10-02-2019, 02:41 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-02-2019, 02:44 PM by Firestarter.)
Greg Palast - The Best democracy money can buy
This post is a summary of BBC investigative reporter Greg Palast’s book from 2002.
The strategy to destroy economies is something like: take money out of circulation to crash the economy, then the big bankers buy the economy pennies for dollars, while in the meantime the country has been indebted, and has to do what the World Bank tells them.
In 1983 the IMF forced Ecuador’s government to borrow $1.5 billion to take over the private debts of Ecuador’s elite. In return Ecuador had to hike prices in electricity and other necessities, and eliminate 120,000 jobs. Then in 2000, 2001 to finish Ecuador off, it was ordered to: 1) raise the price of cooking gas with 80%, 2) eliminate 26,000 jobs, 3) cut wages with 50%, 4) transfer its biggest water system to foreign operators, 5) allow British Petroleum’s ARCO to build an oil pipeline.
In Bolivia some riots broke out, when Bolivians couldn’t get drinking water. To “help” Bolivia: Samuel Soria deposited $10 million on a Citibank account in New York, that never returned to Bolivia. Water prices, could rise with 150% under the new owner, International Waters Ltd (IWL) of London.
In 2001 Argentina got ordered to cut their government budget deficit from $5.3 billion to $4.1 billion. Taking 1.2 billion dollar out of the economy already in recession, did wonders: by the end of March 2001, Argentina’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had already dropped with 2.1% compared a year earlier. Argentina had to reduce jobs, wages, and pensions. While the IMF offered an $8 billion aid package - Argentina had to pay $27 billion a year because of their debt of $128 billion (to the likes of Citibank). The French bought the water system and raised prices up to 400%. And Argentina got threatened with sanctions by the USA to liberalise the pharmaceuticals industry.
In 1973 General Pinochet took dictatorial control of Chile, and destroyed the economy. The CIA, since October 1970, had helped Pinochet to oust president Salvador Allende. US Ambassador to Chile, Edward Malcolm Korry explained that US companies used the CIA as an international collection agency. In 1973 Chile’s unemployment rate was 4.3%; by 1983, after 10 years of free market liberalisation, unemployment was at 22%, while wages had declined by 40%. In 1970 20% of Chile’s population lived in poverty, by 1990 – when dictator Pinochet left office - this number had doubled to 40%. In 1982 and 1983, the GDP dropped with 19%, and foreign companies bought 85% of Chile’s profitable industries. The USA the State Department reported: “Chile is a casebook study in sound economic management”. The respected economist Milton Friedman called this “The Miracle of Chile”.
In 1998 —the World Bank, IMF, Inter-American Development Bank and the International Bank for Settlements — offered $41.5 billion credit to Brazil. The World Bank designed a “Master Plan for Brazil” to create a “flexible public sector workforce”: reduce Salary/Benefits; Pensions; Job Stability; Employment, and increase Work Hours. After the Brazilian real dropped with 40%: British Gas bought the SaoPaolo Gas Company, while Enron and Houston Industries bought the Rio and Sao Paolo electricity companies and a pipeline.
DEREGULATING ELECRICITY
In the 1970s British professor Dr. Stephen Littlechild invented a scheme to privatise British electricity utilities. In 1990 the England-Wales Power Pool, went into business.
From Atlanta headquarters, Southern’s executives learned they could charge in “deregulated” England double the price in Georgia. In 1995, Southern bought up England’s South Western Electricity Board. The cash rolled in and American companies grabbed the majority of the British electricity sector. Although (or because) the British consumers were terribly overcharged, the IMF and World Bank required deregulation of electricity if countries wanted assistance.
The USA had a regulatory system to keep tight lids on utility monopolies’ profits, with the result that Americans had about the lowest electricity prices in the world. In 1996 California tossed out this regulatory system. The parents of Palast saw their energy bill rise with a whopping 379% in the first year of deregulation. California’s electricity watchdog claims that electricity consumers were overcharged by $6.2 billion in 2001. After PG&E bankrupted California consumers had to pay off the speculators for some $35 billion.
GREAT BRITAIN – EVEN WORSE
Palast went undercover and got in touch with LLM and told them that he represented some wealthy American clients.
Derek Draper proudly boasted that LLM had given the US investment bank Salomon Brothers, a week advance knowledge, that the cap on total spending was 2.75% instead of the expected 2.5%. Salomon made a fortune.
PowerGen PLC wanted to buy a regional electricity company in violation of anti-monopoly regulations. Draper arranged a confidential meeting between a top adviser to Chancellor Brown with the chairman of PowerGen, Ed Wallis, which secured the PowerGen merger deal.
Roger Liddle is one of the important men in government, in charge of European affairs. Liddle told Palast that “Derek knows all the right people.” Liddle had been managing director at LLM, before he put his shares into a blind trust. Any new business Liddle gets Draper goes straight into his “blind” trust.
Here are some other deals in Britain Palast found out by going undercover: 1) Rupert Murdoch’s News International got valuable amendments to union recognition bills; 2) Tesco won exemption from a car park tax worth 20 million pounds per year; 3) Enron reversed a government plan to block new gas-fired power stations.
Greg Palast – The Best democracy money can buy (2002): http://web.archive.org/web/2017071106252...ast%20.pdf
This post is a summary of BBC investigative reporter Greg Palast’s book from 2002.
