Companies in the finance and auto industries that benefited from the $700 billion TARP bailout spent more than $114 million on lobbying in the past year and in contributions toward the 2008 election, according to the center. The companies received more than $300 billion in the taxpayer-funded rescue. "Even in the best economic times, you won't find an investment with a greater payoff than what these companies have been getting," said Sheila Krumholz, the center's executive director. The company spending the most on lobbying and political donations: Bank of America at $14.5 million. That total also includes political spending by Merrill Lynch, the investment company Bank of America bought last year. The analysis, along with a chart of the biggest political players and what they received in the bailout, can be found here.
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If we follow the
link provided, we see that the top 5 companies -- Bank of America, Citigroup, AIG, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo -- have
all caught flack for wasting money in other ways as well.
We've got to seriously discuss nationalizing these things, if only to put the fear of God into them. For bankers, they're
extremely bad at managing their bailout money.
The next time someone tells you that government can't do things as well as the private sector, feel free to laugh in their face.
