Modern life causes me often to consider that Shakespearean question. We’re immersed in a never ending stream of words, images and ideas deliberately designed to trick us into believing things that are only partly true, or not true at all.
The science of modern advertising is the prime example. In that world, representation and imagery are everything. The actual content of the things pitched to us is secondary, or irrelevant.
Now, a study from one of America’s most prestigious universities confirms what many of us already knew: America is not a democracy at all.
Who really rules?
Researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page of Princeton recently published the results of a careful review of more than 1,800 different U.S. policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002. They found that “economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence.”
To some, this may seem unremarkable, even unobjectionable. After all, who cares what the average person wants? Isn’t it better to focus on the needs of businesses and corporations, which bear the weight of driving our economy?
Think again. There’s a clear connection between concentration of political power in the hands of an economic oligarchy and the decline of our own liberties. It’s a decline that’s gone so far that many people have concluded that the time to abandon ship has arrived.
Cui bono?
I always start with that question: Who benefits? And in today’s America, the answer is clear: not us. Consider the way state power is being used — and not used — in our country today:
Individual taxpayers are vastly more likely to be investigated, prosecuted and/or penalized for tax issues than corporations or high net-worth individuals. The U.S. “oligarchy” insulates itself from tax enforcement by retaining expert lawyers and making targeted donations to legislators, both of which grant them effective immunity from the tax laws the rest of us must obey.
Civil asset forfeiture is overwhelmingly aimed at low- to middle-income Americans, rather than the drug kingpins and money launderers for whom the government says it was designed. Again, the threat of having to tangle with good lawyers and the prospect of damaging lucrative donor relationships with congressmen and senators keep the Justice Department and other enforcement agencies focused on the defenseless majority.
If you or I commit mercantile fraud — say, by knowingly misrepresenting the quality or provenance of goods we sell or services we provide — we can expect civil or criminal action against us. America’s bankers, on the other hand, sold an entire generation of investors financial products that were known to be worthless, or were designed to fail. Except for a few isolated rogues like Bernie Madoff, not one of them has seen the inside of a courtroom.
It’s not just about money, either. Every time a government agency decides to look the other way when a powerful person or organization breaks the law or purchases special treatment, its employees take away the message that laws are optional and can be broken with impunity. That, in turn, breeds an arrogant and reckless disregard for the rights of those not powerful enough to fight back. I’ve seen this in many countries in my global travels: A culture of corruption breeds official contempt for the innocent man and woman in the street.
A secure place in the sun
Another thing I’ve observed in my travels is the loss of attachment to one’s home country as a result of this sort of oligarchic corruption of democracy. People who feel powerless in the face of abuse by elites and their lackeys in government either turn their anger at others (immigrants or a neighboring country) or they simply pack up and leave. America itself is full of people who came here to escape corrupt, unresponsive government at home.
What about us? Fortunately, there are a few places that still respect the principle of equal justice before the law, transparent, accountable democracy and the rights of the individual.
I’ll be visiting one of them — Uruguay — in March for our annual Offshore Investment Summit. Take the words of the professors from Princeton to heart… and join us.
Kind regards,
Ted Baumann
Offshore and Asset Protection Editor
Communist Manifesto, Plank 1: Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
If you think Socialists and Progressives in CONgress defend the Constitution, think again! Statutes passed that enable Civil Forfeiture without Due Process are un-Constitutional. The law(s) allow federal robbers to focus on the 'property' and not the 'person', an easy way to steal and avoid the difficult work of finding proof. This assault on private property is one of many examples of what corrupt rogues in CONgress and power-hungry presidents since 1890 have done to a once Free America.
"Extortion and thuggery are good things when they're called law!"
Larken Rose
Making no endorsement of the video’s click-through at the end, we still recommend checking out endforfeiture.com, the Institute for Justice’s website devoted to reversing civil forfeiture horror stories like Hinders’.
A new Congress has been seated, and it brings the prospect of perhaps, maybe, potentially, in a possible way doing something about the runaway federal deficits. And in other news, several New York area bridges are for sale, which you can acquire at a bargain price.
Excessive Spending Destroys!
Feds Have a Spending Problem — DO NOT RAISE THE CEILING!
Becky Gerritson: "...government is out of control!" and "...our representative government has failed us."
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the IRS to detail under oath how some of former agency official Lois Lerner’s emails went missing, as well as any potential methods for recovering them.
Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court in Washington gave the Internal Revenue Service exactly a month — until Aug. 10 — to file a report, which he demanded as part of a lawsuit from a conservative watchdog, Judicial Watch, against the agency.
Judicial Watch is seeking a wide range of documents from the IRS, including Lerner’s emails, as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. It has complained that the IRS didn’t tell it that the agency couldn’t recover all of Lerner’s emails from 2009 to 2011.
Sullivan cast his ruling as a compromise, and a potential way for Judicial Watch to get answers without the court wading any deeper into the matter. Judicial Watch had asked the court to potentially compel IRS officials to testify about the lost emails, through a process called limited discovery.
