The end of the year is always my favorite time because I love top ten lists. I want to know everything-from the top ten celebrity breakups to the top ten political videos. The Huffington Post has released a top ten list of biggest business scandals for 2008. With the economic downturn, massive government bailouts, and bloated CEO salaries, there are many stories to tell.Of the ten Huffington Post listed, four have political implications due to the government's help and their political contributions:

• Bear Sterns. It seems the only thing executives at Bear Stearns wanted to do was deny anything was wrong this year. Then, the government had to swoop in and save them.
• Countrywide Financial. Many members of Congress may have received favorable mortgage rates while those without a Capitol Hill address were losing their homes to foreclosure.
• Lehman Brothers. Well, it wasn't too big to fail but its CEOs sure made a lot of money.
• AIG. What do you do when the government gives you $124 billion? Hold a senior staff retreat at a resort for $440,000 and go hunting in England for $86,000.

Most of these groups benefited from lax regulation passed in the 1990s and then again from the government bailouts in the past year.Based on Public Campaign analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), as well as some analysis by CRP, it turns out these organizations that all needed the government's help this year have donated millions of dollars to politicians since 1990. Here's the breakdown:

Bear Sterns
$8,513,894

Countrywide Financial
$1,300,000

Lehman Brothers
$7,557,655

AIG
$9,700,000

Total:
$27,071,549