The counterfeit “free market” took a big hit in August. The world’s central banks and the U.S. Federal Reserve infused a third of a trillion dollars created out of thin air in order to prop up speculators and credit sharks: A true reflection of what the establishment thinks of the "free market."
The “free market” cuts a lot of slack for billion dollar plutocrats and global corporations. The average American, however, gets platitudes and promises they must wash down with cynical condescending lectures about acquiring training for jobs that may or may not exist. Meanwhile, U.S. politicians and administrations sell or give hundreds of thousands of work visas to foreign workers while allowing illegal migrants what is left of jobs on the other end of the economic spectrum.
Circa 1990, the establishment devised a post Cold War “peace dividend.” Part of the dividend included disemboweling the U.S. military; part of it deified consumerism, the commercial, financial, as well as the needs of multinationals before anything else.
With an executive order, George HW Bush enshrined “public-private” partnerships. The result was overweening influence exerted on U.S. domestic and international policies by global financial and corporate interests. For the last 20 years, the American worker, the citizen, taxpayer, the entire system has been drowning in that misbegotten partnership
As the new system evolved, the Bush/Clinton/Bush years were primarily about “it’s the economy stupid.” The conjoined mindset of men who appeared to hold opposite viewpoints turns on the old idea that trade is peace. At the core of this belief is the theory that human beings are principally driven by economic factors: buying, having, getting, selling, materialism, consumerism and hedonism. In the last 20 years, numerous examples of the ruling establishment exposing their inclinations have come to light.
For instance, at the time it seemed like one of those ill-considered statements uttered by a politician striving to calm Americans following a terrible event. The statement turned out to define the core belief of the ruling establishment. Following 9/11, George W. Bush didn’t ask people to sacrifice or join the military; he told them to “go shopping.” The same year he claimed that commerce was a “moral imperative.” In the last 17 years, there are dozens of similar statements uttered by Bush/Clinton/Bush.
In the post-Cold War era, the ruling combine began to dissolve America one “agreement” at a time. This process included making exceptions to the rule of law for lawbreakers because they are minorities who work cheap.
It should surprise no one that nearly every international agreement adopted or signed by the U.S. since 1990 sells off parts of America piece by piece.
The U.S.-India "agreement" is a case in point. Bush I and Bill Clinton had set in motion big giveaway that included American sovereignty and national identity.
An example of the giveaway is found in the 2000-2006 U.S. agreement with India.
High points of the agreement are fairly standard examples of most other arrangements with foreign nations done in our name.
See http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/USIndia.pdf
Banking
RBI [Royal Bank of India] should advance its roadmap for foreign bank ownership of Indian private banks from its current timeline of 2009 to sooner. This will accelerate the infusion of capital, increase competition, and enhance product and systems technology in the Indian banking sector.
[Ergo, open your banking system to the multinational financial institutions the US government has chosen to shill for: we will make it worth your while.]
Liberalize the U.S. visa regime required for service providers in IT (H1B/L1), nurses (EB3), i.e., wherever U.S. is facing shortages of trained personnel. Also, ease quantitative restrictions/yearly quotas of such visas.
[To obtain visa increases, invite US Senators and Congressmen to join the India caucus, then provide deep pockets with lots of cash from dual citizenship Indians living in the US, do exotic tours of India: the politicians will take care of the rest.]
Expand the derivatives markets with products like exchange traded futures and interest rate options.
Allow selling short bonds in a phased manner.
[You too can build speculative economic empires with phantom money on what may or may not happen while never having to get your hands dirty, although your soul is your own concern. This is the grandest grand casino of all times.]
Insurance Industry FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] caps to be reviewed and raised by India. It is a matter of urgency to raise foreign ownership cap in insurance to 49%.
[High profits - dudes and a very acceptable risk. When a typhoon takes out a coastal city destroying entire city blocks, call it a storm surge and get the US government to pay the losses].
India's Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) need to be upgraded and their curricula continuously made relevant and current. US companies could work with Indian companies to promote this skill building for industry and could also partner in the setting up of new institutes.
[Our problem is to convince Americans they and their kids are too dumb and lazy to be trained for any work requiring higher reasoning ability.
For the vast majority of Indians, the schools are no better than our inner city schools. What passes for our political establishment and education bureaucrats can't get their act together to improve the US educational system. Adding insult to our injury, that same establishment did nothing to stop millions and millions of Third World poor from entering the US which had a negative impact on the US system. Nevertheless, THEY are committed to helping India fix their education problems.
Doing deals in our name, the corporate/government ruling class did nothing to create BROAD realistic consistent markets for American manufactured products or high paying jobs for American citizens.
Foreign companies and nations received entry into US markets selling products that might cost less, the price was loss of millions of good American jobs. What the establishment could not send overseas through FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] they gave to foreign interests who came here. The result is half of all jobs created in the last 6 years have gone to recent immigrants.
A majority of the jobs have been in the service sector or retail where wages are notoriously low. The government/corporate brotherhood calls this idiotic disaster the “free market.”
A Warning From a Washington Insider
The Financial Times reported in August that David Walker, comptroller general of the U.S. says the government is, “on a ‘burning platform’ of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon.
Walker also drew parallels with the end of the Roman empire, warning of “striking similarities” between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government”.
Just a reminder: The Roman Empire collapsed very quickly but it had a long twilight of decay and devastation. The mercenary cheap labor employed by the Roman elite to work or fight their wars turned on them. Over time the great engineering and commercial empire bribed barbarians with gold and treasure in return for peace and phantom stability that ultimately evaporated. But the main reason for its collapse, the Roman people no longer believed in Rome.
Next time: Is America Dumb or Gullible? Contact alden@newsmax.com
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