The Suspension of Disbelief & The New Right-Wing

The Suspension of Disbelief & The New Right-Wing

Some of the left’s most influential voices and groups are taking offense at the way they and their causes were discussed behind their backs by Clinton and some of her closest advisers in the emails, which swipe liberal heroes and causes as “puritanical,” “pompous”, “naive”, “radical” and “dumb,” calling some “freaks,” who need to “get a life.”

-       WikiLeaks poisons Hillary’s relationship with Left – Politico

Neera Tanden, the president of the Center for American Progress, e-mailed Podesta shortly before an appearance on CNN, as she was going through some talking points about Clinton’s then rival, Bernie Sanders. “Do we actually know who told Hillary she could use a private email? And has that person been drawn and quartered?” she asked. “[This] whole thing is fucking insane.”

-       Even the Clinton Campaign Was Blindsided by Her E-mail Scandal – Vanity Fair, Hive

By J.M. Hamilton (10-31-2016) 

Trick or treat?  The question is no longer rhetorical. 

What has been a treat for reporters, pundits, scribes, and MSM income statements has become a bad trick, or nightmare, for ordinary Americans.  JMH writes, of course, of the 2016 Presidential campaign, where just when one thinks it cannot possibly go any lower, or sleazier, a new revelation comes to light.  Both mainstream candidates are so mired in their own goo, hypocrisy, and revelations that – depending upon which poll you read - the majority of Americans dislike both candidates.

The latest news is that the FBI Director has - based upon Mr. Anthony Weiner’s laptop – reopened Madame Clinton’s email investigation.  Mr. Weiner is a former congressman, and estranged husband from Clinton aide, Ms. Huma Abedin.  Based upon what we know so far, Mr. Weiner is under investigation by the FBI for sexting an underage woman, when his laptop revealed emails from the Clinton State Department & her private server.  (Sounds sort of General Patraeus doesn’t it, whose affair & emails led to his downfall?)  Director Comey has been under considerable pressure for not bringing charges against Mrs. Clinton; and with the GOP led house promising to investigate a POTUS Clinton for the next four years, perhaps the Director is worried about what the House GOP might uncover? 

That last point is pure speculation on my part, as to why the FBI Director re-opened the investigation.  However, when Mr. Comey had every reason to bring the hammer down upon Mrs. Clinton, based upon the FBI’s original investigation – if for nothing else then Mrs. Clinton’s pathological and preternatural ability to lie, constantly … 

Why reopen the case now?

For oldsters who can remember, the whole sordid affair of secrecy, cover ups, pay to play, politicians believing they are above the law, and the steady drip of incriminating evidence (in this instance, courtesy of Wikileaks) has a Nixonesque quality to it.  

The whiff of Watergate is in the atmosphere.

Friday the stock market took a mild hit, and a hint of panic crept into the air.  The Establishment’s gal might be on the ropes.  Even if she does manage to enter into the White House, it will likely be by the skin of her teeth, under threat of serial investigations, and possibly, pending impeachment hearings. 

What a great role model for girls and boys.  So much for the progressive - who likes to get things done.

Which helps explain why Mrs. C has struggled so much with millennials; the youngsters know she’s a crook and aren’t buying what she’s selling.

Hillary defines a generation of corrupt politicians – willing to say anything, depending upon the audience – and far too eager to do the plutocracy’s bidding for a little payola.  Living proof, as JMH has long argued, that Americans truly do live in a one party state; or more generously, a two party state, controlled, owned, and ruled by an all-powerful oligarchy.

What’s that you say?  There’s a boatload of differences between the two major parties?  Perhaps on social issues, there are still some differences, and these social differences should not be taken lightly.  But even here, the GOP – and its socially conservative base - often finds itself reined in on social issues, by the power of the oligarchy’s purse.  If the GOP, or a Republican governor, gets too reactionary, convention business, NCAA finals, and big biz tends to leave town.  

Still disagree with me?  Okay, let's suspend disbelief for a moment, and forget the last 24 months of campaigning.  What politician am I describing? 

