Why, it’s almost as if they expect something in return!
A controversial trade deal being touted by the White House is expected to give American corporations broad new authority if approved. Now according to newly released documents, big banks gave millions to the execs that are now orchestrating the agreement.
Investigative journalist Lee Fang wrote for Republic Report on Tuesday this week that two former well-placed individuals within the ranks of Bank of America and CitiGroup were awarded millions of dollars in bonuses before jumping ship to work on the Trans-Pacific Partnership on behalf of the White House.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is a widely-contested trade deal between the US and 11 other nations adjacent to the Pacific Rim, and has been negotiated by representatives for those countries in utmost secrecy. According to leaked excerpts of the TPP and remarks from experts following the news closely, though, it’s believed that the arrangement would allow corporations to oppose foreign laws while at the same time limiting the abilities for governments to regulate those entities.
On Tuesday, Fang wrote that two major United States-based financial firms have significantly awarded former executives who have since attracted the attention of President Barack Obama and subsequently been offered positions that put them directly involved in TPP talks.
Former Bank of America investment banker Stefan Selig, Fang acknowledged, received more than $9 million in bonus pay after he was nominated to join the Obama administration in November. And Michael Froman, the current US trade representative, was awarded over $4 million from Citigroup when he left them in 2009 in order to go work for the White House. Republic Report were provided those statistics through financial disclosures included in Fang’s article.
o_O
I keep thinking these people have hit bottom, and then some new Grand Canyon opens out below. What was it Lily Tomlin said? No matter how cynical I get, I can’t keep up.
20 years of NAFTA. Even those who strongly supported the passage of NAFTA now admit that all of their projections were wrong. They say that 700 thousand jobs were lost and the trade deficit has been made worse. Actually the number of jobs lost is closer to 3 million. Thanks Slick Willy. Now the 1% wants to pass the TPP and the European Trade Agreement. Get ready for another 3 million American jobs to disappear. It’s also interesting to note that the minimum wage in Vietnam is .28 cents an hour. We might buy the crap made in Vietnam, but the Vietnamese sure won’t be buying anything that an American making $10.10 an hour might produce.
“…were awarded millions of dollars in bonuses before jumping ship to work on the Trans-Pacific Partnership on behalf of the White House…”(*****)
If this “Partnership” is ever enacted, any idea of government by the people will totally disappear. We will have government only by Corporations.
Our elections are farcial enough as it is. This Partnership will ensure that the “will of the people” will never register or be heard again.
Any local act to try to see to it that a local population can preferentially make their own products for the sake of buttressing a local economy that is trying distance itself from the evils of Big Money, have a safe and wholesome food supply, try to provide for the long term cleanliness of their land and water – will be ruled to interfere with corporate profits, and the local populace will be ordered to pay the difference in lost profits to the Corporations.
Sometimes you wonder if it is worthwhile to swear allegiance to a corrupt government that never does the bidding of the people.
But it is beyond ludicrous to be expected to swear political allegiance to a conglomeration of Corporations that enter this Partnership for the express purpose of either ignoring or penalizing the views of the people – especially when such views deal with issues of outright basic survival.
(*****) – If it seems a little difficult to gin up much enthusiasm among Democratic voters getting out to the polls en masse these days – just remember it is the hopey/changey Administration that is out and front spearheading this Corporation Partnership movement that would kill sovereign governments and representative democracy forever.