Lobbyists continue to screw Americans

While President Obama and Co. make plans for the economic stimulus plan, corporate scum still figure out a way to screw the American people.

From MSNBC:

...The Associated Press learned in interviews with more than a dozen lawmakers, lobbyists and state and local officials, is a shadowy lobbying effort that may make it difficult to discern how hundreds of billions in federal money will be parceled out.

"'No earmarks' isn't a game-ender," said Peter Buffa, former mayor of Costa Mesa, Calif. "It just means there's a different way of going about making sure the funding is there."

It won't be in legislative language that overtly sets aside money for them. That's the infamous practice known as earmarking, which Obama and Democratic congressional leaders have agreed to nix for the massive stimulus package, expected to come up for a House vote this week.

Instead, the money will be doled out according to arcane formulas spelled out in the bill and in some cases based on the decisions of Obama administration officials, governors and state and local agencies that will choose the projects...

...Lobbyists are hard at work figuring out ways to grab a share of the money for their clients, but the new rules mean they're doing so indirectly — and sometimes in ways that are impossible to track.

It's good to know that newly-minted Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner - you know, the guy who doesn't pay taxes - is going to take care of everything.

From New York Times:

A release from the Treasury Department said that under the new rules, the government would restrict “contacts with lobbyists in connection with applications for, or disbursements of, EESA funds,” shorthand for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. It said that the department’s Office of Financial Stability would certify to Congress that “each investment decision is based only on investment criteria and the facts of the case.” And it promised full transparency and close scrutiny to block any effort to use political influence as EESA decisions are made.

whatever...