Wall Street Bets Against Investor Interests By Backing The GOP

The top graphic shows that since 1961, Wall Street investors have done better during during periods when a Democrat was in the White House than they did under Republican presidents -- and not just a little bit better, a whole lot better. This information does not come from some left-wing organization, but from a study done by Bloomberg News (a conservative business-oriented publication). In fact, this is true even when tax rates are taken into account -- investors still earned much more under Democratic administrations.

And this is still true, since the investors on Wall Street have done very well under the Obama administration. The Republicans have always claimed that they were the party that represented business interests, and it is true that the Republican Party since Reagan has done its best to favor big business at the expense of everyone else (including small businesses). But, as progressives have been saying for many years, everyone does better when the economic system is fair and profits from increased production is shred with the working and middle classes instead of being hoarded by the upper class (because that increases sales and benefits both small and large business).

All of that makes the lower graphic above somewhat of a puzzle. Why does Wall Street pump so much money into Republican presidential campaigns, when history shows they do much better under Democratic administrations? Have they bought the Republican lies without examining the economic facts (as the teabaggers have)? Have they been so seduced by the Republican promise of tax cuts that they are willing to forgo much bigger long-term profits?

It is the general opinion of most Americans that the denizens of Wall Street are the top business and economic minds in the country -- they make a ton of money, so they must know what they are doing. Right? Evidently not. As the two graphics show, they are willing to spend millions to put a party in power that will pursue policies that will depress investor earings (and stunt economic growth in general). That's not very smart.

So far, in the current election cycle, Wall Street has donated about $32.8 million dollars to the presidential candidates ($30.2 million to Republican candidates and $2.6 million to the Democratic candidate). That means the GOP candidates are getting about 92.07% of all Wall Street donations, while Democrats get about 7.93%.

And most of those Wall Street dollars are going into the campaign coffer of one candidate -- Willard Mitt Romney. That's because he is one of them, and thus the most likely to allow them to continue to stack the deck in their favor (against the small investor's interests, and the interests of other Americans). The leaders of Wall Street don't want economic fairness or a level playing field that would benefit all investors. They know the economy and most investors would be better off with a Democrat in the White House, but they are afraid that Democrat might expose the shell game they are running and force them to earn their money the hard way -- by earning it.

That's why the bulk of Wall Street money is going to Romney. His campaign has received $7.3 million from Wall Street individuals and related PACs. In addition, his super-PAC has received another $16.5 million. That means he has received a total of $23.8 million from Wall Street (about 72.56% of all Wall Street donations, and about 78.81% of all money given to Republican candidates). He's the prohibitive favorite of Wall Street.

That's why I call him "Wall Street Willie". He's earned the nickname -- by his previous actions at Bain Capital, and by his current position as Wall Street's favorite candidate.