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In the passage below Frédéric Bastiat comments on a few of the problems experienced in crony capitalistic societies such as ours:
But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.
Then abolish this law without delay, for it is not only an evil itself, but also it is a fertile source for further evils because it invites reprisals. If such a law "” which may be an isolated case "” is not abolished immediately, it will spread, multiply, and develop into a system.
The person who profits from this law will complain bitterly, defending his acquired rights. He will claim that the state is obligated to protect and encourage his particular industry; that this procedure enriches the state because the protected industry is thus able to spend more and to pay higher wages to the poor workingmen.
Do not listen to this sophistry by vested interests. The acceptance of these arguments will build legal plunder into a whole system. In fact, this has already occurred. The present-day delusion is an attempt to enrich everyone at the expense of everyone else; to make plunder universal under the pretense of organizing it.
Connecting the dots from 1850, when Bastiat wrote this, to today, hardly seems necessary. 162 years later, and Bastiat’s The Law is fresh as a daisy.
Romney: BLOOD MONEY
Now we learn that Bain, under Romney's "supervision", purchased and ran the Damon Corporation, who pled guilty to Federal conspiracy charges as a result of tens of millions of dollars in systemic Medicare fraud committed under Romney's and Bain's control. Damon was fined over $119-million which was, at the time, the largest criminal healthcare fine in Massachusetts history and Mr. Romney's participation was characterized in 1996 by Corporate Crime Reporter thusly: "As manager and board member of Damon Corp, Mitt Romney sits at the center of one of the top 15 corporate crimes of the 1990?s." Watch the substantiated mini-documentary, BLOOD MONEY: MITT ROMNEY'S MEDICARE SCANDAL, to learn the truth about Mitt Romney.
http://sgtreport.com/2012/01/romney-blood-money/
CEOs rake in huge sums when their companies go bankrupt
When companies go bankrupt, the misery is shared among many: Bond holders are wiped out, retirees see their pensions and benefits vanish, and employees lose their jobs.
But some feel no pain at all: CEOs and other top executives of companies that go through Chapter 11 receive robust compensation in the form of salary, stock grants and other benefits.In some cases, they earn even more money than they did before the filing, even while other stakeholders suffer. It’s the most unlikely fast-track to a fat payout ever, and it goes on in spite of federal legislation meant to crack down on corporate honchos feasting while everyone else fights over crumbs.
“There seems to be no sense of accountability at this level,” said Steven Kropp, a professor at Roger Williams University School of Law. “In most of these cases, the unsecured creditors aren’t being paid back in full, employees are being laid off, and in addition, they’re finding their health insurance and pensions diminished.” An investigation by The Wall Street Journal found that median compensation of CEOs at 21 companies that filed for bankruptcy was $8.7 million, just $400,000 less than the median compensation earned by CEOs at healthy companies.
http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/27/10252581-ceos-rake-in-huge-sums-when-their-companies-go-bankrupt
They Want to Kill Your Internet Freedom "“ Say HELL NO to ACTA
http://sgtreport.com/2012/01/they-want-to-kill-your-internet-freedom-say-hell-no-to-acta/
I would really like to see the list of dots from 1850 that you alluded to in the article above with “Connecting the dots from 1850, when Bastiat wrote this, to today, hardly seems necessary. 162 years later, and Bastiat's The Law is fresh as a daisy.” I think it would be most enlightening.
Moyers Journal: How Did the Big Banks Get So Powerful?
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2012/01/moyers-journal-how-did-big-banks-get-so.html
The Banks Are Still Scamming
It never ends, does it?
More than half of the derivatives- trading business of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Morgan Stanley and three other large banks could fall largely outside the Dodd- Frank Act if they succeed in lobbying regulators to exempt their overseas operations, government records show.
The debate over the reach of Dodd-Frank has been among the most contentious aspects of the regulatory overhaul enacted by President Barack Obama after the 2008 credit crisis. The banks have met with regulators, testified to Congress and filed dozens of letters contending that they will suffer a competitive disadvantage if the regulations apply to their foreign arms.
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=201248
Banks Fight to Exempt Half of Swaps Books While the banks haven't publicized how much of their swaps business is overseas, they file quarterly statements to the Federal Reserve. A Bloomberg News analysis of the filings shows that Goldman Sachs had 62 percent of its $134 billion in fair- value derivatives assets and liabilities in non-U.S. branches or subsidiaries for international banking as of Sept. 30, while 77 percent of Morgan Stanley (MS)'s $101 billion was in non-U.S. operations.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-30/goldman-sachs-among-banks-lobbying-to-exempt-half-of-swaps-from-dodd-frank.html
Banking/Government Racketeering
Where is the CFTC on this? How come Obama has not intervened and forced Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint an independent investigative team to get to the bottom of this? You’re telling me that our Government can locate and freeze $10′s of billions in Libyan and Iranian assets anywhere in the world but they can’t come up with the electronic trail of $1.2 billion (or more) of missing customer funds from a regulated securities business that operates in Chicago, New York and London?
http://truthingold.blogspot.com/2012/01/bankinggovernment-racketeering.html
So Why Hasn't SEC Enforcement Chief Robert Khuzami Resigned? SEC Only Now Investigating CDOs Created on his Watch at Deutsche Bank
I'd heard from German speaking readers about the Der Spiegel report of an SEC investigation in its German edition over the weekend and they've now released it in their English language version.
Why is there probably less here than meets the eye? For this investigation to be taken seriously, SEC enforcement chief Robert Khuzami would have to resign. He was the general counsel for the fixed income area at the time when the deals in question were undertaken (contra Der Spiegel, START was a program of synthetic CDOs, not just a single deal, just the Goldman Abacus trade that was the focus of an SEC lawsuit was actually just one of 25 Abacus trades). It would not be sufficient for Khuzami to recuse himself from this investigation. Staff would still be concerned about how the probe might affect their ultimate boss.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/01/so-why-hasnt-sec-enforcement-chief-robert-khuzami-resigned-sec-only-now-investigating-cdos-created-on-his-watch-at-deutsche-bank.html
The Impending Undeclared Default Of 5 Major US Banks
The following interview with Ellis Martin of http://www.EllisMartinReport.com covers in detail the impending undeclared default of 5 major US banks this week by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.
This even has the potential to cause a second financial crisis that would require significant financial intervention. If you have time to spare, listen to this interview.
http://www.jsmineset.com/2012/01/30/the-impending-undeclared-default-of-5-major-us-banks/
Wall Street Journal Credibility Vaporized – Via MF Global
Instead of using the word “Theft” or “Misappropriation” of segregated or custodial funds; the Wall Street Journal decided to run a hit piece that money has simply vaporized. “The findings so far suggest that a “significant amount” of the money could have “vaporized” as a result of chaotic trading at MF Global during the week before the company’s Oct. 31 bankruptcy filing, said a person close to the investigation.” This FALSE statement could not be further from the truth. Culpable parties would like to see the money trail vaporize and that is in fact the effect of this Wall Street Journal Story. By the way this false-flag-story has been parroted on Zerohedge, Alex Jones, New York Post, and the Huffington Post.
http://youtu.be/Ds-hb0rHYzk
Iran: Oh No, Not Again
Predator drone used in arrest of ND family. Crime: Stealing 6 cows
Rockefeller, Morgan, and War
Must-read takedown of Thomas Friedman
Peter Schiff on QE3, Macro Outlook
Rogue Government Traders
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