Generals, neocons, and MIC lobbyist have supported this candidate.  Republicans have been rallying to the candidate.  This candidate has historically been a huge supporter of free trade agreements, that have benefited multinational corporations at the expense of ordinary Americans, U.S. jobs, and the tax base.  Said candidate has been highly supportive of fracking, and hence, fossil fuels that are damaging to the environment.   Our candidate and her advisors – per a recent Politico article – has referred to liberals & progressives as: “puritanical,” “pompous”, “naive”, “radical” and “dumb,” calling some “freaks,” who need to “get a life.”  As for foreign policy, our candidate is more hawkish than the current administration, which is presently bombing no less than seven countries.  As for the Federal Reserve, our candidate believes the Fed, & its Chairperson, are beyond reproach and above criticism (despite plenty of evidence that the central bank has contributed to a massive debt bubble & enabled a multi-trillion dollar federal deficit).  Said candidate is a friend of Wall Street, and for six figure fees, soothed and assuaged bankster feelings of anxiety, post 2008 Crash. 

So rarified is the air this individual breathes, this candidate has self-acknowledged being out of touch with ordinary Americans.  The candidate in question pandered to law & order/dog whistle politics of the '90s, referring to young black men as super-predators, and supported the mass incarceration state.   Under this candidate’s political party’s watch, merger and acquisitions (M&A) soared, and in the resulting Ayn Rand dystopia, job killing monopolies and cartels now dominate industry after industry, and economic sector after economic sector.   Throughout the '90s and into the present day, this candidate’s party – thanks to support for free trade & a failure to address trickle down tax policies – helped to oversee: the destruction of the middle class, wage stagnation, and rising wage & wealth inequality.

Ordinarily, I’d say JMH was describing a mainstream Republican POTUS candidate, but no, the aforementioned candidate is one, Madame Hillary Clinton.

There’s a tectonic schism in the GOP, often described and predicted by this blog, where the Republican elites are highly disconnected with the interests of their base.  Hence, like rats fleeing a sinking ship, many GOP elite have latched onto Team Clinton and the Democratic Party.  

There’s just one problem with this strategy. 

If Dems continue to co-opt/triangulate neo-liberal economic policies, and neocon foreign policies, the Democratic base will eventually awaken from their slumber, too, and see through the same nonsense (the GOP’s base has already discovered).  That process already seems underway.

In the meantime, the U.S. is in turmoil, as are most Western democracies.  Seems that the 99% are no longer willing to sit idly by, while the elite/plutocracy write the rules  - and pig out at the government trough – solely for their benefit.   

For additional clues see the rise of nationalist parties in Europe, Brexit, and one Mr. Donald Trump.

Heh, who needs ghosts and goblins, when there’s nothing scarier than a rapacious, and nonsentient, zombie-plutocracy that governs us all?

Happy Hallows’ Eve!

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2016

Elites Gone Wild

Elites Gone Wild 

"More and more, people don't trust their elites. They don't trust their economic leaders, and they don't trust their political leaders," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said during an IMF panel discussion in Washington.

"In the UK, everyone from the elites told the people, 'don't vote for a Brexit.' But they did."  

-Mr. Wolfgang Schaeuble, Reuters - IMF, Global finance leaders fret over populist backlash

 

By J.M. Hamilton (10-16-2016)

That’s mighty observant of the German Finance Minister. 

And apparently he’s not the only elite that is aware.  The pitchfork and torches crowd (aka the 99%) - POTUS Obama once said he was protecting Wall Street bankers from (aka the 1%) - seem highly agitated w/ the way the elites have been behaving. 

What could have awoken the 99% from their slumber?

Was it the debt driven economy – fueled by central bank printing presses – that have enriched the financial aristocracy to the detriment of everyone else?  Or is the fact that the elites running Wall Street banks, and drug & private equity companies, are caught up in scandal after scandal involving billions of dollars, seemingly w/out repercussion, while a black teen smoking a joint gets sent to a privatized mass incarceration hell?  Maybe it’s our uber Pax Americana foreign policy that has left the Middle East a smoldering ruin, the U.S. bankrupt, and refugees by the millions flooding into Europe and Turkey?  Perhaps it’s the dubious crowd the elite likes to rub shoulders with, like Clinton Foundation contributing members (e.g. the ultra – nefarious, sleazy, & terror spreading Saudi & Qatar governments)?  Maybe it's the elite’s infatuation w/ the multi-billion dollar mass surveillance state, which has stopped zero hacking (just ask the DNC); and despite the Snowden revelations, continues to trample all over the Constitution on a daily basis?  Could it be that the 99% realize, particularly in America, that we have two bum choices for POTUS this year, provided by the oligarchy’s political duopoly?  And we can’t trust either of the mainstream candidates farther than we can throw them. 

