The co-founder of the Carlyle Group equity fund will donate $7.5 million for repairs needed to the Washington Monument after last August’s earthquake. National Parks Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis reportedly planted the idea in the head of the co-founder of the Carlyle Group David Rubenstein

"I told him I thought it important that the monument be opened as quickly as possible, and if I could help in any way, I'd be pleased to do so," Rubenstein said. Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes described Rubenstein as having a "generous and patriotic spirit."

In 2011, Rubenstein and two other founders

received  $275,000 salary, a $3.55 million bonus, and $134 million in distributions.  That's a total of $137.825 million each.

The ultimate “one percent-er” investment group, often called the ex-presidents club, the Carlyle Group is a huge private equity group that operates in the “iron triangle” of industry, government and military. Carlyle’s  stellar investors  have included George HW Bush , former British PM John Major, parts of the Bin Laden family, and a US CIA Directors and U S Secretaries of State. Carlyle will be going public later this year and there is some squawking that planned shareholder agreements will not allow class action suits by shareholders.

Some things just feel quite wrong. They may not actually be wrong in the legal or moral sense, but just represent or illustrate something more out of balance than normal. What does it say about this country at the moment that we can go, hat in hand, to solicit money from a group like this yet our congress can’t marshal the political will to raise taxes on the hyper wealthy ?

Maybe it is just bad optics? After all the Washington Monument was partly financed with private funds to start with before Congress got around supplying funding in the late 1800’s for completion.

Also location, location, location.It must be imperative for Carlyle to have an appearance of prosperity in view when looking down from their Pennsylvania Aue. office building.Can’t have shabby monument in the neighborhood.