Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Bush Meets with Small Business Owners & Community Bankers?

When the President says he met with several small business owners and community bankers what comes to mind? I don’t picture the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats NBA team who last year announced a joint venture with The Carlyle Group (Bob Johnson) or the principal of an investment firm who serves on a number of corporate boards (Dwight Bush).

Yet, those gentlemen are two of the people the President spent time with yesterday. Which are they, the small business owners or the community bankers? By virtue of its stake in RLJ Companies, President Bush visited a branch or affiliate of The Carlyle Group. With $44.3 billion in managed investments, there’s not a small business owner or community banker in sight.

Don’t forget the community bank’s deal with Goldman Sachs on college loans through UTB Education Finance LLC and their desire to get accredited as a minority bank by the Treasury Department. This encourages major corporations to put excess cash in the program as a way of encouraging minority banking.

Once again Americans can see how the Bush team distorts the very programs intended to help people get a leg up. It simply churns money and business from the ultra rich to the mighty rich. A Carlyle Affiliate getting minority banking status? It appears they want to squeeze every penny from the feds while their Charlie McCarthy doll is in office.

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