The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is our #1 enemy.

[annabanana]

In the period between Election Day last November and the end of June, the groups scheduled 70 fundraisers for members of Congress. Along the way, they made $6 million in federal campaign contributions.

Thirty-five of those 70 wingdings -- half! -- were thrown by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its lobbyists. And a third of the money contributed to candidates came from the American Banking Association and affiliated lobbyists. Both organizations are fighting hard to keep the government from clamping down on the financial industry. In fact, the Chamber of Commerce is planning on spending a hundred million bucks to keep the noses of federal snoops out of their business.

It's not hard to figure out why they're so eager to grease palms and throw the regulatory bloodhounds off the scent. On Aug. 31, Bloomberg News reported that Wall Street is getting ready for a major battle to prevent tighter government control of the nearly $600 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market.

According to Bloomberg, "Five U.S. commercial banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp., are on track to earn more than $35 billion this year trading unregulated derivatives contracts. At stake is how much of that business they and other dealers will be able to keep."

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/09/19/winship_banks/

[annabanana]

1. .

[Stevenmarc]

2. It was always a great day when I could throw their reps out of my business