Elizabeth Warren was right: The
links between Citigroup and government run deep
By Matt O'Brien and Darla Cameron December 16
Washington's
version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is much less exciting than everybody
else's. It's called One Degree of Citigroup, and it's not much of a game since
so many economic policymakers have worked at the banking
behemoth. It's exactly the point Elizabeth Warren made in a big speech last
week, expressing anger that Citigroup and
other big banks were able to weaken a
key Wall Street regulation in the new government spending bill.
In many
ways, however, this isn't One Degree of Citigroup. It's One Degree of
Robert Rubin. After his stint as President Bill Clinton's Treasury secretary,
Rubin decamped for the newly-created Citigroup, which formed after Congress
passed a law ending the Depression-era prohibition on banks and securities
firms from operating under the same roof. And then Rubin's long list of
proteges followed. It's been enough to turn Citigroup into a kind of
government-in-exile for Democratic policymakers, with current and past
employees including current Treasury secretary Jack Lew, former Office
Management and Budget chief Peter Orszag and current U.S. Trade
Representative Mike Froman. (Former Treasury secretary Tim Geithner politely
declined an inquiry about whether he'd be interested in joining
the bank).
Darla makes graphics that tell stories at the intersection of business and
politics (especially when there are maps involved). Before joining the Post,
she worked at the Tampa Bay Times and graduated from the Missouri School of
Journalism.
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