Predatory Lending, Brought to You By Predatory Lobbyists Who Buy Our Politicians

From David Sirota (go here to read it in full):

Last year, I noted how the most bought-off forces in Congress were trying to follow up their passage of the credit card industry-written bankruptcy bill with a new bill to open the door to all sorts of predatory lending practices.

Specifically, the bill would invalidate state laws regulating predatory lending - yet another move by a supposedly conservative federal government to usurp state power. That bill is being spearheaded by Ohio Rep. Bob Ney (R) - a guy so corrupt, he's become somewhat of a household name in political circles. The conventional wisdom in Washington is that laws regulating banking practices are too esoteric to become major political themes in a campaign year. But it is becoming clear that is not the case. On the contrary, as consumer debt is hitting record levels and the middle class economic squeeze is subsequently worsening, debates over these laws are becoming flashpoints for broader debates over how much power our government has ceded to Corporate America, and how that power is being used to bleed ordinary citizens dry. And these flashpoints are occurring in the most politically important states in America.