Guilt costs a lot of money

The Staff here at the LECR discovered this morning that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent a staggering $34.7 million in the third quarter of the year lobbying the U.S. Congress.

"A lobbyist whose firm works with the Chamber told POLITICO that the administration’s hardball approach with business leaders, particularly those threatened with increased regulation in the financial services sector, has pushed the Chamber into lobbying overdrive on behalf of member organizations."

We find it amusing but mostly unnerving that "business leaders, particularly those threatened with increased regulation in the financial services sector" are dumping copious amounts of dinero into lobbying against more stringent rules.

Unless we have gone utterly delirious here in the Office, we do seem to remember that the incompetent buffoons in the financial services sector knowingly walked us into the entire meltdown of a year ago. To ask the obvious, wouldn't increased regulations be a welcome thing?

We think it would be convenient to be able to 1) make an entire mess out of a nation's and a world's economy then 2) try to indirectly buy your way out of impending rules that will not allow you to do it again.

To be uncharacteristically blunt, who in the hell do all of these jackasses think that they are? Coercive lobbyists and spineless lawmakers alike. In addition, this is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Lest we forget, commerce as we know it went right in the fucking septic system over the last 12 to 15 months. We have yet to figure out the root of the motivation behind the Chamber's actions in wanting to thwart the administration's attempt to disallow abhorrent and irresponsible behavior again. None of us are political gurus but wouldn't the Congress and the Chamber of Commerce want to work on nearly - if not precisely - the same page, free of cost?

I forgot. We're discussing American politics here, aren't we?

There is a silver lining.

We at the Office believe this is a stellar example of the current administration: "Since June, Politico reports, White House officials have contacted 55 CEOs personally rather than communicate with them through lobbyists."