Thursday, April 23, 2015

Players



Players


Thunder only happens when it's raining
Players only love you when they're playing
-       Fleetwood Mac – Song:  Dreams

To further sweeten the (TPP) deal for Democrats, the package includes expanding trade adjustment assistance — aid to workers whose jobs are displaced by global trade — to service workers, not just manufacturing workers.

   -  Deal Reached on Fast-Track Authority for Obama on Trade Accord, New York Times

By J.M. Hamilton (4-24-15)

From the perspective of a liberal, and a libertarian on foreign policy and monetary issues, President Obama can simultaneously be one of the most exciting and frustrating presidents to watch.  We may not see in our life time a President this gifted, again.   In many respects, President Obama reminds me of a Nixon, sans the personal demons, who won his second term by the greatest popular vote margin, since WWII.  As the President advances in the fourth quarter, or the winter, of his Presidency (free of seeking re-election or a mid-term vote), all Americans can finally get some feel for where the President truly stands. 

He’s bold on Cuba; he’s proposed free community college education.  To his everlasting credit, he’s attempting to negotiate with the Iranians on nukes, rather than reflexively, as the GOP and Israel would have us do, launch into yet another failed Middle-East war. 

Like Nixon, President Obama is capable of pivoting right and left; and to the frustration of Republicans, co-opting some the GOP’s very own policies, and reminding Republicans of their far more moderate recent past (going into the 2012 election, J.M.H. cited President Obama as the GOP’s best candidate).  Since the 2014 midterm, the President has stuck his neck out, exercising executive power, in the face of a reactionary and incompetent Republican led Congress.  In a key event, the exercise of executive power was utilized as a patch for immigration reform.  And the President has pushed for net neutrality.  All great actions. 

None of these efforts are to be taken lightly, and they are certainly encouraging; the public, particularly Dems, recognizes the President’s efforts, and his poll numbers reflect as much.  The real President Obama maybe finally stepping forward and not a moment too soon.  However, one gets the feeling on some of the more crucial issues of the day (campaign reform, legislative and judicial terms limits, wage and wealth inequality, regulatory capture by Wall Street and the roll back of financial regulation, and the growth of monopolies, cartels and M&A activity during his presidency)…. Mr. Obama is not engaged or, perhaps conveniently, has grown tired.  The appearance is, when it comes to protecting the economy and the American people from the predations of the aristocracy, the President still leans towards the plutocracy, monopolist and multinationals (whose support any candidate or political party needs – under current campaign law and SCOTUS rulings - in order to get elected).

Hence, the absolutely critical need for campaign financial reform, the roll back of Citizens United and McCutcheon decisions, the separation between moneyed interests and state, and terms limits for all state and federal officials, especially the judiciary.

In short, when it comes to taking on the aristocracy, most Dems and the POTUS are, largely, MIA.  And as J.M.H. has stated on more than one occasion, there is no greater threat to Americans, the American economy, capitalism, and our national security, than monopolies, cartels, and the concentration of power (economic and political) into too few hands.

To be sure, the Obama Administration makes the second Bush Administration (W) look like amateur hour.  However, for a man who originally campaigned on the basis of “change”…. this debt based economy, the power of the plutocracy, the massive scale of the police and surveillance state, the devotion to an adventurist foreign policy, and the economic and military support for some of the planet’s most nefarious dictatorships, at times it sure feels an awful lot like more of a Bush administration redux, or worse.  I guess when it comes to some of these moral quandaries and vices, it’s just too hard to quit cold turkey.

The bittersweet Obama Presidency reminds me of the old Fleetwood Mac song, Dreams, and in particular the lyrics, “Players only love you when they’re playing.”  President Obama, like all Presidents to varying degrees, played us, the people, the electorate, with promises.  Promises that perhaps he never could have delivered upon, but promises the electorate clearly expected him to fight for.  And with the energy and oratory skills of this President, clearly more could’ve and should’ve been done.  


If we look at the revolving door of Obama Administration friends and officials, one gets the feeling that not only is the “will” non-existent, but clearly, on some of these issues, like Wall Street (banking, hedge fund, and private equity) regulatory reform, there is zero interest in rocking the boat.  The revolving door between administration officials and friends, and private equity, banking, and hedge funds, is spinning full throttle.  Despite the global financial pandemic unleashed in 2008 by many of these same institutions, and the havoc wreaked upon ordinary Americans, the Obama Administration seems to have lost the will to fight this regulatory battle, and like the Clintons before him, may have joined the other side.  The Congress passed a weak/lame law called Dodd-Frank, largely written by the lawyers and minions of the Wall Street cartel, and it has been rolled back ever since.  Moreover, despite billions of dollars in fines paid by Wall Street banks, which will never begin to pay for the damage done to the American and global economies - to date, not a single bank executive has done hard time.  In fact, many remain in power.