Maybe it’s the fact the governments of Western democracies are all too often rigged, from the lowliest local judge all the way up to the executive branch?

One thing is for certain, the elite have made a huge mess of the world, and the public is taking notice.  No longer does a few letters behind one’s name, a prestigious degree, or biz or government title confer omnipotent knowledge or command immediate agreement from the great unwashed.  In fact, all too often these designations of entitlement mean you’re – in many instances – likely to be highly corrupt or a gangster (albeit one that is above the law, nor likely to be held accountable for one’s actions).

Come on.  Get up.  Walk with me…. Let’s take a little stroll, and see what could have gotten everyone so worked up.

Central Banks

Global central banksters, and the IMF, are worried that the trickle down monetary policy  - that the world economy has been malnourished on for the last eight years (and even prior) -  has gone all Japanese on them… as in lost decades, Japanese.  The central banks have fueled extraordinary sums or public and private sector debt, and the central bankster solution seems to be to print yet more debt.  Governments, and private institutions, weighted down with debt, are recognizing what a drag all this debt can be to fiscal policy, the economy, and corporate and multinational bottom lines. 

And just wait until the next inevitable recession hits.  Yowza!  

Suddenly, there’s an outcry for fiscal policy to fill the economic vacuum.  But federal and many state government’s credit lines are maxed out: with big government enriching the 1% w/ tax cuts; MIC contractors profiting from endless war; and wasting astronomical sums on the private sector that runs our federal and state governments into the ground (via the privatization model).  To sum this matter up:  The rise of a hyper-accommodative monetary policy, globally, seen over the last three decades, has consistently enriched the 1% at the expense of the 99%.  The problem is the credit lines are – in far too many instances – toast.   

And a debt bubble the size of the Grand Canyon can be seen floating this way, like a cloud of doom.

Brexit

This story is a work in progress, but the elites in Europe have so alienated the pubic, that there are mass movements throughout Europe looking to breakout of the E.U.   The U.K. was the first to bail.  The London financial elite said the British economy would tank, but an interesting thing happened.

The British stock market, the FTSE, has been on an absolute tear, upward, and economic fundamentals upon the British Isle have been very sound.  Things were looking so good that PM May recently announced dates for the formal break with the E.U…. with the result that the short sellers (hedge fund, speculators, and major banks) immediately went to work devaluing the British pound.  

The short sellers seemed to be sending a message.  To wit:  Just who does PM May think she is representing, the interests of the British people, and how dare she follow through on the referendum.  And what’s this, from the PM, about central banks creating distortions in the market place, and enriching the 1% at the public’s expense?  Doesn’t the PM know the U.K. is not a democracy?  The unelected House of Lords, a throwback to inbred aristocracy/monarchy, will need to weigh in on Brexit, both the process and the dates.  Much more to follow.

Business

Two interesting developments in the last couple of weeks, that are representative of why the general public has such derision and scorn for the biz elite:  In the midst of fraud and scandal, Well Fargo CEO, Stumpf, stepped down only to be replaced by another insider, Mr. Tim Sloan.  Turns out Mr. Sloan played no small role in the problematic cross-selling game employed to boost Wells Fargo numbers and executive management pay.   But don’t cry too hard for Mr. Stumpf.  Unlike the 5,000 and more Wells Fargo employees, who were unceremoniously terminated in the wake of the crisis, Mr. Stumpf will parachute out a rich man.  And my guess is his executive contract spells out that a great deal of his upcoming legal expense will be picked up by the bank and the bank’s stockholders. 

The only person likely to be more upset over the Well Fargo debacle, than the general public, is Mr. Warren Buffett himself.  Mr. Buffett is Wells Fargo’s largest shareholder, and for years has been bragging about the San Francisco based bank.  Wells Fargo shareholders have seen the market cap on this bank shrink nearly 60 billion dollars, since 12-29-2015. 

However, what Mr. Buffett has lost on Wells Fargo, his portfolio of businesses has more than made up for – many times over – in tax relief from our federal government.  In the wake of the news that Mr. Trump has not paid federal income tax, likely in decades, and Mr. Trump dragged Warren into the presidential debate over tax dodging schemes, came news that Warren has been a bit of a choir-boy on payment of personal income tax.  Not so, however, w/ Mr. Buffett’s portfolio of businesses, where tax avoidance schemes, after tax avoidance schemes, have been deployed to make Berkshire Hathaway one of the largest and wealthiest companies on the planet.   

