Taxpayer money shouldn't be used to lobby against working peoples' interests

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.seiu.org/2009/03/taxpayer-money-shouldnt-be-used-to-lobby-against-working-peoples-interests.php


6:30 PM Eastern - March 20, 2009
Taxpayer money shouldn't be used to lobby against working peoples' interests
By Kate Thomas

There are a plethora of problems with the lack of transparency in lobbying, with one of the most prominent being that lobbyist disclosure laws only require that lobbyists report back on which branch of government or department they've met with. They don't have to list who they met with, what bill or issue they discussed, or even what position they are taking towards the aforementioned bill or issue.

Timothy Geithner's first act as Treasury Secretary was to restrict contact between lobbyists and Treasury officials "in connection with applications for, or disbursements of," TARP funds. However, these rules do not address the larger problem that firms receiving millions TARP assistance continue to lobby against the interests of hard working taxpayers. TARP recipients spent $114 million on lobbying last year as the financial crisis emerged. In total, bailout recipients that continued to spend money on lobbying spent over $14 billion dollars over the three month period of October to December 2008---all this right as the TARP funds were being distributed.

Dave Johnson, a fellow at the Commonwealth Institute, gives some detail about the political activities of these corporations:

"TARP recipients are currently lobbying against compensation caps at companies receiving TARP, against increasing bank regulation - and even against increased oversight of the use of TARP funds in the TARP Reform and Accountability Act! They are also lobbying against the Arbitration Fairness Act, the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act and the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act, Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights and the Stop Unfair Practices in Credit Cards Act!"

Rather than focusing on paying the American people back, these bailout corporation are instead using their resources to lobby against measures that would improve the lives of their new investors - us.

When the CEOs of eight bailed out banks went in front of Congress to answer questions about how they used hundreds of billions in taxpayers' money in early February of this year, Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis admitted he thinks it's in "the best interest" of Bank of America to spend money lobbying against economic recovery legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation which allows a majority of workers to decide if they want a union, which results in increased income and benefits for working people---thereby enabling them to make their credit card and mortgage payments.

FULL story at link.

[Deja Q]

1. Common sense, never mind fairness, are deemed evil. Or certainly shouldn't be deemed so.

:(

[Eric J in MN]

2. Corporations which receive bailout funds should be barred from spending...

...any money on lobbying (until they've returned all of the money.)

[The Magistrate]

3. Damn Straight, Sir!

[xchrom]

4. recommend

[chill_wind]

5. Right on!

k & r.