By insisting that the spike was “not a result of manipulative forces,” (former CFTC head Walter) Lukken helped Wall Street in its efforts to avoid reforms that might have prevented such abuses, like the closing of a series of loopholes and exemptions that allowed a handful of major speculators to play a lopsided role in the setting of commodity prices.
So what was Lukken’s reward for helping the financial services industry avoid such reforms? Well, Lukken has just been named to head the Futures Industry Association, or FIA, the chief lobbying arm of futures investors.
This follows the (Billy) Tauzin pattern of revolving-door hires: a government official carries water for a powerful industry, then moves on to take the cushy job with the industry’s lobbying arm once he leaves office.
Instead of talking about the "revolving door" leading from regulatory oversight offices to industry lobbying firms and back again, let's start saying "Slimy Whore X entered/exited through the Tauzin" Has a nice ring.
Adding: Here's what such a usage would look like. Earlier today we referred to an event where local luminaries gathered to honor former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy who, incidentally, exited office through the Tauzin.
Council President Jackie Clarkson called Barthelemy's role in securing the Holmes property for the city "masterfully visionary." No one mentioned that he later went to work for the same company, HRI, that he picked to redevelop the store as a hotel, apartments and retail complex.
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