In short, the billions that Berkshire Hathaway dodges, the 99% have to make up for in the form of higher taxes, increased national debt, and diminished government services.

The biz elite do it to us all: 24/7/365.

Afghanistan

The gift that keeps on giving.... 

Bloomberg did a piece this week noting that Americans have been nation building in Afghanistan for 15 years now, OBL is long since dead, and seemingly there is no end in sight. 

POTUS Obama has repeatedly reneged on his pledges to pull America out, only to backtrack in the face of hostility from the GOP and hawkish Dems, who are always pushing the MIC’s interests.  And the MIC’s interests are continuous war, never ending war… as same evens out the revenue stream and quarterly financial statements.

As for the 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, they are largely forgotten.  As there is no draft, nor higher tax to finance this credit card war, my guess is most Americans don’t even know we are still fighting in Afghanistan (which much like Vietnam before it, consists largely of taking provinces, losing provinces/cities, and retaking them again).  Seventy nations have pledged $70 billion in aid to this lost country, but much of that aid will be lost to endemic fraud, and some of it will end up in the Taliban’s hands.

As for the elites in the Congress, these cowards have not passed a new war resolution, since the original authorization passed shortly after 9-11. 

And the multi-trillion dollar question: Why is the U.S. still in Afghanistan or even Iraq?  Excluding the lie that we are fighting a war on terror (no, our military is actually busy creating future terrorists), politically, the foreign policy elite do not want to take responsibility for another failed nation building exercise; and two, these failed wars are just good business for MIC contractors.   

Too bad, the U.S. is bankrupt.

Strange Allies

The Wikileaks revelations on the Clintons and the DNC have been very revealing.  Mrs. C has been quoted on a couple of occasions, stating the Saudis and many of our so-called Gulf-Monarchy allies (like Qatar) are responsible for much of the terror in the Middle East, and the spread of what Republicans like to call Radical-Islam.  Moreover, these two nations also helped create and fund ISIS.  That’s not to say, that both the Bush and Obama administrations, too, directly or indirectly, played a role in Daesh development and growth.

It’s all part and parcel of the religious civil war that has enveloped the Middles East and parts of Africa:  Sunni V. Shia.

Despite Mrs. Clinton calling out the Saudis & Qatar as terror sponsors…. It didn’t prevent the Clinton Foundation from taking contributions from both monarchies, or Mrs. Clinton from using her role at the State Department to make sure the Saudis received billions in martial hardware from U.S. military contractors.

And now, the Obama Administration is backing the Saudi's war crimes in Yemen.  The Saudis enjoy logistical support, weapons, and last week, a Navy destroyer firing missiles into Yemen.  Seems that no matter how rogue the Saudis go, the U.S. elite have no reservations about following Saudi terrorist down the same rat hole.  All of which explains why POTUS vetoed the 9-11 victim’s legislation that – in its pre-watered down stage -  would have allowed 9-11 families to sue the Saudi government.  The popular narrative is that POTUS was looking out for U.S. service personnel by vetoing the legislation; but as Commander and Chief of U.S. service personnel, the POTUS may have been more concerned that he, and future office holders, might find themselves held accountable for war crimes.

Just how perverted is this situation?  Consider this, the U.S. is spending trillions of dollars, ruining thousands of U.S. service personnel’s lives, fighting endless wars in the Middle East (often at the behest of NATO, the oil monarchies & Israel), while the root cause of Middle East terror – the oil rich monarchies - receives U.S. weapons & military support, and access to U.S. capital markets.

The elites in the State Department, and at DOD, are clearly mad.

NSA & Yahoo

The CEO of Yahoo… Marissa Mayer, once said, “In the end, we are capable of so much more than we think.”

Who knew that for Ms. Mayer that would include becoming a Surveillance State spy.  Yet again, at the nexus of an over-reaching Surveillance State and Silicon Valley, we recently found out that Yahoo has been giving the government access to hundreds of millions of emails.  Per the Washington Post:

Now, in a move that has outraged privacy advocates, Yahoo reportedly has helped take government intrusion to a new level. Without apparent protest, according to news reports, it built a mechanism that allowed the National Security Agency and the FBI to scan all of its users’ incoming emails for specific characters or words.

That’s hundreds of millions of emails.

“This is Big Brother on steroids and must be stopped,” said Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat sometimes described as a “privacy pit bull.” He tweeted that it was an “outrageous abuse of federal government power.”

