Congratulations, America! You’re now paying the tab for corporate lobbyists!
Remember when the government bailed out AIG, so, like, the “too-big-to-fail” insurance giant wouldn’t go bankrupt? And you remember how the oh-so-contrite, now-subsidized behemoth’s next move was to throw a party on your dime?
Hell. I mean, not that I really want to party with these guys. But that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have been nice to have been invited.
So if you loved AIG’s decadently delightful spa getaway for corporate fat cats, and if their European hunting excursion had you hollering “tally-ho!” – you’ll be pleased to hear that corporate lobbyists are also on the tab.
Sharona Coutts’ ProPublic article scratches the surface of the story, and Public Citizen weighs in:
“As effectively a government controlled entity, AIG has no business hiring outside lobbyists to push its interests,” Public Citizen’s Craig Holman told us. “AIG should be reflecting a common interest, the public interest, and not AIG’s special interests.”
Yes, believe it or not, Washington really is supposed to work for the greater public good.