Wall Street can do math, and the math looks like this: Wall Street + Washington = Wild Profitability. Free enterprise? Entrepreneurship? Starting a business making and selling stuff behind some grimy little storefront? You’d have to be a fool. Better to invest in political favors.

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Wall Street wants an administration and a Congress -- and a country -- that believes what is good for Wall Street is good for America, whether that is true or isn’t. Wall Street doesn’t want free markets -- it wants friends, favors, and fealty.

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If you don’t think that the government can just arbitrarily rewrite the bankruptcy rules to suit its political preferences, revisit the General Motors bailout, when it did just that, shortchanging bondholders in favor of the union goons who act as Democratic footsoldiers and dues-collectors.

There's a work for this; it's called "rent-seeking." Also, replace "Wall Street" with "Hollywood" (or big media companies) and you have the same thing. Via Repo Men - National Review Online.