Wall Street is Running and Ruining Washington

2011-09-15T17:39:00.000-04:00


Photo By Daniel Borman(use of photo doesn't reflect photographer's views)

          We see it every time we turn on the news. It doesn't even matter which network. It seems as though every few days there is another story of some lobby contributing funds to a politician and then he or she votes in their favor on a bill. This becomes especially apparent the closer we get to an election. Rather than protect the average American, politicians are constantly only protecting their re-election campaign. Even in my college history class on the U.S. Congress we were taught that a politician's job is to get re-elected. What kind of society are we becoming when a professor teaches us that the job of a politician is to look out for himself?

    The worst part of it is that he wasn't wrong. Congress has turned into the opposite of what we were taught as children. Perhaps even before we all went through grade school our legislative branch was already something that could be manipulated by those with the thickest wallets. The best example of what I'm talking about is the bailout of the banks in 2008. The very people that caused one of the worst economic situations in American history asked the American taxpayers, many of whom lost their jobs and their homes, to give them the money necessary to keep their big businesses running and to keep the economy from completely collapsing. And on top of that, after receiving taxpayer money they gave their executives bonuses totaling in the millions because they were obligated to under previous contracts. Why did Congress not make the stipulation that the bailout funds could not be used to pay bonuses? This could have easily been added into the bill. But seriously, what politician would propose such a provision that would anger their biggest campaign contributors? This should have been something that was considered when writing the bill. While the banks, such as A.I.G., may have been contractually responsible to pay their executives bonuses, the American people were not. And since it was public funds that were used to pay those bonuses and not funds contributed by the banks, those bonuses should never have been allowed since they were not fiscally necessary to keep the companies in business.

                              One part of the whole bailout deal that I found to be ironic was in who was supporting it. Many of the supporters of the bill had in the past advocated for less government intervention and for more of a "Free Market" economy. In a free market, as I was always taught, companies are supposed to be accountable to more of a "sink or swim" Darwinian type system where the strong survive and the weak perish. However, the politicians that advocated this system suddenly wanted government intervention for companies that had taken large, unnecessary risks. It seems like another instance where politicians said whatever was convenient for them at the time so that they may save their hopes for re-election. While the goal of the bailout plan was to keep the economy from complete collapse and it was a necessary step to keep it afloat, if Washington and Wall Street had previously acted responsibly the whole crisis would not have happened and a bailout wouldn't have been necessary. As long as we keep electing these lawyers and CEO's to office that protect their own interests and those of big businesses, Washington will not become what we want it to. What Washington needs is politicians that truly put forth the interests of the working people that vote them into office, and leaders that aren't concerned with re-election but rather helping the people that form the foundation of our economy and our country.

What Is Right, and Who Is Left?

Wall Street is Running and Ruining Washington