Wall Street's inside job
The banking industry isn’t about to just roll over and accept new financial reforms, not when they know they have a good chance of getting new regulations watered down even further during the rule-making process. That’s why they’ve hired away nearly 150 insiders away from agencies such as the Federal Reserve, the Securities Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, writes political commentator and Public Citizen board member Jim Hightower:
For the banking powers, these insiders-turned-outsiders are well worth the big bucks, for former regulators have long, personal relationships with those in the agencies who’re filling in the blanks left by Congress. If nothing else, these newly minted lobbyists are much more likely to get their phone calls returned by their former colleagues than a stranger would.
The revolving door between K Street lobbying firms swings wildly between federal agencies, as well as Congress. Public Citizen has published several reports about the number of federal staffers and members of Congress who have cashed in and taken high-paying lobbying jobs. Want to help shut the revolving door? Sign our petition asking retiring members of Congress to take a pledge not accept a lobbying job after they leave office.