The Administration’s Brazen Corporatist Hypocrisy

On Sunday, leading Obama officials criticized Wall Street, complaining about high bonuses, blaming business for high unemployment and seemingly protesting that financial institutions have both taken on too much risk and yet have not lent out enough money. The administration is not accepting much blame on its own for the unemployment and economic slump. Meanwhile, even as Goldman Sachs’s profits hit record highs, a Goldman Sachs executive has been named the top enforcer in the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company was Obama’s biggest campaign contributor and is notoriously among the most politically connected businesses in America.

A similar dynamic was seen in the FDR administration—blaming big business for all of America’s problems even while courting the most egregious players in finance and industry to be close to the regime. Can the president really be so hypocritical, confident that most of his supporters will pretend not to notice? Yes, he can.