History is written by Winners…
#53
When rich
speculators prosper
While farmers lose their land;
when government officials spend money
on weapons instead of cures;
when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
while the poor have nowhere to turn-
all this is robbery and chaos.
It is not in keeping with the Tao.
While farmers lose their land;
when government officials spend money
on weapons instead of cures;
when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
while the poor have nowhere to turn-
all this is robbery and chaos.
It is not in keeping with the Tao.
By J.M. Hamilton 7-19-14
Random thoughts
and musings this long, hot month of July, and in particular, how future
generations will – through the prism of time and futurity - view America,
and today’s ruling elite. My immediate
guess is that today’s ruling oligarchs will not be viewed by successive
generations favorably, and if our ancestors are looking down, do they shake
their heads in shame and wonder? Let’s examine the following current
events to possibly gain a better perspective, and learn how history may be
written and play-out.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney & the
Failed War in Iraq
Dick Cheney’s advocacy for the war in Iraq is well known. The history of lies,
half-truths and misinformation told by the Bush Administration, to drag this
country into the Iraq war, are by now well known.
Trillions of U.S. dollars will ultimately be wasted on the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars, complete with thousands of U.S. war dead, and hundreds of
thousands of Iraqi citizens killed. The mission in Iraq was poorly
defined, and executed from the beginning, and the Bush Administration in a last
ditch effort hung its hat on a so-called “surge” and one General
Patreaus; but the “surge” was little more than a payoff to Iraqi Sunni and
Baath Party insurgents. When the payoffs ceased, and U.S. troops
finally pulled out, the inevitable happened under a Shiite dictator: The
country broke out into civil war.
Now, with
Chancellor Cheney’s legacy and war are on line, and his epitaph nearly
complete, this warmonger and his neo-conmen continue to clamor for an exercise in futility.
Fortunately, neither Republicans nor Democrats are listening, or buying what
Mr. Cheney is selling. The irony in all this is
that Mr. Cheney dodged the Vietnam War, another failed nation building
exercise, and served in the Nixon administration, along with one Donald
Rumsfeld. So if anyone should have known what a catastrophe Iraq would
become, it was Richard. Mr. Cheney evaded Vietnam with five draft
deferments and was quoted by the W. Post as stating: “I had other priorities in
the 60s than military service.” Spoken like a true armchair quarterback, and an elitist. I wonder if he’d feel differently if his two daughters
were on the front line?
Probably not.
The Iraq war
however, was never about protecting America or Americans, or spreading
democracy. Historians will be quick to note that Iraq sits on one of the
largest deposits of proven oil reserves in the world, and Mr. Cheney, as the
former CEO of Halliburton and Kellogg, Brown and Root (oil field and defense contractors) wanted at those reserves, and wanted those DOD contracts. As
this blog has pointed out on more than several occasions, America goes to war
for oil, and to protect multinational and foreign sovereign interests.
Essentially, the nation’s fighting force, manned by the nation’s poor in
today’s all volunteer military, were being sacrificed on the altar of war for
multinational/KBR profits, to make the Sovereigns and Monarchs wealthier, and to
protect global oligarchs’ assets. Remember, Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with 9-11. Fortunately, the U.S. has wised up to
Mr. Cheney, and many of us wonder if he’d like to give up the heart he received, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer he has so little regard for.
Republicans espouse fiscal conservatism and welfare cuts for those in need,
but when it comes the DOD, the NSA, and warfare, the sky is the limit, even at the risk
of running the nation into the ground, fiscally.
President
Obama, in direct contrast to Mr. Cheney, has done everything in his power to
keep this nation out of armed conflict, and has won geo-political conflicts
time and time again, w/out the use of standing armies or nation building
exercises. Just like another President Mr. Cheney failed to learn
from, named Ronald Reagan, who won the cold war w/out firing a shot.
The Chamber of Commerce and Exxon’s Love Affair
with Dictator Putin – “Scary” Indeed
Like many of
us, I too, work for corporate America, and I am proud of the job I am
privileged to hold and the company I work for. But too many corporations
today, take a very “quarterly statement” view of the world.
