roulette

stack of money

I know it is hard to fathom, but for some reason the big banks don’t believe they have enough power or influence in Washington. They’ve even taken out a SuperPAC so they can throw more money around. The whole thing is depressing. The fact that we went into the biggest recession since the Great Depression because the big banks were playing roulette with our money doesn’t seem to phase them. They have no pity. They have no shame. The fact that they treat us like small piles of money instead of as individuals doesn’t phase them either.

From Alter-Net:

Friends Of Traditional Banking is a new super-PAC formed by “traditional” banks that can raise unlimited amounts, and can direct unlimited money to races without restrictions.

One banker calls this “a big stick” with which to punish lawmakers who vote with the public interest instead of the banking industry’s interest. Another banker says the purpose is to make lawmakers “afraid of bankers” instead of having them respond to the public. Another says, “… if you say the bankers are going to put in $100,000 or $500,000 or $1 million into your opponent’s campaign, that starts to draw some attention.” Another makes it all clear, it is about raising “a lot of money” to “hammer” lawmakers who are in the way of bank profits.

The story from American Banker, Bankers Form SuperPac for ‘Surgical’ Strike at Industry’s Enemies, explains,

Frustrated by a lack of political power and fed up with blindly donating to politicians who consistently vote against the industry’s interests, a handful of leaders are determined to shake things up.

They have formed the industry’s first SuperPAC — dubbed Friends of Traditional Banking —  that is designed to target the industry’s enemies and support its friends in Congress.

“It comes back to the old philosophy of walking softly and carrying a big stick,” says Howard Headlee, the president and chief executive officer of the Utah Bankers Association. “But we’ve got no big stick. And we should. We have the capacity to have one, we just aren’t organized.”

… “Congress isn’t afraid of bankers,” adds Roger Beverage, the president and CEO of the Oklahoma Bankers Association. “They don’t think we’ll do anything to kick them out of office. We are trying to change that perception.”

The arrogance of these guys is killing me. The power the United States lies with the people. It is that simple. It doesn’t lie with the politicians. It doesn’t lie with the political friends of the politicians. The power does not lie in the rich or the well-to-do. The power in the United States lies in the people. It is time for us to rise up and take back the power that is rightfully ours. Politicians should be listening to us and not to special interests like gun lobbies or bank lobbies or anyone else.