And speaking of remaining in power, look at how the turnstyles fly, between government and the private sector:

  • Timothy Geithner moves from Treasury secretary to private equity;
  • General Petraeus loses his job at the CIA for passing secrets onto a lover and confidant, and lands a cushy job at private equity;
  • Deval Patrick, a long time Obama supporter and a former Massachusetts Governor, runs directly into the arms of private equity, upon leaving office; and then there’s,
  • Ben Bernanke, former Federal Reserve chairman, who just picked up a sweet gig at a hedge fund. 

This is just a recent sampling of a long list public officials, appointed by Democratic administrations, who made their way into Wall Street, post government career.  Many more arrive directly from Wall Street, and shadow banking, to slide and slither into highly important government positions – regulating their very own industry.  Much of the deregulation and laissez faire policies that directly led to the 2008 financial crisis came from the Clinton Administration, and his appointees: Messrs. Rubin, Summers, and the former SEC chairman Mr. Levitt (The Clinton financial dereg included, but was not limited to, the repeal of Glass-Steagall, and swaps and derivatives deregulation).   

And why would banking, shadow banking, and private equity hire Dems?  Well that’s easy.  Many of these “Dems,” or GOP-Lite, made policies, printed money, or softened regulation that was highly favorable to an industry that short- sells America, Americans, and our future on a daily basis.  Just to be clear, private equity (PE) thrives on a dysfunctional Congress, the lack of regulation, the free flow of cash from the Fed, and every day is a tax holiday for PE, given the carried interest loophole and the exceptionally low capital gains tax rate.  They call private equity operations “chop shops” for a reason, and that’s because they are literally disemboweling American business, jobs and opportunity, and the U.S. economy.  And yet, the President remains mysteriously reticent about the exodus of his administration’s friends and officials into private equity’s waiting arms.

How are we to trust the Democratic Party to regulate and rein in job killing cartels, monopolies, banking, private equity, and shadow banking…. When many of our top appointed Democratic public officials, either came from Wall Street, or landed there, post White House career?

Gives a whole new meaning to President Obama’s quip to John Stewart: “Change that you can believe in, but...”

And now President Obama, like the Clintons before him, is doing a number on the middle class, yet again, by aligning with Republicans to pass the TPP, free trade agreement.   Before it becomes an election year issue, the White House has crossed political lines, and is doing a full on push for TPP fast track passage (aka TPA). 

Spoiler alert!  Here’s a hint for my readers:  When Obama and Republicans are getting along, and are all buddy-buddy, you know the American public is about to get royally scrod, in favor of the plutocracy.  Obama and the GOP are generally at each other’s throats, so why the bro-fest? 

The TPA/fast track agreement negotiated behind closed doors, has a provision within it offering government support and welfare for displaced American workers.  That’s how egregious this deal is: To make the “free trade” agreement appealing, it doesn’t promise U.S. jobs, but rather, it promises U.S. welfare to workers who will get the shaft (like recent free trade agreements).  The TPP cannot stand public scrutiny, so the agreement itself and the negotiations have become“classified.”  So much for transparency and democracy; only insiders, big business, and the wealthy are privy to this agreement.

Looks like our “liberal” President is in bed with banks, hedge funds, private equity, and multinationals, who benefit most from the TPP’s globalization.  Namely, global tax/regulatory/labor loophole exploitation, at American worker expense.  And many wonder why the country has suffered with stagnation and subpar economic growth for the last seven years.  Look no further than free trade agreements and a government that caters to the predators on the Street and in multinational suites.


Yes, President Obama sounds like the second coming when he’s on the stump, when he needs your vote/love.  He’s a very talented man.  But now, when he needs nobody’s vote/nobody’s money, when the President is finally free, arguably we see his true colors?  Free trade agreement across the Atlantic, same thing (but many Germans aren’t buying).  President Obama, defender of the faith?  More like defender of the people who least need government help and assistance, the plutocracy.  The game is rigged, and under TPP guess who wins, again?