Multinationals want all the privileges of a sovereign state, but none of the
social responsibility. Too many corporations and billionaires want the
rights of the individual and to dictate U.S. domestic and foreign policy, like the
monarchs of old, and they absolutely abhor attempts to hold them responsible
for criminal conduct.
Mega-corporations are unwilling to run for public
office, at least yet.
President
Carlyle Group? Maybe someday, but for now, better to manipulate and
pay-off (make campaign contributions) Congress from the shadows, and engage in regulatory capture.
The arrogance
and unmitigated greed of the Chamber of Commerce was on full display recently, when
the Chamber lobbied Congress to back off on pursuing sanctions against Dictator Putin, one of the darkest despots in the world today. The Chamber
represents the interest of many U.S. multinationals, who are presently working
in the former Soviet Union, under the regime of a communist thug and Ex-KGB
agent (whose respect for human rights and the rule of law are
non-existent). Gee, did it ever occur to Exxon that prudent political
risk-management might give them pause before leaping into Mother Russia?
And did Mr. Rex Tillerson, along with the Chamber, really think he could dictate U.S. foreign policy, and help finance the Russian military?
Why not.
Multinationals have been dictating policy to the U.S. government for years,
particularly Republican administrations, but Demos too. Far be it for Exxon and the Chamber to lobby Dictator Putin, directly, and demand that he
abandon Crimea, the Ukraine, and respect human rights. Instead the Chamber followed and lobbied via the path of least resistance, our crony – gerrymandered – U.S. congress (essentially doing Putin's bidding). That the policy
dictated by Exxon and the Chamber is often myopic, greed-centric, and all too often inimical to the interests of the vast majority of Americans, let alone citizens
of the world….. well, that’s business as usual. The Chamber and Exxon are
so used to having their every word executed upon by our government officials,
as they work from the periphery, the shadows and K Street. Exxon also,
courtesy of Mr. Cheney, made a big investment in Iraq…. Only to, recently, bail and flee. How long before multinationals, and the Chamber, flee
the former U.S.S.R…. just like British Petroleum did sometime ago?
Don't forget Exxon, along with Big Oil, receives billions in tax subsidies... that's billions that you, Dear Taxpayer, pay for out of your own pockets.
Don't forget Exxon, along with Big Oil, receives billions in tax subsidies... that's billions that you, Dear Taxpayer, pay for out of your own pockets.
And what will
the historians say about the integrity and responsibility of the Chamber's and Exxon's deal with, and advocacy for, the Devil?
Nine Monarchs
The founding
fathers did a terrific job on many aspects of the constitution. The whole checks and balances thing, to this
day, plays out in many instances. Perhaps too much so - given Congress’
failure to act, in the hopes of showing up a President that they absolutely
loathe. What were the founders possibly thinking, however, when they
created the judicial branch? If there ever was an ultra-elitist and most
undemocratic body in our government, than this is it, SCOTUS. These nine
justices can sit on this court for generations, pull “stuff” out of the air,
contradict their own rulings interminably, revise their own rulings behind the scenes and after the fact (w/out notice to the American people, let alone legal scholars); and continually, have found new ways to hold back society, women,
minorities and the human race.
They are all liars… oh sorry, meant to say lawyers. If there was ever a profession
that needed to be placed upon a leash, it is the legal profession.
Shakespeare was quoted in Henry VI ,
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” A thought that must
have crossed many an American’s mind, whom ever had to sit in a U.S. court of
law. (That’s not say there aren’t quality legal professionals out there
with morals and scruples; I’ve met several over the years.) The founding fathers
were fleeing persecution, tyranny, and King George’s autocracy… why on earth,
give SCOTUS unlimited power? Or is it simply a matter of this court
growing more powerful over the span of time, and granting themselves powers
un-enumerated by the constitution? Maybe
our founders never anticipated the life expectancy of today’s SCOTUS members,
vis a vis 1787’s life expectancy.
