Ted Kaufman Quotes

After all, Wall Street is clearly the most powerful lobbying force on Capitol Hill. From 1998 through 2008, the financial sector spent over $5 billion in lobbying and campaign contributions to deregulate Wall Street.

You know, I think many people have the mistaken impression that Congress regulates Wall Street. In truth that's not the case. The real truth is that Wall Street regulates the Congress.

Wall Street's outsized influence in our nation's capital is something I've talked about for a long time - long before I even thought about running for office. But where I see a problem - an infestation, really - a lot of others in Washington, both Democrats and Republicans, seem to see government working just fine.

The railroad men did not hesitate to dominate government where they could.

The financial firms—the same ones who were involved in the 2008 meltdown—are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And frankly, they own the place.

Regulators are very heavily lobbied and they tend to give in…. We must have strong, vigilant, regulators.

I don’t think that Wall Street should write its own rules.

Anybody who covers Washington and Wall Street knows that there is an awesome amount of self-dealing, most of it perfectly legal.

You read constantly that banks are lobbying regulators and elected officials as if this is inappropriate. We don't look at it that way.

In truth, government has been good to Wall Street and big business.

Say no to politicians who sacrifice the interests of individual investors to corporate interests.

Lobbyists can pay consultants to do studies that say anything.

In Washington, they do take money—I know it’s open, though it’s hard to identify—they take money from the same people they regulate. Now, in New York City, you would never get away with that …

The banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place.

Three industries in particular—finance, real estate, and insurance—benefit from the system, which they achieve by lobbying heavily and systematically contributing to political campaigns in order to retain and fortify their privileges.

Sound regulation of Wall Street will depend on a different, less money dominated form of politics—like the kind that was generated by the more egalitarian income distribution of the post-World War II years.

President Trump is draining the D.C. swamp by fighting against corporate welfare.

Pete Wilson deregulated energy as a pay out to Enron, and we blamed Gray Davis.

Often you see big companies, big banks who are eager to embrace crushing regulatory burdens because they drive up everyone's costs.

I actually never thought that Barack Obama was anything but a typical Democratic party politician, which to me meant that he was probably in bed with Wall Street.

While legislation obviously is political, we now have allowed regulation to become politicized, which we believe will likely lead to some bad outcomes.

Wall Street, the banks, and corporate America, has been able to call the shots here. They control our members of Congress and they get what they want.

You win the modern financial-regulation game by filing the most motions, attending the most hearings, giving the most money to the most politicians and, above all, by keeping at it, day after day, year after fiscal year, until stealing is legal again.

I think a lot of times there is a tendency in Washington to make rules because of something that was adverse or fraud or something like that. And we make a lot of rules and end up hurting a lot of innocent people that are trying to start up their companies.

Wall Street banks have the right to express their views to lawmakers and regulators through lobbying, but the law is clear: If they want to influence lawmakers, they must disclose their lobbying expenditures.