Reply #39: You missed the point. [View All]

[One Honest Guy]

If western corporations had good intentions, everything would be fine, but they don't. All they can see in east Europe is easy profits, and even worse, they see easy profits for their rivals, and this worries them. So there is this race to snatch as much territory as they can before their rivals do. And this has done tremendous damage. European, American, and Asian firms, with full support of their respective governments and under the guise of "economic shock therapy", are buying up as much as they can in east Europe because they fear that if they don't do it today, their rivals might do it tomorrow.

The virtual factory in question was just fine before the Germans came along, as far as the domestic market is considered. Remember, Soviet Union might be gone, but many of the old institutions and closed market rules are still in play in eastern Europe.

It wouldn't have been better if the French bought it, or the Chinese. Because none of them have the best interests of east Europeans on their mind.

You said: "keep a factory that isn't profitable running"

But I never said that it was not profitable. I said that the government in question was cash strapped, and German corporation used threats and kickbacks to corrupt the process. Hey, a Romanian parliamentarian might love his country, but offer him a villa on the French riviera, and he might be able to bend his beliefs a little.

You said: "where should the operating capital come from?"

What about doing business with some honesty? I know, its not going to happen in an open market economy and with people like Blair, Bush, Merkel, and many others running around. IMF and World Bank loans are death traps, if African third world nations are any kind of example. Thing is, most of these nations can do it on their own if left to their own devices, but that is not going to happen. There is too much at stake for the corporate world. They see trillions in potential profits, which will go to their rivals if they don't grab them first. Also, there is a chance of all these nations choosing an alternate economic, social, and/or political system all of the sudden, creating their own closed economic alliances (much like what is going on in Latin America now), and shutting off these lucrative markets to western firms for who knows how long. West can't let that happen. A foothold must be established at all costs. Look at Iraq. Iraq is nothing but a foothold in a much larger war.