And Yahoo’s response as to why they allowed this to happen, basically, just following orders (aka The Nuremburg defense).

Our elites are in bed w/ the authoritarian state, Orwellian named, Homeland Security, and Americans are kissing their civil-liberties and their First Amendment rights good-bye.

These government bodies (the NSA, the CIA, and the FBI) have done very little to make the homeland safe or secure from cyber attacks; and many Americans recognize the huge price tag for mass surveillance, that is the surrendering of constitutional rights & privileges (not to mention the billions of tax dollars wasted), isn’t worth the price we are paying.

 

The DNC & the Clinton Campaign

The irony is there is a relatively inexpensive cure for a great deal of the hacking that goes on over the internet, and it’s called encryption.  And more than a few would be willing to bet the farm that Hillary’s crew, and the DNC, wish their emails had been encrypted.

Not only has Wikileaks revealed how corrupt the DNC is, and how it sabotaged Senator Sanders honest campaign, but some of Mr. Podesta’s emails show that Mrs. Clinton likes to talk out of both sides of her mouth ---- shape shifting her speech, her soul, and her talking points to fit her audience.   Apparently, this is such a common element of Mrs. Clinton’s thinking that when asked about it, during a recent Presidential debate, she attempted to use Abraham Lincoln as cover.  To cut to the point, Mrs. C seemed to be arguing that deceiving the public was strategic and altogether commonplace.

The problem for the public, and anyone else involved with the Clintons, is the vast majority of Americans do not trust her.  Unfortunately for America, it’s equally telling that everything HRC has thrown at The Donald - from misogyny to lying, and bigotry to womanizing – has been practiced by Team Clinton for decades.   Things were so bad at the Clinton Foundation, conflicts of interest were so inherent, that Politico reports Chelsea Clinton was attempting to undo some of the corruption at the foundation.  

The elites in the MSM have been highly complicit, in their attempts get Hillary elected... so much for an impartial and even-handed fourth estate.

One looks at the two mainstream political candidates in 2016, and all one wants to do is weep for this nation and our children’s future.

So what’s the lesson here for our so-called elites?  

Perhaps we should start with the words of Arianne Zucker.  Mrs. Zucker is the actress who greeted Mr. Trump and Billy Bush - in the by now infamous hot-mic, "locker-room talk," describing sexual assault (aka #pussygrabgate).  Mrs. Zucker said:

“My name is Arianne (R-E-on) ZUCKER (Zooker) and I am a strong, independent, hard working mother, business woman and partner to a great man. I have grown to learn that the words of others cannot effect the value of my self worth or define the content of my character. How we treat one another, whether behind closed doors, locker rooms or face to face, should be done with kindness, dignity and respect. Unfortunately, there are too many people in power who abuse their position and disregard these simple principles and are rewarded for it. In understanding the magnitude of this situation, I choose to stand tall with self respect and use my voice to enrich, inspire and elevate the best of who we are as people”.

Well said.

At the end of the day, the common thread through all the aforementioned news events is that the elite can’t be trusted.  They lie to our faces, or cover-up until exposed.  Narcissistic and nihilistic to the core, the elite eschew honesty in favor of dishonesty.  They seem to go out of their way to do the wrong thing, even when doing the right thing would – ultimately – likely prove far more beneficial/profitable to themselves, the various private & public organizations they lead, and the global economy.

Were these “leaders” always this way, is their disease congenital, or is this what is meant by the statement: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely? 

How many billions and trillions have been lost and wasted because of the elite’s seemingly pathological need to deceive and lie?  How many organizations, private and public, have suffered incalculable reputational costs?  Why are free trade agreements negotiated behind closed doors; why have extra-judicial courts been set up by and for multinational interests, via these agreements; and why do first-world citizens and labor always finds themselves on the short end of the free trade stick?  How many children go to bed at night hungry, due to the global crony capitalist structure and because our western governments are rigged and exceedingly corrupt?

And what is the cure?  A religious revival is likely not in the cards but ultimately, possibly, a revival in ethics could save us all.  If religious dogma gets us there, wonderful; but surely at this point, having tried everything else… what else is left?  What do the elite have to lose?  Why not try and do the right thing, a policy of honesty and transparency?

My guess is Mr. Buffett wishes Wells Fargo had done the right thing; my assumption is HRC wishes she had played it straight w/ the American people, and had been far less Machiavellian. 

