Report: Bailed out companies spent $114 million on lobbying last year
How much of your hard-earned money did bailed-out financial firms use for lobbying? USA TODAY's Fredreka Schouten reports on a new analysis of the Troubled Assets Relief Program from the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.
Companies in the finance and auto industries that benefited from the $700 billion TARP bailout spent more than $114 million on lobbying in the past year and in contributions toward the 2008 election, according to the center. The companies received more than $300 billion in the taxpayer-funded rescue.
"Even in the best economic times, you won't find an investment with a greater payoff than what these companies have been getting," said Sheila Krumholz, the center's executive director. The company spending the most on lobbying and political donations: Bank of America at $14.5 million. That total also includes political spending by Merrill Lynch, the investment company Bank of America bought last year.
The analysis, along with a chart of the biggest political players and what they received in the bailout, can be found here.
Posted by Jill Lawrence at 12:00 PM/ET, February 04, 2009 in Economy, Money in politics | Permalink
linkStevo,
Can you say word corruption?