Title III: Forfeiture - Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984 - Amends the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute (RICO) to specify that property subject to forfeiture for racketeering activity includes: (1) all proceeds obtained directly or indirectly from racketeering activity; and (2) real and tangible and intangible personal property.
Makes property forfeitable to the United States upon the commission of the act giving rise to forfeiture. Permits the forfeiture of property which has been transferred to a third party, but includes a provision protecting innocent bona fide purchasers.
Authorizes a court to order the forfeiture of substitute assets of the defendant where the original property cannot be located or traced.
Authorizes a court to take appropriate action preserving the availability of property during the pre-indictment period effective for up to 90 days. Specifies the circumstances under which a temporary restraining order may be entered without notice to the affected party.
Authorizes the Attorney General to grant petitions for remission or mitigation of forfeiture. Allows the Attorney General to establish regulations governing the restitution and disposition of forfeited property.
Amends the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 to establish general criminal forfeiture provisions for felony violations under titles II and III. Includes provisions similar to the RICO amendments of this Act, relating to property subject to forfeiture, third party transfers, asset substitution, pre-indictment orders, and disposition of property.
Creates a rebuttable presumption of forfeitability of certain property.
Authorizes a court to issue a warrant authorizing the seizure of property subject to forfeiture in the same manner provided for a search warrant, if other injunctive relief would not assure the availability of the property.
Provides that a criminal forfeiture proceeding shall stay any civil forfeiture proceeding with respect to the same property.
Sets forth procedures for an ancillary hearing to resolve third party claims. Makes it unlawful to invest the income of a felony drug violation.
Permits the forfeiture action to be brought in the district in which the defendant is found or is being prosecuted.
Amends the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 to allow the Attorney General to transfer drug-related forfeited property to other Federal, State or local agencies.
Establishes within the United States Treasury, the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund to pay for maintenance of forfeited property, awards to informants, and valid liens and mortgages against such property.
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to provide for the seizure of vessels, vehicles, merchandise or baggage valued at $100,000 or less. Requires written notice of such seizure to all interested parties. Increases the surety bond for any person claiming interest in the seized property to $5,000, or ten percent of the value of the claimed property, whichever is less.
Establishes in the Treasury the Customs Forfeiture Fund to pay for maintenance of forfeited property and awards to informants.
Requires the deposit in such Fund of all proceeds from the sale and disposition of property forfeited under custom law.
Allows for the retention of forfeited property for official use or for transfer to other Federal, State or local governmental agencies assisting in related Federal law enforcement.
Increases from $50,000 to $150,000 the award of compensation given to informers for information leading to forfeiture.
Grants customs officers arrest authority and the right to carry firearms.
Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code dealing with customs officers' law enforcement authority to conform to this Act.
Provides that seizures of property effected by customs officers shall be governed by this Act.
The FairTax is a consumption tax unilaterally applied to all Americans at the same rate. For businesses, payroll taxes would no longer exist. Our exports would include a heavy tax for overseas buyers purchasing our products, while our imports would be cheaper for us to purchase. I'm not sure how this would affect GDP, as more information is necessary.
According to the FairTax website, "Under the FairTax, every person living in the United States pays a sales tax on purchases of new goods and services, excluding necessities due to the prebate." The prebate gives every legal resident household an "advance refund" at the beginning of each month so that purchases made up to the poverty level are tax-free.
So a family of four making something like $50,000/year should not have to pay taxes, thus preventing an unfair burden on low-income families. Since the FairTax eliminates both federal and payroll taxes, you get to keep your gross pay amount of each paycheck earned.
John Adams said, “Without [term limits] every man in power becomes a ravenous beast of prey”. That being said, here are some of the reasons we believe our country needs Term Limits.
Term Limits can help break the cycle of corruption in Congress. Case studies show that the longer an individual stays in office, the more likely they are to stop serving the public and begin serving their own interests.
Term Limits will encourage regular citizens to run for office. Presently, there is a 94% re-election rate in the House and 83% in the Senate. Because of name recognition, and usually the advantage of money, it can be easy to stay in office. Without legitimate competition, what is the incentive for a member of Congress to serve the public? Furthermore, it is almost a lost cause for the average citizen to try to campaign against current members of Congress.
Term Limits will break the power special interest groups have in Congress.
Term Limits will force politicians to think about the impact of their legislation because they will be returning to their communities shortly to live under the laws they enacted.
Term Limits will bring diversity of people and fresh ideas to Congress.
[Editor's Note: If you want to get rich, i.e. advance from a low paying government bureaucrat job on the local or state level, THEN GET ELECTED TO THE US CONGRESS (House or Senate). Once you're elected, it's easy to steal from your campaign contributions or the Congressional budget allocated to your seat and staff. You can go on a government-funded junket with 'lavishly' paid expenses. The list of ways to steal from the government while in office is inexhaustible. There are only a few Congressmen who left Congress just wealthy instead of a multi-millionaire. Of course, there are several who arrived in Congress as multi-millionaires and don't need to steal from the government.]
