FrankJ. wrote:
President Obama’s State of the Union speech on January 24 included too many applause lines to count, but one that struck me, about three quarters of the way through, was his call for an end to insider trading by Congress. We would have to go back to the audio tape to discern if this line got the same applause or less than his other pledges. My own response was, “Yeah, right,” and then I left the kitchen where I was listening to the speech on the radio to retrieve my copy of the book, Throw Them All Out by Peter Schweizer, subtitled: How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich Off Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals, and Cronyism That Would Send the Rest of Us to Prison.
Did Obama or one of his staff read this book, or did they come up with the idea of cutting off Congress on their own? What is said can be important, but sometimes it is useful to know the significance of what is NOT said. Left unsaid in the State of the Union speech was anything about cleaning up the system which rewards campaign contribution “bundlers” like George Kaiser, who benefitted from government guaranteed loans going to Solyndra, a company where he held a 35%. I guess it is possible that the President or his staff didn’t read Chapter 5 of Schweizer’s book, the one titled Spreading the Wealth … To Billionaires.
The chapter begins with a quote from John Doerr, a billionaire and Obama contributor. He calls down God’s blessings on the Obama Administration for their expected good works in green innovation. Coincidentally, Doerr owns pieces of sixteen companies that received government loans or grants. The chapter goes on to examine the largess from just one stimulus program for alternative energy projects, run by the Department of Energy.
Those who benefitted included members of the Obama campaign’s National Finance Committee, campaign bundlers, and politicians who supported the campaign and launched alternative energy enterprises that ended up receiving loans or grants. So how much did they get? Schweizer presents a pie-chart on page 79 showing the “connected” companies received 80 percent of the $20.5 billion doled out, as September 15, 2011. Those individuals serving on his National Finance Committee were also connected with companies which received over $11 billion, according to a table on page 88 One outfit, Leucadia Energy received $3.46 billion. Schweizer notes that this company is a subsidiary of Leucadia National, whose CEO is Ian Cumming, a member of Obama’s finance committee and writer of checks to the Democratic party, totaling $69,000.
Pages 100 and 101 present a table listing “Obama Bundlers, Large Donors, and Supporters” with data as of September 15, 2011. Some familiar names include: Brin and Page (of Google), Robert Kennedy Jr., Jim Rogers (Duke Energy), Ted Turner, Larry Summers, Al Gore (connections to Fisker Automotive, recipient of $529 million, planning to build electric cars in Finland and sell them here for $100,000+).
Part One of the book, “Congressional Cronies,” focuses on what Congress gets up to with pending legislation; how they profit from national crises, such the financial meltdown in the fall of 2008; the special treatment they get with regard to IPO’s; and how members of Congress hard-wire federal spending to their own real estate ventures.
Chapter One, titled “The Drug Trade” mentions fifteen Senators and House members who traded in stocks of companies likely to be affected by health care legislation. John Kerry is mentioned prominently in this chapter. Also included are: John Tanner, Jim Webb, Vern Buchanan, Tom Carper, Melissa Bean, Jared Polis, Johnny Isakson, Sheldon Whitehouse, James Oberstar, Jeb Bradley, Max Baucus, John Boehner, Jim McDermott and Amo Houghton. This mix includes members of both parties.
Part Two of the book, “Capitalist Cronies,” consists of Chapter 5, discussed previously, and a chapter on Warren Buffett’s ties to government, and a chapter called “Cronies on Parade: Hedge Funds, Defense Contractors, Colleges, Big Oil…and George Soros.”
Part Three concludes with the author’s recommendations on what to do about this corruption.
Buy this book and read it. But resist the temptation to hurl it across the room when you read how deeply the dishonesty and corruption is embedded in Congress and the Administration.
Throw Them All Out, by Peter Schweizer was published in 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. For more information on the book, go to: www.throwthemalloutbook.com
Buy this book and read it. But resist the temptation to hurl it across the room when you read how deeply the dishonesty and corruption is embedded in Congress and the Administration.
Throw Them All Out, by Peter Schweizer was published in 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. For more information on the book, go to: www.throwthemalloutbook.com
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