Good Jobs First's Subsidy Tracker 3.0 is an amazing resource that sheds light on the benefits corporations derive from government — and a reminder that who benefits from Washington largesse isn't always obvious.
Continue readingBig-time political donor General Motors on Capitol Hill to talk about vehicle recall
When GM's CEO testifies before Congress on the company's faulty vehicles, she could be facing a friendlier-than-expected audience.
Continue readingInfluence profile: Retiring Rep. John Dingell
The longest serving member of congress in history, John Dingell has benefited from his ties to the automotive and utility industries.
Continue readingNot all of Obama’s SOTU guests are contributors, but . . .
Some of President Obama's guests at Tuesday's State of the Union address are political donors. But not all their contributions went to him or his party.
Continue readingSpecial interests honor Congress, executive branch with nearly $19 million in 2011
Spurred by reports that Smartphone software made by Google and Apple could violate users' privacy, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee called executives from the companies to testify in May 2011. For the most part, the senators were uncharacteristically deferential to the hi-tech titans appearing before their panel. In his brief opening statement, ranking member Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said, “We need a whole lot more information and knowledge in terms of those of us on the legislative side before we come to conclusions about what needs to be done.”
One day later, Coburn was recognized at a Consumer Electronics Association event for ...
Continue readingGM’s Political Contributions
General Motors Campaign Contributions 2010 Blunt, Roy (R-MO) $5,000 Brown, Sherrod (D-OH) $2,000 Camp, Dave (R-MI) $5,000 Cantor, Eric (R-VA)... View Article
Continue readingGM should not be handing out campaign contributions
The American car company General Motors has resumed contributing to political campaigns after the federal government took a majority stake... View Article
Continue readingCRP Sheds Light on Auto Industry’s Influence
In light of President Obama’s announcement yesterday of further government control over the auto giants General Motors and Chrysler, our... View Article
Continue readingBailout Recipients Lobbying
From October 1, 2008 through the end of the year, eighteen companies that had received, or would receive, bailout funds... View Article
Continue readingFinancial Bailout: Do Interests of Automakers and Members Diverge?
Reading the restructuring plan that General Motors put together makes me wonder whether, in a broad sense, there isn't an insuperable conflict of interest between members of Congress and the automakers. Consider just one aspect of the plan:
...the number of GM retailers is expected to decline to 4,700 by 2012. This will occur primarily in metropolitan and suburban areas where GM has too many dealers to serve the market. In the Plan, it is projected these dealers will be reduced by 35%, increasing annual throughput for the remaining outlets to a more competitive level with other high-volume ...Continue reading
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