Few Americans—thanks to our fine history instruction these days—know what the Credit Mobilier scandal was. From 1864 to 1867, a company called Credit Mobilier was created by executives of the Union Pacific Railroad. It was a railroad construction company that overcharged on construction costs and manipulated contracts. Its founder was Thomas Durant, and the company worked with American Congressmen, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi… Oh, sorry, Schuyler Colfax and Congressman Oakes Ames who were given low-price stock options and payouts in return for no federal oversight of the company and for subsidies and favorable regulations that would otherwise...
