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Over the last two decades, America has suffered a decline in ethical standards. The U.S. financial sector has exploited this fact to effectively "buy" the votes of a majority of U.S. Congressmen. Lobbyists from the financial industry have used "political payola" (large, sustained campaign contributions), expensive gifts, free trips, lavish parties, and sexual favors to accomplish all this vote buying. Lobbying expenditures, in the U.S., increased from $1.44 billion in 1998 to $1.59 billion in 2008. During this period, the number of lobbyists increased from 10,689 to 17,170. (Center for Responsive Politics/OpenSecrets.org.)

Duri ng the national elections of 2008, commercial banks alone provided over $28 million in campaign contributions. (Federal Election Commission report, dated 02 Sep 2008). If you watched the national 2008 conventions for Republican and Democratic delegates nominating Presidential candidates, you saw media coverage on the lavish parties held by lobbyists for delagates and our Congressmen. As a result of all the lies we are being told about the realtionship between Congressmen and lobbyists, the media has started "tracking" the lavish gifts, free trips, and sexual favors the lobbyists are now providing for our Congressmen. (You can now follow many corruption "trails" in the media.)

The basis for the meltdown on Wall Street was created in 1999 when then senator Phil Gramm (Texas) responded to demands from financial sector lobbyists. These lobbyists were seeking removal of all regulatory and reporting requirements for bankers and mortgage lenders. At the same time, the lobbyists asked for cancellation of the Banking Act of 1933 so commercial and investment banks could once again "mix" their securities. Since such "mixing" of securities were known to be the primary cause of the Great Depression, such a change would invite financial suicide.

After receiving over $1 million in "political payola," Senator Gramm acted as chief promoter and co-sponsor of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999. This bill gave the financial sector lobbyists what they had demanded, as I outlined above. This single act was the primary cause of the meltdown on Wall Street, and all evidence clearly indicates that lobbyists had planned, designed, and purchased a plan for the "financial rape" of the public. After the removal of lender regulations and reporting, there was a prolonged "flurry" of predatory lending to mostly unqualified home buyers seeking

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