 2011Sign our petition to Get Money Out of Politics at www.GetMoneyOut.com
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Liz Ryan Murray is the Policy Director for National People’s Action. Adam Smith is the Communications Director at Public Campaign. This is their first guest post for our ongoing DylanRatigan.com series “Get Money Out.”
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reported earlier this year that Wall Street was able to get away with its unscrupulous practices for so long, in part, because of the power it had over Washington, D.C. lawmakers and regulators.
In the years leading up to the country’s economic collapse, Wall Street threw money at elected officials in order to weaken financial industry regulations. Wall Street greed fueled a downward cycle of corruption, leading our country into a tailspin that forced millions of Americans out of work while lawmakers where unable or unwilling to rein in their campaigns’ underwriters.
The Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction now faces similar pressure from these interests to leave them and their companies undertaxed. Wall Street interests have millions of dollars in campaign contributions and an army of lobbyists on their side, according to a new report from our organizations, Public Campaign and National People’s Action.
- The 12 members of the so-called “supercommittee” have received at least $41 million in campaign contributions from the financial sector over the years.
- Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is the biggest recipient with $6.2 million.
- Republican Conference Chair Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), who recently called the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation “a deadly cocktail of political favoritism, regulatory overreach, and radical measures,” leads the House members on the committee with $3.9 million in contributions.
- Between them, the supercommittee members have more than two-dozen current or former aides that have represented Wall Street as lobbyists.
These strong ties must not influence the committee’s efforts to find $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction measures. The supercommittee can’t let Wall Street buy its way out of accountability or paying its fair share. Not again.
And there’s no way to achieve a balanced approach with a ‘cuts-only’ strategy. Our country’s seniors shouldn’t have to dip into their social security checks to make up for cuts to Medicare while hedge fund managers get tax breaks. National People’s Action calls on supercommittee members to raise a portion of the revenue we desperately need from Wall Street. Wall Street’s actions drove the current recession and they need to pay to fix what they broke.
Possible ways to raise revenue from Wall Street include closing the carried interest loophole, a financial speculation tax, and implementing a bank liability fee. Other ideas—like requiring millionaires to pay at least as much in taxes as middle class families and closing corporate jet and yacht loopholes—would likely affect Wall Street executives.
Supercommittee member Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) recently told a groups of constituents that, “I would say we have an absurd tax code that has so many ridiculous features that are there because special interests have carved them out. I’m all in favor of reforming it so we can get rid of those kinds of features.”
He’s right. That’s exactly why Public Campaign, National People’s Action and two-dozen groups urged supercommittee members to give up fundraising while serving on the supercommittee. Bankers and their lobbyists shouldn’t get special access to the negotiations because they can write big checks.
Some are, at least partially, heeding our call. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) won’t raise money for himself while serving on the committee. Sens. Baucus and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) have canceled events. Reps. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.) won’t schedule additional fundraisers while serving.
It’s a good start and they should go further.
Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed a political system that allows those who caused the economic disruption we see on Main Street in town after town and city after city to buy their way out of responsibility and pass that burden on to the rest of us. With the actions of the supercommittee under the microscope, we hope that will come to an end.
To read the full report, visit Public Campaign.
READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC:
The Influence Industry: Supercommittee members are lining up fundraisers [Washington Post]
Supercommittee members plan fundraisers during deficit talks [Huffington Post]
You don't add the most puzzling bit about Congress of them all…How is it that NO ONE in the Congress or White House can agree on ANYTHING when it concerns the American people, even though it is the American people's money, but when it comes to Israel – a foreign country, every politician in Washington trips over themselves to vomit platitudes, send money and military equipment, let them steal our secrets with no consequences and NEVER, EVER have even dared to give the semblance of debate or disagreement on whether our 'friend' is, in fact, a friend in decades of misdeeds?
The only time you get such screwy behavior is when the foreign country in question is, in fact, the ruling country. The only time you get results like that is when people are actively engaged in subversion and treason against their own country. And why don't we see any speaking of a rational question like this in the media – why (*gasp!*), the media is also engaged in a Zionist conspiracy to subvert this country and make it a colony of the most evil little country in the world – Israel.