Then again, maybe the elite, above all, merely wish that they had not been caught.

P.S. 

On a final note, the elite seem to have forgotten that respect and trust are earned.  No amount of money, titles, degrees, or letters behind one’s name will afford respect, if you are duplicitous, double-dealing, and one’s guiding star is greed’s black hole.  The elite are facing blowback on an unprecedented scale, and the public is tired of being preyed upon by same.  The crème de la crème placed themselves in this position, and have only themselves to blame for the public’s lack of confidence & trust… through altruism, integrity & transparency, and simply paying their taxes, the elite can in time regain the public trust.

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2016

Robbing Hoods?

Robbing Hoods?

Every government dollar that progressives and liberals see wasted, or that goes uncollected in the form of tax dodges, is a dollar that could be spent on our children, paying down the national debt, or afforded to future generations.

-       Jay M. Hamilton, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

A company’s profits should be taxed in the country where the value is created.

-       Apple CEO Tim Cook, Reuters – E.U. hits Apple with $14.5 billion Irish tax demand

By Jay M. Hamilton (10-2-2016)

Gallon of black coffee, dark roast.  Check.

Smoldering maduro cigar.  Check.

Vodka-tini, no vermouth – slightly bruised… Check again.

It’s 3:00 PM somewhere.

Vivaldi, cranked…

Okay.  Let’s do this.

The U.S. Congress is perennially under fire as ineffective, somnolent, and venal.  An easy target, no doubt, read here, here and here.  But we often forget that the U.S. Congress, like the legislatures of most Western democracies, are merely doing the ownership class’ bidding.  Citizens United, and a whole host of other judicial rulings, means that if Congress is comatose, it’s likely, at their master’s instructions.

That is to say, the Congress maybe deliberately sabotaging government, based upon instructions from above: so as to make citizens more dependent upon the private sector; the agenda could be to make voters more apathetic, which tends to support the U.S. political duopoly & incumbents; and least improbable, the existing rules, laws, and regulations are an exceptional benefit to the ruling/plutocratic class (e.g. our existing tax code).  So why mess with success?

Congress presents itself as an easy target, but what of its puppet masters?  The corporations, multinationals, banks, and the billionaires who pull the government’s strings, and carry around judges & politicians in their pockets, like so many nickels and dimes.

And therein lies the problem: American business is sacrosanct, and its CEOs are often treated as deities and celebrities; and yet, they – often - continually work at cross purposes with the interests of the American people.  

Four rogue corporations recently came to mind, which upon review and carefully scrutiny, we learn are stealing from the American people and – in some cases - the E.U.:

Mylan Pharmaceutical’s CEO, Heather Bresch, has been in the news for jacking up the price of the EpiPen, a life saving drug required for those suffering allergic shock.  Congress called Ms. Bresch in, (who happens to be the daughter of U.S. Senator Manchin), they held their show hearing, Congress vowed to study the matter, and off Ms. Bresch went, free to rob the taxpayer & the community at large.  Mylan’s solution: don’t do the right thing and lower the EpiPen's price, but rather, have the medicine placed upon a “federal list of preventive services.”  By having the EpiPen placed on this federal list, much of the cost of the EpiPen is picked up by the disenfranchised and faceless American taxpayer.  Some might call this socialism, or crony-capitalism… in essence, using the government to subsidize one’s profits, and Mylan exec bonuses.  Others just might call it outright theft.  But don’t look to the U.S. Congress to hold Mylan accountable… it’s already been swept off the front pages.

Seems that Warren Buffett’s beloved Wells Fargo bank, and its CEO Mr. Stumpf, are the current news, much to Mylan’s relief.  Wells Fargo – at a time when bank lobbyist were attempting to roll back more bank rules & regs, generated as a result of the ’08 crisis – appears to have been caught in a cross selling scheme.  Wells Fargo employees, in order to stay employed and fed, sold real financial products to unsuspecting real customers, based upon fictitious consent.  The financial products were sold to juice numbers and results, and executive pay packages.  Wells got caught, and their solution:  fire some five thousand employees, and let the executive in charge skate with a multi-million dollar pay package (although as of this writing, and thanks to the public outcry, some executive bonuses maybe clawed back).  Wells is now faced with a barrage of lawsuits from customers, former employees, and stockholders.  And, per the usual, management is using ignorance as their excuse.  Wells Fargo is now just another example of corporate excess, greed, and the need for a quarterly gain triumphing over the interests of the American people.  Some might call it poor risk management, while others might call it theft or stealing.

