SoylentNews

Hugh Pickens writes:

Alex Rogers reports at Time Magazine that nearly three months after his historic primary defeat, former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will be joining investment bank Moelis, earning $3.4 million for the next year and four months and following in the long tradition of lawmakers profiting on their knowledge of the regulatory and political landscape post-Congress. The move to Wall Street wasn’t unexpected as Cantor, one of the Republican party’s most prolific fundraisers, had close ties to the financial services industry.

But Cantor won’t be making as much as he might have as a lobbyist, as the seven figure salaries of some former congressmen can attest. Billy Tauzin, a Louisiana Republican congressman who retired in 2005, made $11.6 million in a single year in 2010 while helping to craft President Obama’s Affordable Care Act as leader of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Tauzin did “what loads of other politicians have done -- trading on his expertise and connections to amass great personal wealth,” says Sheila Krumholz. “He’s just more successful at it than others.”

Other beneficiaries of the revolving door include former Oklahoma Rep. Steve Largent whose total compensation as CTIA-The Wireless Association’s top lobbyist was reportedly $2.7 million and Former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd who makes nearly $3.3 million a year as the head of the Motion Picture Association of America - a post Dodd took after promising never to become a lobbyist.