Like the song says, thunder only happens when it’s raining, and the liberal and populist base of the Democratic Party is finally being heard like a roar from the heavens.   Hence, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s left turn.  Hillary hasn’t campaigned much since her announcement, and shrewdly she has said less, and offered even fewer details.  To her credit she has placed wealth and wage inequality front and center, so far.  Mrs. Clinton was the first candidate, or prospective candidate, to raise the campaign finance reform issue.  Alas, the devil is in Mrs. Clinton’s unstated details.

It’s a hell of a start coming from a plutocrat. 

The Clintons, however, have a track record of signing off on free trade agreements, like NAFTA; and they have a definitive history of siding with the interests of Wall Street banks, shadow banking, and private equity… and against America’s interests.

Will Hillary and Bill play us all over again?   Whispering sweet promises during the election, only to give their love to their fellow plutocrats (post-coronation), who need it least?

As more then one wag has stated:  The Clintons are always there for you when they need you.  From the perspective of left center field, the Dems are clearly the lesser of two evils, vis a vis the GOP.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the next President actually acted upon their campaign pledges and promises, and they showed their appreciation and love to the electorate throughout their term in office?  Wouldn’t it be great if the Dems became something more than the “lesser of two evils,” or GOP-Lite?

Wouldn’t it be nice if the American public was no longer played?

Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve!   Nah, the only thing that will set the system right is if Americans boycott the 2016 election in droves (continue the 2014 trend of record low voter turnouts).  Why give compromised politicians the legitimacy of our vote; why give our crony government, owned and operated by the plutocracy, the legitimacy of our support?

Why indeed?

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2015

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Fear and Loathing at the Clinton Foundation


Fear and Loathing at the Clinton Foundation


“We believe that for a real economic development to occur, people must have opportunities for education and employment.  By increasing access to these resources, as well as to investment capital and markets, we aim to give individuals the opportunity to work their way out of poverty and uplift their communities.”  - Clinton Foundation

By J.M. Hamilton (4-10-2015)

To be elected POTUS, a nominee, under current rules, has to gather so much money that they are compromised from the very beginning.

Assembled below is a partial list of Clinton Foundation patrons, in the $250,000 and higher contribution range.  These were basically, the names, entities, and sovereigns I recognized; there are many more.  And before we launch into today’s piece, some initial observations about this list.  The list is comprised of monopolist, multinationals, Big Oil, the Wall Street cartel, billionaires, and foundations funded by billionaires.  Booz Allen Hamilton, who owns and operates the N.S.A., made the list.  There’s also a few state universities who are Clinton Foundation contributors, which I don’t completely understand.  Wouldn’t it be better for state universities, more aligned with their presumed mission, to be contributing to qualified students in need, rather than donating to the Clinton Foundation (ditto the State of Arkansas)? 

Aside from that, the list is comprised of the global and multinational aristocracy, not to mention a handful of the planet’s most repugnant Middle East monarchies/dictatorships.  It’s important to note that the asterisk (*) denotes those entities that made 2014 contributions.  Which, to me anyway, denotes that the fix is in.  Better to jump on President Hillary Clinton’s bandwagon now.

Note too, that many of these individuals and institutions, Big Oil and Wall Street in singular fashion, have long supported the GOP.  Which just goes to show that Mrs. Clinton isn’t very far off the GOP’s core positions in catering to the plutocracy’s needs (particularly on economics, Fed policy, government opacity, free trade/globalization, foreign policy, and the tsunami of money unleashed by SCOTUS within the political process).  Either that, or these GOP supporters are holding their nose and hedging their bets, as the GOP continues to implode and burn its every opportunity to reenter the White House.  (In the GOP’s most recent debacle, they pandered to their Evangelical base with bigotry and homophobia in Indiana and Arkansas, only to be told to stand down by their corporate masters.  When push came to shove, the GOP predictably told the Evangelicals to pound sand, and toadied up to moneyed interests.  Oops.)  Yeah, the GOP has a serious conflict between their base, and their owners.

Of course the Clintons with skins made of highest grade Teflon and Kevlar have had their own issues.  Hillary is so addicted to secrecy that she opted for her very own email server while conducting the affairs of state.  And when the House asked to see the contents of the Clinton server, Hills allegedly had the contents wiped clean.  So if the voters are looking for a more inclusive/more transparent regime under the Clintons, after all this is a government by and for the people (or so the Constitution says), than dream on.  There’s that and the issue that some Clinton Foundation contributors are morally destitute, spread fundamentalist Islam (Wahhabism) that is antithetical to democracy and Western ideals, and treat women as something lower than chattel.  This makes it awkward for the prospective first female President, and an alleged, women’s rights champion.  It’s all part and parcel of the scandal and double-standards that often surround the global elite and the plutocracy.  Best characterized by Mr. Lawrence Summers admonishment to then future Senator Warren:  Insider don’t criticize other insiders.  Indeed.

