There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics for the benefit of the ignorant and superstitious. There are times when this underworld emerges from the depths and suddenly fascinates, captures, and dominates multitudes of usually sane and responsible people, who thereupon take leave of sanity and responsibility.
John Miller
The world is a rigged game. We found this out in recent months, when a series of related corruption stories spilled out of the financial sector, suggesting the world's largest banks may be fixing the prices of, well, just about everything.
Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stones
Europe and North America are facing a self imposed downward spiral in the quality of life for 90 % or more of its people. There is a political standoff; a paralysis has set in where the public see nothing but angry political shouting and stonewalling while the present and future outlook is glum. And all of this has taken place while a fraction of 1% of the population are benefiting from unparalleled opulence. The wealthy few have corrupted politicians to do their bidding and the public be damned.
In the United States we see the bizarre spectacle of the rigid Tea Party financed by the reactionary cabal of the Koch brothers advocating the elimination of 100 years of social legislation. Essentially the Republican political focus is on creating a financial precipice that will cause Obama to fail. Its hatred that drives them rather than the best interest of the American public. Blinded by their hatred they are willingly or unknowingly en-route to achieving a Banana Republic status for the Nation wherein a wealthy Oligarchy runs the show ably supported by corrupted politicians and a strong military force maintaining law and order over a victimized populace. Since the Republicans controlled Congress say NO! to all forms of progressive legislation and hoping to dismantle what is left they may unwittingly succeed in realizing their Banana Republic dream. Strident right wing talk radio and Fox News, proponents of right wing agendas, fuel a confused public's anger with distortions, exaggerations and outright lies. Hate sells. The latest news is that Fox News is asking for a license to bring their right wing brand of distortions and lies to Canadian audiences. What a wonderful gift that will ensure ratings and put Canadians against each other on the hate scale.
Europe is Merkel's world. While leading nations such as the US, Canada, Japan and China are allowing their currencies to soften to improve their competitive position in the world, Merkle forbids the central bank in Brussels to issue bonds and thus the Euro remains rigidly firm, grossly overpriced and noncompetitive for the remaining Euro countries. Tea Party style austerity programs have been imposed by Merkle that are collapsing economies, causing political instability, alarming levels of unemployment, and rising public anger, despair and revolt. As for the Euro it can best be described as a work in process. The working relationships between Euro members has yet to be clearly defined so it's a zoo of uncertainty with corrupt tax havens in their midst. Lots of room for smoldering resentments and hatreds
Unregulated Globalization has unleashed financial institutions to freely pursue through outright theft the amassing of immense wealth by manipulating the price of just about everything. What is there not to hate?
2 comments:
We need to start with awareness and outrage; but then move on to proposed action.
The question is "Presuming the gov't wanted to act. What could it do?" (Getting the gov't to act is a separate issue).
Here is what gov't could do:
1) Treat tax havens as pirates and go after them with all the economic and even military force required to shut them down. Their "right" to secret banking is no more valid than the right of Somali pirates to seize shipping.
2) Given the sophistication of electronic monitoring (the NSA) use this to detect tax avoidance.
3) Punish individuals not companies. Managers and staff facing even relatively small fines will be reluctant to support corporate malfeasance; whereas a corporate fine is just a cost of doing business.
4) Eliminate the idea of "technically legal". Give courts wide discretion in taking anything that smells like tax avoidance and treat it as illegal. I believe we already have rules about "structures whose main purpose is tax avoidance"; we just need to beef that up and show that judges will have no interest in your argument why "technically" you didn't break a law.
All harsh stuff but necessary to correct the balance.
David, your recommendations make total sense. Yes we should treat tax havens as no better than Somali Pirates. The public would enjoy the rage in banking community and the corrupt politicians on their payroll.
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