«In the name of “wealth creation” the financial sector has euphemized and transformed political ideology to such a degree that most countries are applauding the most predatory grab of the public domain (government enterprises, land and mineral rights) since the Enclosure Movements of the 16th through 18th century in England, and earlier military conquests of the New World and most of Europe.
What is not recognized is that the effect of financializing an economy is much the same as levying tribute following armed conquest. Property ownership is transferred, on terms that block governments from taxing revenue that is “expensed” as interest or escapes through tax-avoidance transactions with offshore banking centers. Selloffs of public monopolies such as roads and other infrastructure are turned into opportunities for rent extraction. This turns the economy into a set of tollbooths as user-fees raised on labor, industry and other non-financial “real” activity. Revenue is “freed” of anti-monopoly rules and price regulation, and even from taxation as property taxes are cut to leave more revenue “free” to be paid as debt service».
The Bubble and Beyond
201 Λέξεις 