Banks don’t have the money to extend loans, or help working people who are struggling in an economy that was destroyed by the banks, but apparently they have plenty of dough to spread through DC. According to the New York Times lobbying by banking interest have intensified as new legislation is brought to the Congressional floor to curb the power and corruption of banks. These last investments appear to have paid off well. For just a few million dollars, banks killed a provision that would have allowed judges to lower mortgage rates, saved $13 billion in fees and vouched banks even more bailout loot. Oh, if the common man had access to such easy money.
In the graph above, it is obvious that the stale economy has done nothing to slow down bank lobbying. The 2009 figure represents the first three months of the year.
None of this is surprising to students of C. Wright Mills. Government is an extension of elite interests. Corporate and bank lobbying is just another institutional insinuation of elite interests into government chambers supposedly dedicated to the good of the nation as a whole. Look forward to more of the same; some niggling legislation touted as populism, while behind the scenes the elite walk away with more loot and just as much influence as ever.
The Mad Sociologist Blog 
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