John Paulson, the hedge fund short-artist in the middle of today’s SEC suit against Goldman Sachs, recently helped raise money for Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.), referring to the Senator in a fund-raising letter as “one of the few members of Congress that has consistently supported the hedge fund industry.”
Back in the good old days before hedge-fund managers were greedy corporate fat-cats and Democrats were selfless crusaders for Main Street, Schumer was instrumental in preserving “carried interest” tax accounting that let folks like Paulson list their fees from managing trades as interest and capital gains instead of income, meaning that they are taxed at 15 percent.
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