Many of the global elite, who contribute to the Clinton Foundation, are counting on the continuation of the crony American and global economies, where the skills of lobbying, pandering to elected officials and dictators, and showering candidates with money, are a far more important than sound business fundamentals.  The global elite rely upon: monopoly and oligopoly to mint profits; collude through “trade associations;” where authorized by law, create barriers to entry to keep competitors at bay – again insuring monopolistic profits; and utilize globalization and arbitrage to play nation states off upon one another, in a race to a regulatory/tax/social welfare/wage policy bottom. 

And Mrs. Clinton appears to be the plutocracy’s gal.  Are Clinton Foundation donors expecting access and favors once the Clintons reenter the White House, or were these gifts provided with no intentions of artifice or expectations of reciprocity?  No wonder the GOP, continuously, foams at the mouth.  How dare Dems service the global elite - that’s the GOP’s job.

J.M.H. has been writing for several years about the highly deleterious affect monopolies, cartels, M&A, private equity, and the limitless flow of money into the political process, has had upon the U.S. economy, employment opportunity, aggregate demand, and the nation’s tax base.  And J.M.H. has noted, as well, the Clintons have played a significant role in cratering into globalist and Wall Street demands (Yes, President Clinton repealed Glass –Steagall.  Is that why the Weills are on the Clinton Foundation list?).  The insiders are counting on another Clinton Presidency to keep the insider/crony economy humming, and the public in the dark. 

Thomas Edsall at the NY Times wrote a recent piece, Has American Business Lost its Mojo?, in which he notes that the number of American business deaths is exceeding the number of business births.  Mr. Edsall goes on to write the root causes of this phenomenon are industry consolidation, regulatory barriers to entry for new startups (created by the plutocracy and Congress), and Washington politics (aka the crony economy), et al.  You see, “the haves” can’t stand the thought of losing a single penny to a competitor, and hence, crony relations between Washington and the plutocracy.  The trend as noted by Mr. Edsall is bad news for America.  Fewer businesses and crushing entrepreneurial initiative is harmful to workers, investors, the tax base, the quality of products and services, innovation, and the American dream.  Katrina vanden Heuvel, at The Post, writes that the pending Pacific Rim Free Trade agreement or TPP, that the President is seeking fast track authority for, has a provision within it that may require participating governments to reimburse corporations and commercial interests – through litigation - for any profits they might lose, as a result of changes in government regulation or policies. 

As such, this free trade agreement or TPP, negotiated behind closed doors, basically front load profits, regulatory capture is guaranteed, and it will further kill U.S. jobs and opportunity (just like NAFTA under the Clintons).

This is the global plutocracy in action:  Allow us to make monopolistic profits, destroy opportunity for many in America, dodge paying taxes, and we’ll donate to the Clinton Foundation and assorted charities.  After all, the plutocracy knows best.  As J.M.H. has said before, there is no greater threat to America, her economy, and free enterprise, than monopolies and cartels.


The list of contributors to Clinton Inc. (aka The Clinton Foundation) is the very reason it is very important that Mrs. Clinton receives a challenger from the Left, during the Democratic primaries.  Without a challenger, such as a Warren, Sanders or O’Malley (or preferably all three), there will be nothing to hold in check the Clintons, their foundation, and the foundation’s patrons.  Mr. Paul only becomes a threat to the crony economy if he’s nominated, and, as disappointing as it maybe to some, the odds and the GOP base are stacked against him (despite the fact that he polls best against Mrs. Clinton, among the Republican field).

