--- [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16) # Eric Cantor Exits Early, Heads to Wall Street to Collect His Reward ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Sept-2014/72i.png)HOW POLITICS WORK-Eric Cantor was a congressman from Virginia and was House majority leader. He was known for being particularly friendly to Wall Street and the giant, multinational corporations. In the June Republican primary, his Virginia constituents got fed up with this and booted him, choosing to nominate Cantor’s challenger, David Brat, instead. Conservative Erik Erikson [explained at FOX](http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/06/10/why-cantor-lost/), that Cantor’s Virginia constituents did this because, “K Street, the den of Washington lobbyists, became his chief constituency.” Cantor didn’t bother to finish his current term supposedly representing his Virginia constituents. He [resigned from office](http://thehill.com/homenews/house/214031-cantor-to-resign-from-congress) effective August 18. Just two weeks later Cantor [has gone to his reward](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/02/eric-cantor-new-job_n_5750240.html). Cantor will receive a huge, fat, lucrative, awe-inspiring, 1-percent-making, mansion-jet-and-yacht-buying, zillion-figure paycheck from his Wall Street/corporate constituents. He will become board member, vice chairman *and*managing director of investment bank Moelis & Co. (It typically takes longer than two weeks to [negotiate a senior position](http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/cantor-s-new-job-shows-lack-of-transparency-in-ethics-rules-20140902?ref=t.co&mrefid=walkingheader) like this one, *if you know what I mean*.) Cantor earned this senior investment banking position with his vast experience in investment banking, *if you know what I mean*. (Cantor has a law degree, and a Masters in real estate, and worked in real estate development for his father before entering the clearly more lucrative field of representing certain constituencies, *if you know what I mean*.) “Eric has proven himself to be a pro-business advocate and one who will enhance our boardroom discussions with CEOs and senior management as we help them navigate their most important strategic decisions,” Moelis CEO Ken Moelis said in a statement. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, *if you know what I mean*. **Take The Gold Or Take The Lead**-Our system has become corrupted *and everyone knows what I mean*. Everyone understands that government officials who “play ball” can [get a huge](http://www.propublica.org/article/medicare-drug-planners-now-lobbyists-with-billions-at-stake-1020) paycheck [after leaving](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/05/obamacare-fowler-lobbyist-industry1) government if they help certain big businesses while [serving](http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/revolving-door-from-top-futures-regulator-to-top-futures-lobbyist-20120111) in government. The Nation explains, in [When a Congressman Becomes a Lobbyist, He Gets a 1,452 Percent Raise (On Average), Secret deals, bribery and “buying” members of Congress ](http://www.thenation.com/article/166809/when-congressman-becomes-lobbyist-he-gets-1452-percent-raise-average)[are commonplace](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/under-the-influence/) in today’s government. (See also: [Tauzin, Billy](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12800-2004Feb4.html).) (And: [Public Interest Groups Call For Corruption Investigation Into Prescription Drug Law](http://ourfuture.org/media_releases/public-interest-groups-call-corruption-investigation-prescription-drug-law).) Neil Barofsky was Special United States Treasury Department Inspector General overseeing the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). In the preface to his book Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street, Barofsky explained that people in government are given two choices, “the gold or the lead.” From [the NY Times review](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/books/bailout-by-neil-barofsky.html?pagewanted=all), (emphasis added, for emphasis) Mr. Barofsky, wearing an unseasonal wool suit at odds with a “Washington-appropriate wardrobe,” is poised to let the hostess seat them at a front table of her choosing, but Mr. Allison insists on a private table in the rear. Then he gets down to business. “Have you thought at all about what you’ll be doing next?” Mr. Allison asks Mr. Barofsky, soon adding, *“Out there in the market, there are consequences for some of the things that you’re saying and the way that you’re saying them.”* “Allison was essentially threatening me with lifelong unemployment,” Mr. Barofsky concludes, and alternatively suggesting a plum government appointment some day if Mr. Barofsky would simply “change your tone.” --- {module \[862\]} {module \[662\]} --- When Mr. Barofsky tells his deputy of the exchange, the deputy says, *“It was the gold or the lead,”* resorting to the lingo of their joint experience prosecuting Latin American drug kingpins in New York: *Cooperate and share the riches, or don’t and get plugged.