This most
recent coven (The Roberts Court) has done more damage to the rights of man, and
expanded exponentially the rights of corporations and wealthy individuals to
usurp the democratic process, then any court heretofore. The hubris and arrogance surrounding five of these nine monarchs is astounding. If there
was ever a body in need of term limits, this is it; if there ever was a
crime perpetrated by our founding fathers against the American people, than
this is the place. As it stands today, future historians might suggest
SCOTUS has become a tool of the plutocracy. Citizens United,
McCuthcheon…. These SCOTUS decisions spell out the death of democracy, and an
accelerated race to destroy the middle-class.
By way of
example, Justice Scalia was appointed by Ronald Reagan nearly thirty years ago
to the most powerful court on the planet, and is quite possibly the most reactionary politician, within the federal government today. How grounded is this man, or sane for that matter – just two years shy of being an octogenarian,
and what possibly could this man know about the reality 99% of Americans face
daily? (The CIA fact book estimates the median age of Americans at 37.6
years of age. This means half of all
Americans are at least forty years, or more, younger than Justice Scalia. Chew on your olive for moment and ponder that fact, as you sip on your extra dry martini this summer weekend.) And yet, Justice Scalia, when his vote is
tied to four other justices, has the power to usurp democratically elected congressional and executive branches, purely on a whim, and all too often
in favor of the true puppet masters, the oligarchs.
A Destroyer of the Economy
and Opportunity: Private Equity Equals Bankruptcy!
Capitalism's claim to fame is that it creates jobs, opportunity, and most effectively and efficiently produces goods and services (and I still believe that); and yet, there is a class of business in our society today that makes a killing for an elite few by eliminating jobs, crushing opportunity, and after maxing out a company's credit line - all too often runs said company into bankruptcy. I write of course, of private equity. The fact that many companies, who are owned by private equity firms, ultimately, end up in bankruptcy court is not in dispute.
The NY Times reported that 50% of the bankruptcies reported in 2008 were either presently owned by private equity (PE) firms, or previously owned by PE firms. No greater icon of capitalism than Warren Buffett was recently quoted as stating that he rued the day he ever heard of TXU (aka Energy Future Holdings), which is one of the largest PE bankruptcies, if not the largest, reported to date.
PE consistently burns investors, businesses, employees, and on a macro level is highly deleterious to the tax base and the overall economy. And yet, because these pirates are hugely wealthy, they are all too often celebrated. That there business is successfully based upon unseemly amounts of debt, and leveraging a rigged tax code, is beside the point.
What will future generations say about a business model that destroys opportunity, jobs, and is the primary catalyst for globalization and M&A activity, that all too often leads to industries dominated by monopolies and cartels? Cerberus, Apollo, Carlyle Group, KKR, Blackstone.... These folks do not liberate companies, they destroy them.
The fact that one of these fat cats can buy up a copy of the Magna Carta, or an original copy of the Declaration of Independence, and place it on display for the public view.... Does not for one second atone for the economic carnage caused by private equity, the lives destroyed, and the careers cut short. Not to mention PE’s ruinous results for our Federal government, which is left holding the bag with a diminished tax base and higher relief payments for displaced workers.
Capitalism's claim to fame is that it creates jobs, opportunity, and most effectively and efficiently produces goods and services (and I still believe that); and yet, there is a class of business in our society today that makes a killing for an elite few by eliminating jobs, crushing opportunity, and after maxing out a company's credit line - all too often runs said company into bankruptcy. I write of course, of private equity. The fact that many companies, who are owned by private equity firms, ultimately, end up in bankruptcy court is not in dispute.
The NY Times reported that 50% of the bankruptcies reported in 2008 were either presently owned by private equity (PE) firms, or previously owned by PE firms. No greater icon of capitalism than Warren Buffett was recently quoted as stating that he rued the day he ever heard of TXU (aka Energy Future Holdings), which is one of the largest PE bankruptcies, if not the largest, reported to date.
