Waking up to an article about the Obama administration proposing limits on banker pay for companies that were bailed out and an article about how President Obama brought in millions in donations from investors in Manhattan had me a bit vexed at first. Out of one side of the administration comes a sharp regulation targeted directly at certain Wall Street firms, out of another side, the President is pushing reform as bankers open their checkbooks. What exactly is going on here? Harper’s points to the final paragraph of the Washington Post article:
Large public banks have long been loath to get involved in politics, a major Obama donor said: “The stronger base is among private equity guys, hedge funds, et cetera. People in private firms feel a little more flexible.”