Predictions of an Economic Hit Man & Some Alarming Stats

[G_j]

PREDICTIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN
John Perkins, AlterNet

The controversial author explains why Bolivia's new
president, Argentina's anti-IMF rebellion and the NYC
transit strike are all harbingers of things to come.

http://www.alternet.org/story/30681/


<snip>
Evo Morales is the latest in a long list of democratically elected Latin American presidents whose primary appeal is their opposition to U.S., IMF and World Bank policies that favor foreign corporations with reputations for exploiting natural resources and local labor. Bolivia joins the ranks of previously pro-American countries that have recently turned against Washington and Wall Street, such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela.

<snip>

This rebellion is facilitated by the internet, cell phones and satellite dishes. People in places once considered remote are increasingly aware of statistics such as these:


-Transnational corporations have taken control of much of the production and trade in developing countries: For example, 40 percent of the world's coffee is traded by just four companies; the top 30 supermarket chains control almost one-third of worldwide grocery sales.


-A trade surplus of $1 billion for developing countries in the 1970s turned into an $11 billion deficit by 2001.


-The income ratio of the one-fifth of the world's population in the wealthiest countries to the one-fifth in the poorest went from 30 to 1 in 1960 to 74 to 1 in 1995.


-Of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are corporations; of those, 47 are U.S.-based.


-The overall share of federal taxes paid by U.S. corporations is now less than 10 percent, down from 21 percent in 2001 and over 50 percent during World War II; one-third of America's largest and most profitable corporations paid zero taxes -- or actually received credits -- in at least one of the last three years (according to Forbes magazine).


-Back in 1980 the average American chief executive earned 40 times as much as the average manufacturing employee. For the top tier of American CEOs, the ratio is now 475:1 and would be vastly greater if assets, in addition to income, were taken into account. By way of comparison, the ratio in Britain is 24:1, in France 15:1, in Sweden 13:1.

<snip>

[sasha031]

1. you have to read his book

[G_j]

3. Amy Goodman did an excellent interview with Perkins:

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/09/1526251

Tuesday, November 9th, 2004
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions

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We speak with John Perkins, a former respected member of the international banking community. In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man he describes how as a highly paid professional, he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then take over their economies.
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John Perkins describes himself as a former economic hit man - a highly paid professional who cheated countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars.
20 years ago Perkins began writing a book with the working title, "Conscience of an Economic Hit Men."

Perkins writes, "The book was to be dedicated to the presidents of two countries, men who had been his clients whom I respected and thought of as kindred spirits - Jaime Roldós, president of Ecuador, and Omar Torrijos, president of Panama. Both had just died in fiery crashes. Their deaths were not accidental. They were assassinated because they opposed that fraternity of corporate, government, and banking heads whose goal is global empire. We Economic Hit Men failed to bring Roldós and Torrijos around, and the other type of hit men, the CIA-sanctioned jackals who were always right behind us, stepped in.

John Perkins goes on to write: "I was persuaded to stop writing that book. I started it four more times during the next twenty years. On each occasion, my decision to begin again was influenced by current world events: the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1980, the first Gulf War, Somalia, and the rise of Osama bin Laden. However, threats or bribes always convinced me to stop."

But now Perkins has finally published his story. The book is titled Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. John Perkins joins us now in our Firehouse studios.


John Perkins, from 1971 to 1981 he worked for the international consulting firm of Chas T. Main where he was a self-described "economic hit man." He is the author of the new book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.

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RUSH TRANSCRIPT : <snip>

[stop the bleeding]

6. Saw it was good - Amy is a favorite saw her speak last year with

Tom Robbins at St Pete Florida

[DistressedAmerican]

2. That Book Has Been Blowing My Sister's Mind.

It is all she can talk about lately. Gotta get a copy!

[mike_c]

5. let me add my endorsement....

I just finished it. It is amazing. NOTHING looks the same, afterward. There were lots of parts of the story that I knew before, but Perkins does a fantastic job of making the U.S. global economic empire strategy clear.

[hopeisaplace]

4. I bought this book as a Christmas gift for a friend of ours

this year...he emailed me a lot of good commentary on his impression
of it...great read for sure, and bloody scary..heard the author interviewed
on Air America which is what inspired me to buy it.

[Karenina]

7. To discover the truth, ALWAYS

follow da monay. :kick:

[lonestarnot]

8. Book is on my list!

[leftchick]

9. thank you

another for my booklist!

:hi: