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Sarah Palin: Institutionalizing Crony Capitalism
Facebook ^ | Thursday April 22, 2010 | Sarah Palin

Posted on 04/22/2010 7:44:07 PM PDT by Bigtigermike

In the wake of the recent financial meltdown, Americans know that we need reform. Not only have many individuals learned lessons about personal responsibility through this, but we’ve been able to engage in a discussion about government’s appropriate role.

The current debate over financial reform demonstrates what happens when political leaders react to a crisis with a raft of new regulations. First off, the people involved in writing government regulations are often lobbyists from the very industry that the new laws are supposed to regulate, and that’s been the case here. It should surprise no one that financial lobbyists are flocking to DC this week. Of course, the big players who can afford lobbyists work the regulations in their favor, while their smaller competitors are left out in the cold. The result here are regulations that institutionalize the “too big to fail” mentality.

Moreover, the financial reform bill gives regulators the power to pick winners and losers, institutionalizing their ability to decide “which firms to rescue or close, and which creditors to reward and how.” Does anyone doubt that firms with the most lobbyists and the biggest campaign donations will be the ones who get seats in the lifeboat? The president is trying to convince us that he’s taking on the Wall Street “fat cats,” but firms like Goldman Sachs are happy with federal regulation because, as one of their lobbyists recently stated, “We partner with regulators.”

They seem to have a nice relationship with the White House too. Goldman showered nearly a million dollars in campaign contributions on candidate Obama. In fact, J.P. Freire notes that President Obama received about seven times more money from Goldman than President Bush received from Enron. Of course, it’s not just the donations; it’s the revolving door. You’ll find the name Goldman Sachs on many an Obama administration résumé, including Rahm Emanuel’s and Tim Geithner’s chief of staff’s.

We need to be on our guard against such crony capitalism. We fought against distortion of the market in Alaska when we confronted “Big Oil,” or more specifically some of the players in the industry and in political office, who were taking the 49th state for a ride. My administration challenged lax rules that seemed to allow corruption, and we even challenged the largest corporation in the world at the time for not abiding by provisions in contracts it held with the state. When it came time to craft a plan for a natural gas pipeline, we insisted on transparency and a level playing field to insure fair competition. Our reforms helped reduce politicians’ ability to play favorites and helped clean up corruption. We set up stricter oversight offices and ushered through a bi-partisan ethics reform bill. Far from being against necessary reform, I embrace it.

Commonsense conservatives acknowledge the need for financial reform and believe that government can play an appropriate role in leveling the playing field and protecting “the dynamism of American capitalism without neglecting the government’s responsibility to protect the American public.” We’re listening closely to the reform discussion in Washington, and we know that government should not burden the market with unnecessary bureaucracy and distorted incentives, nor make a dangerous “too-big-to-fail” mentality the law of the land.

- Sarah Palin


TOPICS: Education; Government; Health/Medicine; Military/Veterans; Miscellaneous; Politics; Religion; Society
KEYWORDS: banks; cronycapitalism; democrats; elections; goldmansachs; obama; palin; sarahpalin; wallstreet
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To: 4rcane

some ppl may slap me and say, of course she wrote it, but sometimes I wonder, this is to good to be true. Plus you could tell if someone wrote the piece if they repeat phrases in the piece elsewhere in interviews or normal conversation


61 posted on 04/22/2010 11:59:48 PM PDT by 4rcane
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To: 4rcane

I believe Sarah writes these herself. She is a smart lady.


62 posted on 04/23/2010 12:11:24 AM PDT by tommix2
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To: Bigtigermike

Sarah Palin says “crony capitalism.”

Goldman Sachs says “partnership.”

Ron Paul says “corporatism.”

I.O. says, such fascistic government-corporate control, is the neo-Marxist’s necessary step along the way to the “dictatorship of the proletariat” and the unnatural and impossible communist dream of egalitarian collectivism.


63 posted on 04/23/2010 12:25:56 AM PDT by unspun (PRAY & WORK FOR FREEDOM - investigatingobama.blogspot.com)
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To: rae4palin; yellowhorse
Come to think of it, where is Paul? He should be standing on a committee table somewhere, screaming bloody murder.

He's had a lot to say about the Fed and Treasury on similar grounds.

BTW, it's been remarked on another thread that Obama and his goons are baiting a hook for the GOP here, waiting for them to come rushing to the defense of Goldman, which they have already revealed they will throw under Obama's "Magic Bus".

Goldman is a completely unsympathetic, unpitiable "victim" in all this -- highly culpable in fact, they started the runs on Bear and Lehman -- and the Republicans should stay far, far away from them.

64 posted on 04/23/2010 2:46:52 AM PDT by lentulusgracchus
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To: historyrepeatz
This Bill also moves the bulk of Wall Street FROM New York TO Chicago.

I hadn't heard that -- can you explain a bit more how this happens?

65 posted on 04/23/2010 5:01:33 AM PDT by maryz
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To: historyrepeatz
GOVERNMENT is the problem and Barack “Hugo Chavez” Obama is worsening the problem.

And this is EXACTLY what Obama and the dems want to do. Worsen everything so more people will HAVE to rely on Gov't to bail them out.

As much as it pains me to say, Obama has done a masterful job so far. Our foreign enemies have never been able to cause a tenth of the destruction Obama has thus far and it will only get worse! Don't forget the MSM is complicit in the devastation of America along with their faux God!

66 posted on 04/23/2010 5:44:42 AM PDT by sirchtruth (Freedom is not free)
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To: rabscuttle385; stephenjohnbanker; rwrcpa1; molybdenum

I’m Palin fan, but fair is fair:

McCain took Goldman Sachs money — $230,095 [and much more about McStain in thread]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2456305/posts?page=246#246


67 posted on 04/23/2010 5:52:08 AM PDT by Arthur Wildfire! March (Weakening McCain strengthens our borders, weakens guest worker aka amnesty)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; bigheadfred; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; ...
...the financial reform bill gives regulators the power to pick winners and losers, institutionalizing their ability to decide "which firms to rescue or close, and which creditors to reward and how." Does anyone doubt that firms with the most lobbyists and the biggest campaign donations will be the ones who get seats in the lifeboat? The president is trying to convince us that he's taking on the Wall Street "fat cats," but firms like Goldman Sachs are happy with federal regulation because, as one of their lobbyists recently stated, "We partner with regulators." They seem to have a nice relationship with the White House too. Goldman showered nearly a million dollars in campaign contributions on candidate Obama. In fact, J.P. Freire notes that President Obama received about seven times more money from Goldman than President Bush received from Enron. Of course, it's not just the donations; it's the revolving door. You'll find the name Goldman Sachs on many an Obama administration resume, including Rahm Emanuel's and Tim Geithner's chief of staff's. We need to be on our guard against such crony capitalism. We fought against distortion of the market in Alaska when we confronted "Big Oil," or more specifically some of the players in the industry and in political office, who were taking the 49th state for a ride.
Thanks Bigtigermike.
68 posted on 04/23/2010 6:30:09 AM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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To: Bigtigermike

Thank you Sarah.

Short sweet and sooo right.


69 posted on 04/23/2010 6:37:26 AM PDT by eleni121 (For Jesus did not give us a timid spirit , but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline)
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To: Bigtigermike

bump


70 posted on 04/23/2010 8:49:18 AM PDT by opentalk
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To: maryz

Wall Street “reform” moves Wall Street from New York to Chicago.. See Here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2498493/posts


71 posted on 04/23/2010 9:20:53 AM PDT by historyrepeatz
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To: historyrepeatz

Thanks!


72 posted on 04/23/2010 11:43:44 AM PDT by maryz
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