Wall Street firms may not actually no anything about how to manage money in a profitable way, but they do seem to understand the basic principle of investing heavily in lobbyists to get what they want from congress:
Wall Street firms, commercial banks and insurers are lobbying on an array of issues — from beating back proposals to make it easier to reduce mortgage debts in bankruptcy courts to fighting, unsuccessfully so far, to retain control over executive pay. [...] Consumer groups say the bankruptcy measure would help reduce the number of foreclosures and ease the financial crisis. “Why is anyone listening to the people who brought us this problem?” asked Kathleen Day, a spokeswoman for the Center for Responsible Lending, which supports the bankruptcy change.
Why is anyone listening to the people who brought us this problem? They’re listening because they’re being bribed to listen.
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