Wells Fargo isn’t the only bank presently in the spot light.  Germany’s Deutsche Bank has been in the news.  Seems that the SEC has fined the Teutonic bank $14 billion for its role in, allegedly, fraudulent mortgage backed securities transactions leading up to the 2008 crash.  Fourteen billion is not chump change, and Deutsche too, is being sued by shareholders, third party clients, and world governments… to such an extent, that its reserving for legal costs is now both material to its financial wellbeing and in question.

Can you say, “Lehman Event?” 

Turns out, per Bloomberg: “The International Monetary Fund in June said Deutsche Bank may be the biggest contributor to risk among so-called global systemically important banks.”  Deutsche is said to have derivatives positions w/ notional values of $46 trillion; and anybody – who remembers the ’08 crisis – knows there’s a web of counterparties that likely includes financial interests in London and on Wall Street.  And just yesterday, Deutsche got nailed with more fraud allegations.  German taxpayers may soon find themselves on the hook yet again for TBTF, and Merkel’s government on the ropes.  U.S. citizens may find that The Federal Reserve isn’t watching their back, but rather, engaged in being banker to the world … and involved in apolitical moves to bailout banks, and soothe markets, with yet another wave of job killing liquidity, QE, and interest rate suppression.  As bank bailouts continue, owned politicians – on both sides of the Atlantic– will continue to cry for further rounds of fiscal austerity.  That is to say, bailouts for banks, and social program cuts for those most in need…. Or theft by any other name.

It’s not enough that the Congress abdicates responsibility for plutocratic welfare on a daily basis – courtesy of the Fed; but the Congress is also remarkably reticent when the FTC and the Department of Justice authorizes grants of monopolistic pricing power in nearly all U.S. economic sectors.  The U.S. tax code, itself, has become another corporate entitlement, and here again, the Congress has punted.  Trillions of dollars are parked offshore by multinational U.S. based corporations, who enjoy w/in America: the best courts and democracy money can buy; a first class military – second to none - protecting trade routes and multinational interests around the globe; and U.S. sponsored free trade agreements that have established extra-judicial courts, run by and for corporate interests (hence, subverting national sovereignty and citizen interests).

This leads us, of course, to Apple and Mr. Tim Cook.  Seems that the E.U. is cracking down on sweetheart tax deals.  Mr. Cook’s and Apple’s effective tax rate in the E.U., as recently as 2014, was .005%.  Apple achieved this tax rate by running all its European revenue through Ireland, even though there is no distributive, intellectual, or manufacturing based properties located on Irish soil.  The E.U. wants $14 billion dollars in back taxes.  And the E.U.’s Ms. Vestager calls the Apple/Ireland tax deal as nothing short of anti-competitive “state aid.”  Ironic, during a time when the Irish have been suffering high unemployment and fiscal austerity, the Irish government apparently has billions to give away to the likes of Apple, with no reciprocal job creation guarantees.  The some times eloquent Mr. Cook referred to the E.U.’ ruling as “total political crap,” and was quoted in Reuters as stating:  “A company’s profits should be taxed in the country where the value is created.”

Apparently, per Apple, value is created in the country that affords the greatest tax dodge.  Or since the resulting tax burden that Apple dodges is carried in turn by U.S. and Irish citizens, who suffer fiscal austerity on a daily basis…. Value, for Apple, is created by the government that affords the greatest amount of corporate welfare, which Western governments afford by stealing from the poor & the middle class ( – who cannot escape paying taxes or avoid the compounding debt & interest upon same).

…. Sort of like Robin Hood in reverse.

Citizens around the globe are waking up to the massive transfer of wealth that occurs on a daily basis by Western governments, and central banks, owned and operated by the plutocratic elite.

How much longer can Western governments survive, based solely upon: corporate welfare; government enhancing the profits of their billionaire overlords, to the exclusion of citizen’s needs; and crony-capitalism?  The pretense that we live in a democracy, when both U.S. political parties are controlled by corporate/multinational interests, is on full display for any who dare look.

The political solutions to the problem are elementary:  terms limits; caps on both campaign contributions and the amounts spent – by politicians – during an election; limits on the duration of the campaign season; and placing a lock on the revolving door.  Government stability, as well as the elemental security of the West, may ultimately depend upon these fundamental reforms.

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2016