* There are “consequences” if you don’t play ball. But if you do play ball, there are rewards. *And everyone knows it.* Cantor represented Wall Street instead of Virginia in the Congress. His Virginia constituents didn’t like it, and booted him. Cantor has gone to his reward: a big pot of Wall Street gold. *And everyone knows it.* Solution? Make it a law: No person employed by the government in any capacity may receive compensation in any form that is significantly greater than the compensation they received for their public service, for a period of five years. *(Dave Johnson writes for Campaign for America’s Future.)* CityWatch Vol 12 Issue 72 Pub: Sep 5, 2014 Written by Dave Johnson. September 04 2014 [](https://www.addtoany.com/share) ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Sept-2014/72i.png)HOW POLITICS WORK-Eric Cantor was a congressman from Virginia and was House majority leader. He was known for being particularly friendly to Wall Street and the giant, multinational corporations. In the June Republican primary, his Virginia constituents got fed up with this and booted him, choosing to nominate Cantor’s challenger, David Brat, instead. Conservative Erik Erikson [explained at FOX](http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/06/10/why-cantor-lost/), that Cantor’s Virginia constituents did this because, “K Street, the den of Washington lobbyists, became his chief constituency.” Cantor didn’t bother to finish his current term supposedly representing his Virginia constituents. He [resigned from office](http://thehill.com/homenews/house/214031-cantor-to-resign-from-congress) effective August 18. Just two weeks later Cantor [has gone to his reward](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/02/eric-cantor-new-job_n_5750240.html). Cantor will receive a huge, fat, lucrative, awe-inspiring, 1-percent-making, mansion-jet-and-yacht-buying, zillion-figure paycheck from his Wall Street/corporate constituents. He will become board member, vice chairman *and*managing director of investment bank Moelis & Co. (It typically takes longer than two weeks to [negotiate a senior position](http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/cantor-s-new-job-shows-lack-of-transparency-in-ethics-rules-20140902?ref=t.co&mrefid=walkingheader) like this one, *if you know what I mean*.) Cantor earned this senior investment banking position with his vast experience in investment banking, *if you know what I mean*. (Cantor has a law degree, and a Masters in real estate, and worked in real estate development for his father before entering the clearly more lucrative field of representing certain constituencies, *if you know what I mean*.) “Eric has proven himself to be a pro-business advocate and one who will enhance our boardroom discussions with CEOs and senior management as we help them navigate their most important strategic decisions,” Moelis CEO Ken Moelis said in a statement. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, *if you know what I mean*. **Take The Gold Or Take The Lead**-Our system has become corrupted *and everyone knows what I mean*. Everyone understands that government officials who “play ball” can [get a huge](http://www.propublica.org/article/medicare-drug-planners-now-lobbyists-with-billions-at-stake-1020) paycheck [after leaving](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/05/obamacare-fowler-lobbyist-industry1) government if they help certain big businesses while [serving](http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/revolving-door-from-top-futures-regulator-to-top-futures-lobbyist-20120111) in government. The Nation explains, in [When a Congressman Becomes a Lobbyist, He Gets a 1,452 Percent Raise (On Average), Secret deals, bribery and “buying” members of Congress ](http://www.thenation.com/article/166809/when-congressman-becomes-lobbyist-he-gets-1452-percent-raise-average)[are commonplace](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/under-the-influence/) in today’s government. (See also: [Tauzin, Billy](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12800-2004Feb4.html).) (And: [Public Interest Groups Call For Corruption Investigation Into Prescription Drug Law](http://ourfuture.org/media_releases/public-interest-groups-call-corruption-investigation-prescription-drug-law).) Neil Barofsky was Special United States Treasury Department Inspector General overseeing the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). In the preface to his book Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street, Barofsky explained that people in government are given two choices, “the gold or the lead.” From [the NY Times review](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/books/bailout-by-neil-barofsky.html?pagewanted=all), (emphasis added, for emphasis) Mr. Barofsky, wearing an unseasonal wool suit at odds with a “Washington-appropriate wardrobe,” is poised to let the hostess seat them at a front table of her choosing, but Mr. Allison insists on a private table in the rear. Then he gets down to business. “Have you thought at all about what you’ll be doing next?” Mr. Allison asks Mr. Barofsky, soon adding, *“Out there in the market, there are consequences for some of the things that you’re saying and the way that you’re saying them.”