If unopposed, don’t look for Hillary, or her Republican rival, to bring up or debate solutions to the following problems confronting the nation:
·      Wage and wealth inequality and a stagnating economy – driven by cartels and monopolies;
·      A MIC and a surveillance state that has run completely off the rails, and beyond the reach of U.S. politicians;
·      U.S. tax policy that is riven with favors for the global elite;
·      U.S. foreign policy that is a complete failure, resulting in: an unacknowledged U.S. bankruptcy created by the Neo con-men, a lack of progress in global democratic reform, and serious blowback;
·      An unregulated private equity industry that plays a very large roll in business consolidation and in killing jobs and opportunity; and a Wall Street banking cartel that is seeking to overturn regulatory reform and the Dodd-Frank law, a law that the cartel actually played a large role in writing;
·      Real campaign finance reform, complete with term limits for all elected officials and judges, caps on spending and contributions, and a separation between moneyed interests and the state;
·      The Federal Reserve’s role in the bubble economy, asset inflation, interest rate suppression, and the effect of its easy money policies on job killing M&A and the private equity industry (in the latest acquisition, Shell paid a 50% premium, another sign we are perhaps near a market top);
·      Time to end a failed forty year old – plus - war on drugs, that only benefits the MIC, police unions, the criminal justice industrial complex, Big Pharma, and beer, liquor, and nicotine distributors (and purveyors of same);
·      Environmental controls and regulation over carbon, oil and coal; and perhaps the question of our time,
·      How is it that U.S. multinationals have the full rights of U.S. citizenship, and more; and yet, continuously and surreptitiously, advocate regulatory, tax, environmental policies, and foreign policies, that are inimical to U.S. and the ninety-nine percent’s interests?

The game is rigged, as best exemplified by the list of Clinton Foundation contributors.  Without a Democratic Party challenger, the game will assuredly remain rigged under yet another Clinton presidency.  And that’s exactly the way the plutocracy likes it.  After all, if Hillary is nominated unopposed, the plutocracy will have won, as the American public will be forced to choose between two right of center candidates: Clinton Inc. 4.0 and whatever doomed atavistic candidate the GOP nominates.

At some point, the American people may discover that the biggest socialists, and welfare queens, are also some of the members of the Fortune 500, and foreign governments… you know, more than a few Clinton Foundation benefactors.

Such irony, after having lived through 25 years of the Cold War, that it’s not the communist who threaten capitalism, but the unmitigated greed of monopolist, multinationals, foreign despots, and our crony government.  Clinton Foundation cadres would do well to remember that high unemployment creates a vacuum, nature and power abhors a vacuum, and that vacuum is likely to be filled by a more socialist U.S. government.  After all, the socialism, bailouts, and money printing that are good for bourgeoisie will eventually be perceived to be good for the proletariat.
 
Do svidaniya!




Companies, Individuals, Non-Profits, Philanthropies, Sovereign States, and Public institutions... patrons of the Clinton Foundation:

AIG
Banco Santander Brasil S.A.
Deutsche Bank AG *
Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund
Intel Corporation *
McDonald's Corporation *
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Global Impact Funding Trust, Inc
Noble Energy, Inc. *
Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee *
Denise Rich
State of Arkansas
The Weill Family Fund
United Automobile Workers of America
United Nations Foundation *
Walmart *
Arizona State University *
Bank of America Foundation *
Barclays PLC *
Chevron Corporation
Citigroup Inc *
Energy Developments and Investments Corporation
General Electric *

HSBC Holdings *
McKinsey & Company *
Monsanto Company *
News Corporation Foundation
Nike, Inc. *
PricewaterhouseCoopers *
Soros Foundation
Sanyo North America Corporation
The Allstate Corporation
The David Geffen Foundation
The Harrah's Foundation
The John C. Armitage Foundation
Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch *
UBS Wealth Management USA *
University of Southern California *

Visa Inc. *
100 Women in Hedgefunds
Nasser Al-Rashid
American Federation of Teachers *
Anheuser-Busch Foundation
Barclays Capital
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina *
Cisco *
Citi Foundation
Dubai Foundation
Duke Energy Corporation
Entergy
ExxonMobil *
Friends of Saudi Arabia
Hewlett-Packard Company *
Humana Inc. *
Inter-American Development Bank *
Microsoft *
James R. Murdoch
Pfizer Inc *
PGA Tour, Inc. *
Presidential Inaugural Committee
Princess Diana Memorial Fund
Procter & Gamble *
Standard Chartered Bank *
State of Qatar
Swiss Reinsurance Company *

Tenet Healthcare Corporation *
The Annenberg Foundation
The Boeing Company
The Dow Chemical Company *
The Ford Foundation *
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. *
The Government of Brunei Darussalam
The Sultanate of Oman *
The Walmart Foundation
The Zayed Family
Thomson Reuters

Toyota Motor North America, Inc. *
United Arab Emirates *

The Walton Family Foundation *
State of Kuwait
The Coca-Cola Company *
The Rockefeller Foundation
The Swedish Postcode Lottery *
Commonwealth of Australia, DIICC *
Elton John AIDS Foundation
Government of the Netherlands
Irish Aid
S. Daniel Abraham

Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi

Government of Norway








Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation *

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2015