In the 10 years leading up to current economic crisis, the financial sector spent $5 billion on political influence, according... View Article
Continue readingAIG Bailout Shrouded in Secrecy, But Still Playing PR Games
I think that Fed chairman Ben Bernanke spoke for all Americans when he testified yesterday that the one thing that... View Article
Continue readingFDIC: The Bailout Beyond TARP
While much media attention has been focused on the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, there’s been far less coverage... View Article
Continue readingCities seeking a Piece of the Action?
From the A Piece of the Action? database, here's a list of cities that have hired lobbyists who have reported that the bailout or the stimulus is a specific lobbying issue, complete with links (if any) to project requests on the excellent StimulusWatch.org page for those cities:
Birmingham, MI
Jasper, AL
Thomasville, AL
Center Point, AL
Jackson, AL
Atmore, AL
Denton, TX
Whittier, CA
Brewton ...
Continue readingNo Transparency for Bank Stress Tests?
Update: This FAQ from the Federal Reserve has a good run-down on the stress tests. This week, FDIC chair Sheila... View Article
Continue readingNo Time to Read Bailout Bill
Yesterday I wrote about how the recently passed stimulus bill was available for public perusal just 13 hours before Congress... View Article
Continue readingWho’s seeking A Piece of the Action?
The bailout (the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP, etc.) and the stimulus (the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act) are massive pieces of legislation with lots of moving parts. Thus, the more eyeballs on them and what's around them, the better.
A Piece of the Action? tracks one aspect of the unfolding age of bailing and stimulating -- interests hiring Washington lobbyists to at the very least monitor and likely to try to influence how the government spends its money.
As noted immediately below, this database is an imperfect resource. But it's what we can do ...
Continue readingLobbying for a Piece of the Bailout and Stimulus Action?
First a word of caution: when the title of a database ends with a question mark (in this case, A Piece of the Action?, approach it with some caution.
I've tried to put together a tool for tracking the lobbying surrounding the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, and whatever other bailouts and stimuli Congress enacts (TARP II? Son of Stimulus?) over the next few months. Using very imperfect records from two online congressional disclosure systems that track the same information in different ways (the classic square filters, round holes government problem), I've pieced together ...
Continue readingPolitical Influence in Bailout to be Investigated
Numerous outlets have reported, and catalogued here, that political influence – campaign contributions, lobbying – has been part and parcel... View Article
Continue readingPolitical Influence Slows Action
The idea that overt political influence by large organizations like the banking industry, and the larger financial services industry, has,... View Article
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