Lobbyists Swarm the Treasury for a Helping of the Bailout Pie (NYT)

[struggle4progress]

By MARK LANDLER and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: November 11, 2008

WASHINGTON — When the government said it would spend $700 billion to rescue the nation’s financial industry, it seemed to be an ocean of money. But after one of the biggest lobbying free-for-alls in memory, it suddenly looks like a dwindling pool.

Many new supplicants are lining up for an infusion of capital as billions of dollars are channeled to other beneficiaries like the American International Group, and possibly soon American Express.

Of the initial $350 billion that Congress freed up, out of the $700 billion in bailout money contained in the law that passed last month, the Treasury Department has committed all but $60 billion. The shrinking pie — and the growing uncertainty over who qualifies — has thrown Washington’s legal and lobbying establishment into a mad scramble ...

“By the time they get to the community banks, there may not be enough money left,” said Edward L. Yingling, the president of the American Bankers Association. “The marketplace is looking at this so rapidly that those who have the money first may have some advantage” ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/business/economy/12lobbying.html?bl&ex=1226638800&en=f24a9509e53ce37f&ei=5087%0A

[Demeter]

1. American Express Should Not Be Allowed to Become a Bank

and GM should never have been allowed to become a shadow bank.

Banking should be more tightly regulated than drugs.