The strategy to destroy economies is something like: take money out of circulation to crash the economy, then the big bankers buy the economy pennies for dollars, while in the meantime the country has been indebted, and has to do what the World Bank tells them.
In 1983 the IMF forced Ecuador’s government to borrow $1.5 billion to take over the private debts of Ecuador’s elite. In return Ecuador had to hike prices in electricity and other necessities, and eliminate 120,000 jobs. Then in 2000, 2001 to finish Ecuador off, it was ordered to: 1) raise the price of cooking gas with 80%, 2) eliminate 26,000 jobs, 3) cut wages with 50%, 4) transfer its biggest water system to foreign operators, 5) allow British Petroleum’s ARCO to build an oil pipeline.
In Bolivia some riots broke out, when Bolivians couldn’t get drinking water. To “help” Bolivia: Samuel Soria deposited $10 million on a Citibank account in New York, that never returned to Bolivia. Water prices, could rise with 150% under the new owner, International Waters Ltd (IWL) of London.
In 2001 Argentina got ordered to cut their government budget deficit from $5.3 billion to $4.1 billion. Taking 1.2 billion dollar out of the economy already in recession, did wonders: by the end of March 2001, Argentina’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had already dropped with 2.1% compared a year earlier. Argentina had to reduce jobs, wages, and pensions. While the IMF offered an $8 billion aid package - Argentina had to pay $27 billion a year because of their debt of $128 billion (to the likes of Citibank). The French bought the water system and raised prices up to 400%. And Argentina got threatened with sanctions by the USA to liberalise the pharmaceuticals industry.
In 1973 General Pinochet took dictatorial control of Chile, and destroyed the economy. The CIA, since October 1970, had helped Pinochet to oust president Salvador Allende. US Ambassador to Chile, Edward Malcolm Korry explained that US companies used the CIA as an international collection agency. In 1973 Chile’s unemployment rate was 4.3%; by 1983, after 10 years of free market liberalisation, unemployment was at 22%, while wages had declined by 40%. In 1970 20% of Chile’s population lived in poverty, by 1990 – when dictator Pinochet left office - this number had doubled to 40%. In 1982 and 1983, the GDP dropped with 19%, and foreign companies bought 85% of Chile’s profitable industries. The USA the State Department reported: “Chile is a casebook study in sound economic management”. The respected economist Milton Friedman called this “The Miracle of Chile”.
In 1998 —the World Bank, IMF, Inter-American Development Bank and the International Bank for Settlements — offered $41.5 billion credit to Brazil. The World Bank designed a “Master Plan for Brazil” to create a “flexible public sector workforce”: reduce Salary/Benefits; Pensions; Job Stability; Employment, and increase Work Hours. After the Brazilian real dropped with 40%: British Gas bought the SaoPaolo Gas Company, while Enron and Houston Industries bought the Rio and Sao Paolo electricity companies and a pipeline.
DEREGULATING ELECRICITY
In the 1970s British professor Dr. Stephen Littlechild invented a scheme to privatise British electricity utilities. In 1990 the England-Wales Power Pool, went into business.
From Atlanta headquarters, Southern’s executives learned they could charge in “deregulated” England double the price in Georgia. In 1995, Southern bought up England’s South Western Electricity Board. The cash rolled in and American companies grabbed the majority of the British electricity sector. Although (or because) the British consumers were terribly overcharged, the IMF and World Bank required deregulation of electricity if countries wanted assistance.
The USA had a regulatory system to keep tight lids on utility monopolies’ profits, with the result that Americans had about the lowest electricity prices in the world. In 1996 California tossed out this regulatory system. The parents of Palast saw their energy bill rise with a whopping 379% in the first year of deregulation. California’s electricity watchdog claims that electricity consumers were overcharged by $6.2 billion in 2001. After PG&E bankrupted California consumers had to pay off the speculators for some $35 billion.
GREAT BRITAIN – EVEN WORSE
Palast went undercover and got in touch with LLM and told them that he represented some wealthy American clients.
Derek Draper proudly boasted that LLM had given the US investment bank Salomon Brothers, a week advance knowledge, that the cap on total spending was 2.75% instead of the expected 2.5%. Salomon made a fortune.
PowerGen PLC wanted to buy a regional electricity company in violation of anti-monopoly regulations. Draper arranged a confidential meeting between a top adviser to Chancellor Brown with the chairman of PowerGen, Ed Wallis, which secured the PowerGen merger deal.
Roger Liddle is one of the important men in government, in charge of European affairs. Liddle told Palast that “Derek knows all the right people.” Liddle had been managing director at LLM, before he put his shares into a blind trust. Any new business Liddle gets Draper goes straight into his “blind” trust.
Here are some other deals in Britain Palast found out by going undercover: 1) Rupert Murdoch’s News International got valuable amendments to union recognition bills; 2) Tesco won exemption from a car park tax worth 20 million pounds per year; 3) Enron reversed a government plan to block new gas-fired power stations.
Greg Palast – The Best democracy money can buy (2002): http://web.archive.org/web/2017071106252...ast%20.pdf
The Order of the Garter rules the world: https://www.lawfulpath.com/forum/viewtop...5549#p5549