By Zachary Roth
So: is Steve Rattner stepping down as the Obama administration’s car czar because of the investigation into whether his private-equity fund used pay-to-play tactics to win business from New York’s public pension fund?
Probably.
First, let’s recap: New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been conducting a broad investigation into whether investment funds paid politically connected middlemen to help them win contracts to manage state pension funds. Rattner allegedly arranged for the private-equity fund he co-founded, Quadrangle, to pay $1.1 million to the political consultant Hank Morris to help the fund win business from the New York pension board. Morris has since been indicted and charged with selling access to the board. The SEC is also conducting its own investigation.
Continue Reading Did Pay-To-Play Probe Cause Rattner’s Resignation?
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Honest people can’t compete in elections because they would never give kick-backs in return for support.
One can assume that the practice of pay-to-play permeates the electoral process after reading the articles you provided. People don’t get elected unless they agree to give political favors and know the game. The rules say that these people have to be registered security advisors which implies that they provide some added value, but half are not. Where is the enforcement? Where is the vetting? Once a candidate is elected, the promises made in the backrooms are fulfilled, while the ones made in public are ignored.
Rattner is a political insider who played the game. His short-lived public service and the acceptance of his high-profile Car Czar position makes him the perfect scapegoat and poster boy for corruption. Those who pay kick-backs to gain unfair advantage facilitated the theft from the pension funds and the poisoning of the electoral process. It is unusual to have someone be outed shortly after coming into the public eye.
What dirty things did he pull off as Car Czar? Who did he favor in the reorganization? Everything he touched is now suspect.