* “Allison was essentially threatening me with lifelong unemployment,” Mr. Barofsky concludes, and alternatively suggesting a plum government appointment some day if Mr. Barofsky would simply “change your tone.” --- {module \[862\]} {module \[662\]} --- When Mr. Barofsky tells his deputy of the exchange, the deputy says, *“It was the gold or the lead,”* resorting to the lingo of their joint experience prosecuting Latin American drug kingpins in New York: *Cooperate and share the riches, or don’t and get plugged.* There are “consequences” if you don’t play ball. But if you do play ball, there are rewards. *And everyone knows it.* Cantor represented Wall Street instead of Virginia in the Congress. His Virginia constituents didn’t like it, and booted him. Cantor has gone to his reward: a big pot of Wall Street gold. *And everyone knows it.* Solution? Make it a law: No person employed by the government in any capacity may receive compensation in any form that is significantly greater than the compensation they received for their public service, for a period of five years. *(Dave Johnson writes for Campaign for America’s Future.)* CityWatch Vol 12 Issue 72 Pub: Sep 5, 2014 [![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/ME%20DENTAL%20SPA/me%20dental%202026%20final.jpg)](http://medentalspa.com/) ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png) ## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays Last Name [ ![LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20level%20pay%205-7-25.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)") [ ![Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/HHR/AHF-rent-too-high.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/104 "Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2") --- ## Featured CityWatch Stories [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/fd/064h-fdb0b507.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12) ### [Remembering Ken Draper: CityWatch and Transparency Are his Legacy](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12) LA WATCHDOG - Ken Draper, the editor and publisher of CityWatch for more than 20 years, passed away on August 8, 2022… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/0f/061a-0f1ada2f.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398) ### [Brace Yourself For A Worse Housing Crisis](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398) PLANNING WATCH - The California State Legislature will soon vote on the following draft legislation. Please carefully… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/54/064j-54f0ecbd.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33204:be-prepared-to-protect-our-democracy-in-november-from-a-trumpian-plot&catid=9) ### [Be Prepared to Protect Our Democracy in November From a Trumpian Plot](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33204:be-prepared-to-protect-our-democracy-in-november-from-a-trumpian-plot&catid=9) BE AWARE - Back in the days when conservatives were so hungry for media platforms that they’d come on progressive shows… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/ab/063e-ab3b1ba1.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33174:nithya-raman-loses-the-homelessness-gavel-her-record-explains-why&catid=396) ### [Nithya Raman Loses the Homelessness Gavel — Her Record Explains Why](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33174:nithya-raman-loses-the-homelessness-gavel-her-record-explains-why&catid=396) THE BOTTOM LINE - Raman wants Los Angeles voters to promote her to mayor. Before handing her the keys to City Hall, v… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/75/064a-75d5dbb3.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33199:your-boss-owns-your-workday-not-your-brain&catid=425) ### [Your Boss Owns Your Workday—Not Your Brain](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33199:your-boss-owns-your-workday-not-your-brain&catid=425) THE NEURAL WORKPLACE - California must protect workers before workplace surveillance crosses the final frontier: the hu… --- ## [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/034e.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16) ### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18755:tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people&catid=16) ### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17690:anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete&catid=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/033j.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Jan-2016/1404d.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)