Could the Sallie Mae (SLM) deal make private equity problems even worse?

With concerns that the Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM) transaction may not close hitting the headlines as Congress returns to session ahead of next year's presidential election, could an opportunistic candidate turn national sentiment against a small, yet powerful, private equity group?

Sallie Mae was incarnated to provide low-cost loans to U.S. students so they could afford a college education, mostly targeting those groups who could least afford it. While this mandate has lost its focus as Sallie Mae loans are no longer cheap, it does leave the opportunity for a smart politician to seize the moment: Why should the profits of government-backed debt for students go to JC Flowers, so they make billions in profits?

The same could be said about the recently completed buyout of HCA, the large hospital chain. While it is a Class A operation, it generates a substantial portion of its revenue from Medicare and Medicaid. Once again, why should the U.S. taxpayer, who finances both Medicare and Medicaid, be paying money to HCA so they can pay down the $30-plus billion in debt so a few shareholders can walk away with billions?

It is interesting how one deal, Sallie Mae, could potentially raise so many red flags. As with most market excesses, one deal always become the poster-child deal symbolizing an era's end. Look for it to be Sallie Mae this time around. HD Supply renegotiating the terms for its deal could prove to be pure chump change.