PE consistently burns investors, businesses, employees, and on a macro level is highly deleterious to the tax base and the overall economy. And yet, because these pirates are hugely wealthy, they are all too often celebrated. That there business is successfully based upon unseemly amounts of debt, and leveraging a rigged tax code, is beside the point.
What will future generations say about a business model that destroys opportunity, jobs, and is the primary catalyst for globalization and M&A activity, that all too often leads to industries dominated by monopolies and cartels? Cerberus, Apollo, Carlyle Group, KKR, Blackstone.... These folks do not liberate companies, they destroy them.
The fact that one of these fat cats can buy up a copy of the Magna Carta, or an original copy of the Declaration of Independence, and place it on display for the public view.... Does not for one second atone for the economic carnage caused by private equity, the lives destroyed, and the careers cut short. Not to mention PE’s ruinous results for our Federal government, which is left holding the bag with a diminished tax base and higher relief payments for displaced workers.
Private Equity is nothing
to emulate and does not even qualify as capitalism, it is something to be shut
down and abolished. Interestingly enough, some GOP members have not learned from Mr. Romney's example, and now it appears that Mr. Jeb Bush is involved in the same business practices.
Which raises the question, just how serious is Mr. Bush about a presidential candidacy, or is his interest in seeking the republican nomination more about hiking up his speaking fees?
Tax
Cheats, A-Hoy!
"Double Irish, Dutch Sandwich, Check the Box," and private equity's personal favorite, "Carried Interest," these are all the names of tax dodges employed by wealthy Americans, corporations, and multinationals to greatly reduce their tax burden, if not eliminate it altogether. Which means you, Dear 99%, get to pay a significantly higher tax rate so as to pay for the shortfall that occurs when the rich don't pay their equitable share. The wealthy in turn re-invest the tax dollars they should have paid in to ventures, such as: undermining democracy (i.e. buying off - sorry, meant to say making "campaign contributions" to - politicians for political support), lobbying for tax holidays and maintaining and expanding additional tax loopholes, and M&A activity - which as described above kills jobs, opportunity, and causes wages to stagnate.
All of this I described in a piece a little over a year ago, entitled: Your Tax Dollars at Work.
Now I would argue that not paying taxes - leaving your fellow Americans left to pay higher taxes on your tax-dodging behalf - is not only quintessentially Un-American, but I think we can argue that it is near treasonous (as it leaves our federal government in a perilous fiscal state). Many of these corporations employing these dodges earn millions, if not billions,directly from government contracts: G.E., Booz Allen owned by Carlyle Group, assorted defense contractors, and medical care providers. And members of Big Oil, who enjoy tax subsidies - despite making billions - are probably one of the primary beneficiaries of our extravagant DOD and attempts to police the world. And then there's Big Pharma, who not only charges full price for their medicine in America (perhaps the only Western Democracy where this is allowed, which is a huge expense to the nation), but also deploys the latest tax loophole du jour, called "Inversion."
Inversion is where American companies (who enjoy: the rule of law in America; America's defense forces affording unprecedented protection; her crony political system - the best money can buy; and her captured courts, regulatory system and tax code) buy a foreign company, so that they can transfer their headquarters outside U.S. borders to avoid paying U.S. taxes altogether.
Leaving you, Dear Fellow Americans, left holding the bag, with higher tax payments, higher national debt, and decreased government services. Here's a number to put on these tax cheats, the cumulative price tag on all this legalized corporate tax fraud is estimated by our own government to be $12 trillion over the next decade.
The only thing more Un-American than the companies who leave our shores to duck out on their tax responsibility, are the politicians in Congress, who voted these loopholes into place, and who are “paid” contributions not to reform our perfidious tax code.
