Juggling Dynamite

There is a direct connection between austerity and crushing debt for the masses and record wealth for a few who’ve been saved and enriched by government and central bank largesse since the 2008 financial collapse.  More and more, the masses are starting to comprehend this nexus.  The latest look from TVO, in the following two video reports, is worth a watch.  Pitch forks traditionally ‘trickle down’ from such extreme conditions.

Jacques Peretti looks at how the super-rich exploited a legal loophole to make Britain one of the most attractive tax havens on the planet. He meets the super-rich themselves – from those buying football clubs to the billionaires breaking ranks to criticize the decisions that made them richer and society more unequal. He challenges the architects of these policies, and tracks down the foreign multimillionaires who are turning Britain from a nation of property owners to a nation of renters.  Here is a direct video link to episode one.

Jacques Peretti investigates how inequality was pinpointed as a business opportunity before the crash by the biggest American bank as a way of making money from a more divided society. He also looks at how work life was made deliberately more unstable in the 1970s to drive a new ’80s profit culture, and how an acceptance of huge executive bonuses was manufactured. He meets the billionaires who have gained, and the people whose decisions are changing the way we live. Here is a direct video link to episode two.

This is a very important speech and legislative initiative at a time when the leadership is needed and change is required.

Yesterday United States Senator Elizabeth Warren proposed the most ambitious anti-corruption legislation since Watergate to fundamentally change the way Washington does business and restore the American public’s faith in democracy. Here is a direct video link.

When leaders in politics, business, communities and families are corrupt and/or breach the trust of those relying on them, corruption and distrust spreads and undermines social stability and strength.

The map of political corruption is never stagnant. Mariano Sigman, author of “The Secret Life of the Mind,” explains how this instability of political corruption seeps into the actions of citizens.  This video clip explains some of the research.

According to @mariuchu, political corruption is contagious pic.twitter.com/aUcrskdtEA

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) August 21, 2018

Of course this is true! This is why centuries of common law and best practices around ethics and positions of trust have established basics like full disclosure (including personal tax returns of Presidents!), transparency, no hidden compensation, fiduciary duty and requirements for avoiding the ‘apprehension of bias’.  This is a race that will never be won so long as humans are alive, and always requires ongoing care and scrutiny.

The fact that politicians, financial representatives and other leaders have been allowed to operate short of these established conduct imperatives to their great enrichment, is a huge catalyst for the spreading social upheaval today, and particularly in so called ‘developed countries’ that act as global leaders.

The next wave is a move back to higher standards and greater personal accountability, because the other way lies anarchy.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) has been leading the charge with a series of proposed bills, most recently one called the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act which includes a ban on political insiders from owning individual company shares. A steady stream of scandals around insider trading and government officials confirms this ban is necessary, even if political will to pass it won’t come until the next financial crisis intensifies the cry for sweeping change.  Here is a direct video link.

Sen. Warren wants to ban Congress and White House staff from owning individual stocks from CNBC.