Wall Street, White House, and Congress: a horrible alliance

Two different columns, in two different publications, in two different countries, but the bottom line is the same: the nexus between Wall Street's big banks and the political establishment in DC is not healthy for democracy.

First, here is Robert Reich, writing in the Financial Times.  (The guy is on a roll--only a few days ago he had a column in the WSJ!!!)

Tight connections between Washington and Wall Street are nothing new, of course, especially when it comes to Goldman. Hank Paulson ran the bank before becoming George W. Bush’s Treasury secretary. Robert Rubin followed the same trajectory under Bill Clinton, then returned to Wall Street to head Citigroup’s executive committee. Dick Gephardt, the former Democratic House leader, lobbies for Goldman. Some 250 former members of Congress are now lobbying on behalf of the financial industry. President Barack Obama himself received nearly $15m from Wall Street during his 2008 campaign, of which almost $1m came from Goldman employees and their families.
Politicians cannot continue to have it both ways. The close nexus between Washington and Wall Street is eroding trust in government.

And then, Frank Rich in the NY Times:

The truth is that both parties are too often in hock to the financial sector, and both parties bear responsibility for the meltdown. In response to a question from Jake Tapper of ABC News last weekend, Bill Clinton was right to say that he and two of his Treasury secretaries, Rubin and Lawrence Summers, “were wrong” to leave derivatives unregulated.

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