Wall street goes to Washington

I recently read an article called "In Shift, Wall Street goes to Washington" which brought many interesting facts to light for me. It mentions the fact that the federal government is now a key player in every major decision that comes up in the financial markets today. A lot of information that would have never before been shared with the federal government is now readily available. Information regarding members of the board, compensation executives receive, and even how companies value their investments.

The above being said what does this mean for companies dealing with mortgages, finance, or insurance? I think when government regulation meant just worrying about taxes and some minor regulations they were a little further down the totem pole as far as effect on the business but now things have changed and government has gotten involved on a whole new level. This means you’re going to have to keep a fixed eye on what the government is up to, in other words you need to get close to Washington and that law makers who are bound to be involved in the day to day decisions of your organization.

This demand for knowledge of lawmakers’ insight into what is going on in the recovery process and how they think things should be done makes it necessary for any organization with a lot vested in the financial markets to move to Washington and get involved. Many companies are either beefing up offices in the Washington area or even creating new offices just to be close to the action. Many organizations even take it one step further and actively recruit for ex- government officials to fill positions on their board to gain further insight into the minds of lawmakers to prepare for the next move by Washington.

I think this whole shift in Wall street to Washington will have a profound impact on the way business is run at least until the bailout money has been paid back if not forever.