"Double Irish, Dutch Sandwich, Check the Box," and private equity's personal favorite, "Carried Interest," these are all the names of tax dodges employed by wealthy Americans, corporations, and multinationals to greatly reduce their tax burden, if not eliminate it altogether. Which means you, Dear 99%, get to pay a significantly higher tax rate so as to pay for the shortfall that occurs when the rich don't pay their equitable share. The wealthy in turn re-invest the tax dollars they should have paid in to ventures, such as: undermining democracy (i.e. buying off - sorry, meant to say making "campaign contributions" to - politicians for political support), lobbying for tax holidays and maintaining and expanding additional tax loopholes, and M&A activity - which as described above kills jobs, opportunity, and causes wages to stagnate.
All of this I described in a piece a little over a year ago, entitled: Your Tax Dollars at Work.
Now I would argue that not paying taxes - leaving your fellow Americans left to pay higher taxes on your tax-dodging behalf - is not only quintessentially Un-American, but I think we can argue that it is near treasonous (as it leaves our federal government in a perilous fiscal state). Many of these corporations employing these dodges earn millions, if not billions,directly from government contracts: G.E., Booz Allen owned by Carlyle Group, assorted defense contractors, and medical care providers. And members of Big Oil, who enjoy tax subsidies - despite making billions - are probably one of the primary beneficiaries of our extravagant DOD and attempts to police the world. And then there's Big Pharma, who not only charges full price for their medicine in America (perhaps the only Western Democracy where this is allowed, which is a huge expense to the nation), but also deploys the latest tax loophole du jour, called "Inversion."
Inversion is where American companies (who enjoy: the rule of law in America; America's defense forces affording unprecedented protection; her crony political system - the best money can buy; and her captured courts, regulatory system and tax code) buy a foreign company, so that they can transfer their headquarters outside U.S. borders to avoid paying U.S. taxes altogether.
Leaving you, Dear Fellow Americans, left holding the bag, with higher tax payments, higher national debt, and decreased government services. Here's a number to put on these tax cheats, the cumulative price tag on all this legalized corporate tax fraud is estimated by our own government to be $12 trillion over the next decade.
The only thing more Un-American than the companies who leave our shores to duck out on their tax responsibility, are the politicians in Congress, who voted these loopholes into place, and who are “paid” contributions not to reform our perfidious tax code.
The solution for inversion is easy. If a company leaves America to dodge taxes… they should not be allowed to operate in the market that controls 25% of world GDP, the United States. Inversion should equal a ban on operating within American markets. These same companies who leave, should also have their patents and licenses revoked, and their U.S. assets sold to the highest bidder company, that operates in America, pays taxes in America, and hires Americans. This same solution could be applied to American companies that want to offshore their labor.
In brief, the political Left doesn't have to make the case for wealth confiscation. Companies who leave U.S. shores to dodge paying taxes, are making the case for wealth confiscation, themselves.
Unfortunately, I could continue further writing about the moral decline of some American corporations, but I'm running out of time: A car company, bailed out by the American taxpayer, who makes a deadly product, and then ignores the problem…. And on, and on, and on!
So let’s go back now, to the primary premise of this piece,
and based upon the evidence above, try and learn how future generations (e.g.
our children and grand children) might view us?
Well, not very well, unfortunately.
GOP presidential candidate Romney and SCOTUS believe corporations
are people. Granted not all corporations
are the same, and “no,” not all corporations are evil. Like ordinary citizens, the picture on corporations is mixed. There
are many well meaning companies and businesses out there, who want nothing more
than to provide a quality/safe product or service, and make a reasonable profit. And there are many who do just that. Business in America is as American as apple
pie.
However, perhaps far too many businesses, corporations, and
multinationals are run by management teams and/or board of
directors that would appear to have sociopathic tendencies, or are perhaps anti-social, or equally treacherous, maybe are
Anti-American. Before affording an
analogy tied into the examples above as proof, let’s define “sociopath,” shall
we?
The Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV-TR) is another widely used tool
for the diagnosis and it defines sociopath traits as:
A) Pervasive pattern of
disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15
years, as indicated by three or more of the following:
1.
Failure to conform to
social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by
repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
2.
Deception, as indicated by
repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal
profit or pleasure
3.
Impulsiveness or failure
to plan ahead
4.
Irritability and aggressiveness,
as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
5.