I love ur show dylan and am an avid wacher,i love how u explode at those right wingers ridiculos views on sinking the middle class, but this petition u started may b your highlite of the year, n u have my n fellow workers full support in this battle of nonsense class warfare. Again thank u for your gallient efforts and my hats off to u sir
I just discovered Dylan and his wonderful perspective. Finally someone using their voice in the media to really say something rather than the constant bla, bla, bla. Now that it is being exposed the multi millions of dollars individuals are gaining and using to fleece our citizens, making even people who make a $250,000 a year look like chumps, maybe we can get something done. I love Dylan's "Corporate Communism"! Can we get him on twice a day? Better get an email off to corporate.
There is so much corruption in DC that I'm doubtful about anything and everything Congress does (or doesn't do) and that includes members of the Super Committee. Congress is slowly but surely dismantling every safety net, every social program, every regulatory watchdog agency and every law that would hold corporations and CEOs accountable for their rapacious plundering of our environment and society as well as the 'off-shoring' of our jobs!
My stance has become one of supreme skeptic. Washington DC is, indeed, guilty until proven innocent in my eyes.
How dare the Republicans declare that my Social Security is an 'entitlement' which they can (and ultimately will) relinquish and give the proceeds over to themselves and their fat corporate chronies to do with as they please! How dare they say that Medicare is an entitlement program when we have been paying for it out of our paychecks for years. And how dare they tell me and millions of other working Americans, that they will 'give us vouchers (i.e., I O Us) in place of services paid for.
I'm mad as hell. Occupy Wall Street and hold the banksters, traders and thugs that reside therein, accountable for their unscrupulous behaviors. Congress and Washington itself won't hold them accountable for fear of losing their kickbacks and payoffs! Someone needs to hold these criminals accountable! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!
The transparency in contributions vs. policy making is the critical component. The money isn't the problem. The policy making decisions that are influenced by the money is not the problem. The inability for citizens to understand how the money impacts the policy decisions and vote for their representatives according to their beliefs in that policy is the problem. Transparency is the critical component.
I say let's get offshored profits – IN. How about that? Half the wor'd's revenue gets filtered through offshore entities: Caymans, Delaware, Panama, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Jersey, Guernsey…others…"washed" of profits, "reasonable" losses shipped back (after huge bonuses of course) for "taxation" (and they're lobbying for the intermittent tax holiday of course and the lowering of the corporate tax rates!
TREASURE ISLANDS – Nicholas Shaxson. READ IT! So, get money on the take OUT, and get rightful taxable revenue charged where it belongs.
The game in Washington is so crooked and corrupt, it can't be fixed. It needs to be wiped away with revolution. Ideally, the military should stage a coup and arrest every politician. The military is sworn to protect the Constitution from enemies, both foreign AND DOMESTIC. As an old military person, I am ashamed that they haven't done this yet. Apparently, the upper ranks of the military have been corrupted as well. In that case, it is up to the American people to wage 'what ever it takes' rebellion against a government that is tyrannical and no longer represents them.
The right to armed rebellion is stated as a specific right (or self-evident truth – what are you, the average tyrant, going to do when the people come for you with pitchforks – say 'New rule, You can't do that'?) of the people in the Declaration of Independence. Propagandists in the media, like Keith Olbermann pontificate and look negatively down their noses at those who maintain that armed rebellion is a right of the American people. This only shows that they are, in fact, paid propagandist of the Zionist puppet masters controlling both the media and the politics.
In the end, it is the American people who decide 'what is what' and if the people decide on armed rebellion against the US government, so be it. In America, it is the government that should fear the people, not the people their government! Currently, Americans are in the main, still unclear on how deeply they have been lied to and robbed of their rights. Currently, this government and the bureaucrats that sponge off it have nothing but contempt for the American people, their rights and liberties. Americans need to speak up with their friends and ask if it isn't time to pick up the rifles and head to Washington DC. The days of the self-appointed elite, both Democratic and Republican should be dwindling down to a permanent end date in the not too distant future.
Have just signed the petition, "Get Money Out," my first step in joining the long march to reclaim our country.
We can't fix everything in one unified cry to get corruption out of our politics, rights and liberties. Rather it should be a well thought out, clearly defined plan to correct the loop holes in the administration of our financial institutions, To review the constitution and see where our politicians went wrong, Study our Tax system and see how far off the rails it has gone. There were reasons for all the changes I'm sure, but are they still functioning for or against the citizens? I can think of one simple change we can make to give the average citizen more of a feeling they're being heard. No—-absolutely no lobbyists. One simple step big, big change.