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Government by Criminals:
Bribery, Usury and Monopoly
In these final years of Federal Empire, the classic financial crimes of
bribery, usury and monopoly have become rampant. Indeed, they are so
prevalent it could be said that we are governed by criminals: a
kakourgocracy, if you will.
The federal electoral system is built upon the financial crime of bribery.
For the 2004 federal election cycle, the financial sector of the economy
spent $323 million on federal elections, split up more or less evenly
among the Republicrats. The financial sector, including banks, insurance
companies, stock brokerages, and others who produce nothing, was by far
the single largest payor to candidates for federal office.
Do not dignify these payments by calling them “contributions” or dignify
the payors by calling them “donors.” For all the vast sums of money they
pay out, they give nothing.
For example, after being reelected, Bush II turned his attention to
rewarding the financial sector for the $33.5 million bribe it contributed
to his 2004 campaign.
The reward consists in the federal government taking 15% of your salary or
wages in the form of payroll taxes and putting it in the stock market (as
opposed to giving it to Congress to spend).
The stock market needs all the help it can get, because its value is tied
to the ill-fated fortunes of the Federal Reserve Imperial Currency a/k/a
the United States Dollar. When the payroll taxes are invested into the
market, the smart money will sell off its securities, and retiring workers
will be left holding the bag.
In Congress, the Republicrats are planning to reward the financial sector
by passing a law outlawing bankruptcy. Congress has called the law “the
Bankruptcy Reform Act.” The law will make it difficult if not impossible
for United States citizens to discharge debt.
In the Senate, the bankruptcy bill is being hawked by Charles Grassley.
Between 1999 to 2004, the financial sector contributed bribes totaling
$1.12 million to Charles Grassley Senate campaigns.
In the House, the bankruptcy bill is being pushed by James Sensenbrenner.
For the 2003-2004 election cycle, the financial sector contributed
$150,000 in bribes to help reelect James Sensenbrenner to the House of
Representatives
Much of the debt borne by American citizens is the product of legalized
usury. Usury is the lending of money at interest rates so high that
repayment is unlikely if not impossible. The current unemployment rate of 23% drives many Americans to borrow money at usurious rates of interest.
Usury, like bribery, is a legalized crime. The federal government
repealed its usury laws, and federal banks are allowed to charge any
interest rate they please.
Banks borrow money from the Federal Reserve at the federal funds rate of 2.5%. But Grassley and other Senators voted to allow them to lend out the
same money at interest rates higher than 36%.
The financial sector takes some of the immense gains it reaps from usury
and ploughs it back into bribing the federal government. That government
then guarantees collection of usurious debt by restricting the discharge
of that debt in bankruptcy. In this way, usury and bribery feed off of
each other, forming a downward, vicious spiral of corruption.
The last of these classic financial crimes - monopoly - allows its
practitioners to sell products and services at inflated prices that bear
little or no relation to the cost of providing them.
While true monopolies are unusual, a subspecies of monopoly - oligopoly -
has become the general rule. Oligopoly consists of having only a few
sellers in the private sectors of the economy, sometimes as few as two.
These few sellers agree to sell comparable products at inflated prices,
guaranteeing excess profits for all sellers.
The development of oligopoly in the private sector takes place by a
process that has come to be known as “mega-merger.” “Mega-merger” was a
term coined during the decade of the 1990s, when large companies formed
out of previous mergers would then themselves merge into one huge company.
Oligopoly by mega-merger has developed in most sectors of the domestic
economy, e.g., financial, telecommunications, and media.
An recent example of oligopoly by mega-merger is the media sector of the
economy. During the 1990s, Time, Inc. and Warner Bros. merged, and then
mega-merged with America On Line to form AOL/Time/Warner.
By achieving economies of scale, mega-mergers reduce production and
distribution costs. Yet, these savings are seldom passed on to consumers.
On the contrary, having fewer competitors in the marketplace permits the
merged company to charge higher prices.
The higher profits generated by lower costs and higher prices result in
higher CEO salaries. But, as with usury, some of the excess profits
obtained by oligopoly are ploughed back into the political process, in the
form of bribes. The bribes ensure that the federal government will not
interfere with oligopoly by enforcing antitrust laws. Thus, almost all
mega-mergers manage to survive the supposedly strict scrutiny of the
Department of Justice (sic).
Conclusion
By legalizing the crimes of bribery, usury and monopoly, the Republicrats
are assured of a steady source of funding that practically guarantees
their reelection. Congressional incumbents are reelected at the rate of
95 to 98%.
While the financial elites and the Republicrats are happy with this
arrangement, the citizen/taxpayer is not.
But being subject to a federal government featuring one party elections
and judicial dictatorship, he is unable to change the system using
ordinary political means.
Which state of affairs leaves us today with the only question worth asking
and answering: “What is to be done?”
X - In Hoc Signo Vinces
April 5, 2005
Luke Exilarch
luke@eXilemm.com