Reckless disregard for safety
of self or others
6.
Consistent irresponsibility,
as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor
financial obligations
7.
Lack of remorse as
indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt,
mistreated, or stolen from another
B) The individual is at
least age 18 years.
C) There is evidence
of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.
D) The occurrence of
antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course
of schizophrenia or a manic episode.
Now, if corporations are people, and an ordinary
American was to be a proponent of say: unlimited warfare (quite possibly for
personal gain), like I don’t know, former Halliburton CEO, Mr. Dick Cheney; and
this same “American” person was to back (provide U.S. technological support and financial assistance to) one of the most notorious dictators on
the planet, named Putin ---- like the Chamber of Commerce and Exxon; and this American person destroyed businesses, jobs and economic opportunity by maxing
out corporate credit lines, and sending acquired companies, repeatedly,
into bankruptcy, as Private Equity does everyday; and this
“American”/possible Sociopath/possible Psychopath refused to pay taxes, but
reaped all the rewards of their citizenship (and in fact reaped significant
wealth from their relations with government officials, SCOTUS, and a rigged tax
code)…. Like various
U.S. companies deploying tax inversions and tax dodges from a loophole laden tax code……
Well, we’d probably throw this individual in jail for life?
In fact, where I came from, Texas, some people might
just dispense with the jail time altogether, and find themselves a rope. (Personally, I'm not a fan of frontier justice. The worst punishment is to let someone rot in a corporate run U.S. prison, and deal with the U.S. courts. Welcome to the 10th ring of hell.)
Or maybe,
Americans would make this person Vice President of the United States.
Yet, Mr. Romney
assures us, as does SCOTUS, that corporations are people, too. Apparently, some corporations can get away
with unlimited warfare, advocate bombings for no sane or rational reason (or
based upon a pack of lies), stealing national resources from sovereign peoples,
holding down women and minorities, cheating on taxes, and running businesses
into the ground, and crushing the economy for personal gain (while thumbing
their nose at America and planting their freak-flag on foreign soil).
That my
dear friends, is how our children and grandchildren are likely to view us,
after this country has been thoroughly raped, sacked, and looted… and our kids and grand-kids are
left with nothing, but a mountain of federal debt. For not only are We
The People the victims of these various nefarious acts, but we are also
– in a democratic society – the enablers.
Many of us, my
GOP friends in particular, love to blame the government for society's ills and
problems, but perhaps it's time to take a very hard look at the enterprises and
mega-wealthy individuals, who are the true puppet masters (and pull the strings on a congress - with a single digit approval rating, and SCOTUS).
They say that
history is written by winners. Well, if
this is the future we are bequeathing our children, than I’m afraid we are all
going to be viewed as losers, especially many of the wealthiest among us.
The wealthy and their minions will say this piece smacks of class warfare, and we can't have that; but no greater authority on the matter than Mr. Warren Buffett has said that the rich have been practicing class warfare on the 99% for decades. Guess who won in the short run?
P.S.
Here’s
the Top Eight Reasons, we know we are in the middle of yet another Bubble
caused by the Federal Reserve and Central Banksters, globally:
1)
Individual investors are flooding back into the
stock market, at the market’s peak (a sure sign that the "pros" are about to take their winnings and leave).
2)
Private Equity executives talk about their
returns and their market conditions, as being “biblical.”
3)
Junk debt is at record low interest rates, and
bond offerings often afford no protective covenants or conditions.
4)
Business fundamentals and the economy are
marginal at best, but the stock market continues to soar to record heights.
6)
There’s so much free money lying around, that the
only thing CEOs can think of to do with it, are stock buybacks (again at a
market peak?).
7)
Insiders are selling stock, not purchasing
it.
And the top reason we know we
are in another Bubble:
8)
The Federal Reserve and Central Banksters deny
that we are in a Bubble.
They
are always, allegedly, the last to know. Fear not,
however, there’ll be plenty of time to bail.
The market won’t falter until after the 2014 mid-term elections.
