Friday, April 22, 2011

Corruption or fund-raising expertise: you decide

Matt Taibbi, one of the best, although colorful, investigative reporters of all things financial, has taken a look at the lead negoitiator for the state attorney generals.  He says

"A hilarious report has come out courtesy of the National Institute of Money in State Politics, showing that Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller – who is coordinating the investigation into the banks’ improper mortgage dealings – increased his campaign contributions from the finance sector this year by a factor of 88! He has raised $261,445 from finance, insurance and real estate contributors since he announced that he was going to be coordinating the investigation into improper foreclosure practices. That is 88 times as much as they gave him not over last year, but over the previous decade. "

He calls it "hilarious;" I call it frightening and sad. 

4 comments:

  1. This is an interesting but not surprising story as political interests often trump public interest. It is not feasible to get elected to higher level political positions without cozying up to large corporations.

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  2. Well the opponents of any legislation in the finance sector found out who they need to "bribe" in order to get what they want. The real question that needs to be explored here is ..... is it working? This is becoming so common that Its now laughable... or is it a pervasive and debilitating issue that needs to be addressed?

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  3. This is sad, but I'd especially like to see where Obama plans to raise his expected $1 billion 2012 campaign contributions. It would be an unheard of amount, and makes me question the morality of his fund-raising...

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  4. Welcome to politics. And if Obama can raise a billion dollars to run for office, its seems hypocritical to talk about how everyone is going through tough times right now. How can he empathize with someone barely making ends meet while holding a conference at Facebook headquarters and holding $35,000/plate dinners??

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