Last night it was reported by Reuters, following up on an interview in the Financial Times (subscription required) that James Hackett, chairman and chief executive of independent oil and gas company Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) said, "Washington's energy and environmental policy risks plunging the United States into an economic tailspin that could make it the world's cleanest third world country."

Seems he is not partial to the global warming crowd as indicated by his statement that "The histrionic and maniacal focus on carbon dioxide is intellectually repugnant to me," but how does he really feel?

Just like the government's tardy recognition of the recession, nine months after the fact, Washington has become embarrassed over and over again by the scandalous behavior of Wall Street investment banks and corporate executives. This includes: overindulgent life styles at company, shareholder, and taxpayer expense; outrageous bonuses by money losing companies; corporate jets; lavish business retreats; gaming of stock options and more.

Our nation has been strip-mined by corporate executives that think short term, focus on themselves instead of their company, and people they represent, and have been negligent to consider the repercussions of their actions or inaction.

Strip-mining allows for the removal of minerals in the fastest and easiest way possible grabbing at surface material as you work your way down and cause havoc to the ecosystem. Environmental problems are of great concern now more than ever and the process is heavily regulated -- more so than the economic strip mining of the last few years.

Since Washington is so affected by lobbyists whose interests are not aligned with the overall public well-being (note: I did not say welfare), as the cynic would say "the best government money can buy", the public is not getting its monies worth.

The buyout binge – which lasted until mid 2007 – got its fuel from major banks. Of course, with the credit crunch, the spigot has closed shut, putting the ice on dealmaking.

But once the banking system comes back, will we also see a big comeback in private equity?

Actually, this may not be the case. President Barack Obama has wasted little time in taking the offensive against Wall Street fat cats. Of course, he put the kibosh on Citigroup's (NYSE: C) attempt to procure a $50 million plane. Obama also said it was "shameful" for Wall Street to dole out $18.4 billion in bonuses last year.

And, the fact remains that the federal government has massive equity stakes in the top banks in the U.S. In other words, it's a good bet that Obama's economic team will be fairly intrusive – and this could mean focusing on bread-and-butter business and consumer loans, not buyout deals.

In the new issue of Business Week, Maria Bartiromo conducts an excellent interview with Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein about his outlook for private equity in 2007.

Rubenstein predicts more money going into emerging markets, and he said the Carlyle Group will double its investment in Asia this year. He is also weary of increased government regulation of private equity groups, and provided a great quote: "The Declaration of Independence says we're supposed to pursue happiness, but when people are too happy, the government doesn't like it."

If other private equity groups follow Carlyle's lead of doubling up on Asia this year, emerging markets could see a buyout-fueled bull market similar to what the United States saw in 2006. I suspect that exchange-traded funds could be the best way to make that bet.