Cataclysmic Capitalism

We need to divest ourselves of the delusion that we live in a free market economy. We don’t. Rather, according to one observer, we live in a “corporate republic” where the “profits are privatized” and the “risks are socialized”. This means that a reckless investment is backed by the government which in turn is incentive for more reckless investment. In short, Wall Street is practicing “no risk capitalism”.

This is exactly what is happening today, i.e. the bail out of the “Wall Street Casino” by the federal government. The refusal by the corporations to accept regulation even when there are laws on the books forces the government to step in to prevent the economy from tanking. The regulators in collusion with the corporations won’t regulate. The rating agencies, Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s, paid by the corporations, hand out triple A ratings to corporations that in many cases are junk making them eligible for leveraged loans to the tune of 30 to 40 times their assets. (In actuality there are possibly only a half dozen companies among hundreds that are really AAA.) And this was the major cause of the crash. But on top of this, mortgage lenders were conning potential home buyers into borrowing beyond their means (sub-prime) until the housing market crashed also.

Now how does this corporate state affect our foreign policy? A multi-national corporation operating in a foreign country may find its profit negatively impacted by certain demands put on the company by the local government, e.g. new laws or new taxes. The US politicians interpret this as harassment of the corporation. It is anti-American and repressive. So it becomes necessary to “intervene”. That intervention quite often entails regime change which requires military intrusion in the form of a coup or actual invasion. The American public is then propagandized to support the intrusion because the cruel and corrupt government is interfering with the right of an American international corporation to exploit the poor of the country. However, it is presented to the American people as a “struggle between good and evil”. A military intervention would, of course, create a cataclysmic disaster in essentially a peaceful country. Then we send in Halliburton and/or Bechtel ostensibly to fix the disaster we have created. Disaster capitalism makes it possible to profit from the mayhem. Catastrophe is good for profit. It’s good to be king.


References:

Galbraith, James K. The Predator State. 2008
Klein, Naomi. The Shock Doctrine. 2007

Our “friend” Saudi Arabia

Most of us are not fully aware of the influence of foreign governments on US public policy. This is done by foreign governments willing to pay “foreign registered agents” or lobbyists located in Washington who are able to reach the desired goals easily. Foreign interests are quite able to buy influence in D.C. They use retired ubiquitous “Generals for sale “ and ex-Congressmen now lobbyists who know their way around Washington and are able to buy a dozen more Congressman still in office. The problem arises when the objectives of the foreign governments are in direct conflict with our nation’s objectives. Thus we end up high jacked.

We have a good example in the 9/11 tragedy. It is a fact that two of the hijackers were supported by Saudi government agents and a Congressional investigation into that link was blocked by the Bush administration and the FBI. It became clear that a foreign government aided the attack in our country resulting in the death of 3000 lives. 27 pages of the Congressional inquiry detailing the connection between a foreign government and the hijackers were entirely censored (blacked out). It became obvious that the perpetrators were supported by the Saudi government, a supposed friend of America. The Saudi embassy was the channel that led directly to the Saudi Royal family. The President’s refusal to allow public disclosure of this duplicity was an indication that his loyalty was stronger toward the Saudis than the safety of the US.

President Bush is not interested in protecting American national security but rather in protecting an American ally. Saudi Arabia is a very, very special ally because they provide us with oil at a discount. In return we provide them with weaponry to the tune of 36.9 billion since 1990 through the Pentagon sales program and another 394 million through the State Dept. And the sellers are Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman and Boeing.

Another area in which the Saudis are involved is the “nuclear black market”.They have in their possession “the longest-range ballistic missiles” of any third world country. They have also approved Pakistan’s nuclear program and contributed billions to Iraq’s program in the 80’s.

A private equity firm known as the Carlyle Group that invests heavily in defense companies is also one of the largest defense contractors tied to the Saudi Royal family to the tune of 14 billion between 1998 and 2003. James Baker, former Secty of State under Bush I, is the head attorney for the Carlyle Group and his connections in the Pentagon and Congress produces huge profits for Carlyle. Incidentally the Bush family is also closely tied financially to Carlyle.

The Saudis pour huge amounts of money into the lobbyists firms that in turn pay highly placed governnment officials as well as members of Congress to support military contracts provided by the defense industry. On top of that Boeing, Lockheed and Northrup pay millions to lobby Congressmen and political action committees to support military contracts on the defense industry’s wish list.

Do you think for one second any Democratic Congress or President would be able to severe these entrenched ties? The Military-Industrial Complex may be cast in concrete. Let’s hope it is watered down concrete.


References:

Graham, Bob. Intelligence Matters. 2008
Edmonds, Sibel. Wikipedia