Banking Industry Needs Another Huge Handout — So They Can Bribe Congress

There’s enough irony and contradiction here to make the head spin. There’s already been plenty of public outrage about banks spending their humongous welfare checks on luxury resort getaways, Learjets and 8-figure bonus packages for themselves.

But they’ve also been spending tons of this money — YOUR tax money — to bribe Congress (aka “campaign contributions,” “lobbying,” whatever you want to call it.) They’re determined to prevent Congress from helping those lazy stupid homeowners (probably all Democrats) who have nobody but themselves to blame.

“Please help me. Ooooohhhhh, pleeeeeaase! I need a handout. And some nice tender coddling if you would. And not one fuckin’ cent for that other parasite over there!!”

Technically of course, the money they’re using for bribery isn’t the same money that got showered onto them by taxpayers (as conservatives are always pointing out). SO. WHAT.

If you knew that a certain person was on welfare, food stamps, unemployment compensation and government housing vouchers, and you saw him driving a Mercedes — you wouldn’t be too impressed if he said “oh, I bought the car with my own money.”

If you, as an individual, want to apply for welfare or any other government assistance, you have to prove that you’re needy. Your income has to be below a certain level, your car can’t be worth more than a certain amount, you can’t have more than a certain amount in the bank, etc.

Large companies, on the other hand, can shower billions of dollars on their “top” executives (i.e. the ones who dug them into this shithole in the first place), spend billions more on every kind of perk imaginable, and then hold out their tin cup and go “Waaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Marie Antoinette Francis Creighton of the Mortgage Bankers Association said: “We're encouraged that the House is taking some more time to think this through, and we hope that by next week we can see some more changes to further improve the bill.”

Francis the Leech forgot to thank the taxpayers who’ve made his “lobbying” effort possible.

cross-posted at Bring It On!