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World Leaders Hid Wealth Via Shell Companies, Report Alleges

Re: The Panama Papers

Northern Light said:
I heard, and I'm trying not to be livid about it. On the one hand I am so sick of hearing about the deep, deep corruption that we're seeing, but I'm also grateful that it's being exposed more and more lately. The problem is that I don't really see anything being done about it. The governments and people who are supposed to represent the People are so obviously in cahoots with it. It's going to fall on the People to take action, but no one will. People have become complacent about corruption. I hope I'm wrong though.

The western economies are in chaos and the poor are being blamed for needing welfare, yet we allow these wealthy scum to hide billions of dollars among them.

And note, I don't hate wealthy people. The majority are good and do good with their money. But these people... they are rotten apples and it's high past time to deal with it.
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Then it is up to people like the ones who broke this story to expose the truth..
 
Re: The Panama Papers

Northern Light said:
I heard, and I'm trying not to be livid about it. On the one hand I am so sick of hearing about the deep, deep corruption that we're seeing, but I'm also grateful that it's being exposed more and more lately. The problem is that I don't really see anything being done about it. The governments and people who are supposed to represent the People are so obviously in cahoots with it. It's going to fall on the People to take action, but no one will. People have become complacent about corruption. I hope I'm wrong though.

The western economies are in chaos and the poor are being blamed for needing welfare, yet we allow these wealthy scum to hide billions of dollars among them.

And note, I don't hate wealthy people. The majority are good and do good with their money. But these people... they are rotten apples and it's high past time to deal with it.
Click to expand...

Personally, I think it's going to take some sort of revolution to bring change. It will probably happen when the majority of us cannot sustain a decent way life life.
 
Re: The Panama Papers

Northern Light said:
I heard, and I'm trying not to be livid about it. On the one hand I am so sick of hearing about the deep, deep corruption that we're seeing, but I'm also grateful that it's being exposed more and more lately. The problem is that I don't really see anything being done about it. The governments and people who are supposed to represent the People are so obviously in cahoots with it. It's going to fall on the People to take action, but no one will. People have become complacent about corruption. I hope I'm wrong though.

The western economies are in chaos and the poor are being blamed for needing welfare, yet we allow these wealthy scum to hide billions of dollars among them.

And note, I don't hate wealthy people. The majority are good and do good with their money. But these people... they are rotten apples and it's high past time to deal with it.
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Nothing changes. A lot of these "self-made millionaires" revealed their true self during the Wall Street Bailout. There is no difference from the ghetto kid smashing business windows to grab as much loot as he can carry and the Wall Street CEO grabbing bonuses and raises for himself and cronies.

It is almost human nature to grab as much of the money you can.
 
Re: The Panama Papers

Crosscheck said:
Nothing changes. A lot of these "self-made millionaires" revealed their true self during the Wall Street Bailout. There is no difference from the ghetto kid smashing business windows to grab as much loot as he can carry and the Wall Street CEO grabbing bonuses and raises for himself and cronies.

It is almost human nature to grab as much of the money you can.
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I think that's true in today's world, but stating it that way means we should just accept it because it's the normal practice now. It doesn't have to be the normal practice, and it hasn't always been. Before the 1980's, corporations paid a fair tax rate and the American middle class was flourishing, along with public services. The only exception that stands out is the 1973-75 economic recession due to the oil crisis. Then we embraced "trickle down" and things have been deteriorating ever since.

IMO the Wall Street corruption is the naturally conclusion of decades of bad economic policy and wealth distribution. If you let enough people skim the top, of course they're going to stash it away somewhere unreachable. These people have zero fiduciary responsibility to America, all they care about is their addiction to money and power. [/rant]

My point is, it doesn't have to be this way. We shouldn't just throw up our arms and say, "Oh well, that's business for you." It CAN change, and should.
 
Re: The Panama Papers

Middleground said:
Personally, I think it's going to take some sort of revolution to bring change. It will probably happen when the majority of us cannot sustain a decent way life life.
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Unfortunately, I think that's true. The middle class has to shrink enough or there has to be enough blatant top-level injustice to spur change. But you know, so far the elites have been walking a fine line. They've been expanding power a lot in the past decade or more, but not overtly enough to trigger what you're talking about. We have enough freedom with just enough insidious big brothering that people are complacent. We're irate but it's not the boiling point.

My concern is that we're heading toward a kind of neo-serfdom and if it just becomes a two-class system again of poor and rich, it may be difficult to really fight the government. And even if we can fight the government, it's really the corporations who are running the show... and they are decentralized. They're global. How do you stop that?

The key is probably the financial system itself.
 
DA60 said:
'Leaked files from a Panama law firm that creates shell companies show that politicians, criminals and celebrities worldwide have used banks and shadow companies to hide their finances, according to a series of reports by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Within hours of publication, the divulgences prompted a parliamentary vote of confidence in Iceland, a curt denial from Argentina and ridicule from a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The consortium said it had obtained a cache of 11.5 million records outlining the creation of more than 200,000 offshore shell companies. The trove includes offshore companies linked to 12 current and former world leaders, as well as hidden financial dealings by 128 more politicians, public officials and entertainment celebrities, according to the ICIJ.'

World Leaders Hid Wealth Via Shell Companies, Report Alleges - Bloomberg


Thoughts?
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What a surprise. The oligarchs of the world are hiding money. Work hard, have a good work ethic, you'll get ahead!

Who am I kidding? It takes offshore hiding places to accumulate real wealth.
 
DA60 said:
'Leaked files from a Panama law firm that creates shell companies show that politicians, criminals and celebrities worldwide have used banks and shadow companies to hide their finances, according to a series of reports by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Within hours of publication, the divulgences prompted a parliamentary vote of confidence in Iceland, a curt denial from Argentina and ridicule from a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The consortium said it had obtained a cache of 11.5 million records outlining the creation of more than 200,000 offshore shell companies. The trove includes offshore companies linked to 12 current and former world leaders, as well as hidden financial dealings by 128 more politicians, public officials and entertainment celebrities, according to the ICIJ.'

World Leaders Hid Wealth Via Shell Companies, Report Alleges - Bloomberg


Thoughts?
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A good thing for the Sander's campaign. Backs up what he's been saying all along.
 
Putin's a Pauper, His Friends Are Rich

The Panama Papers show how corruption really works in Russia

As expected, the Kremlin explains the Panama Papers scandal as an anti-Putin conspiracy and the Russian media are silent...

Vladimir Putin's spokesperson blames 'Putinophobia' for financial allegations

Kremlin Says Offshore Investigation Seeks to 'Destabilize' Russia

No news is good news How Russia’s pro-Kremlin media responded to the Panama Papers

Kill it, spin it – Putin will do anything to stifle the Panama Papers story

Russian Parliament Deputy promises to sue Novaya Gazeta for Panama Papers investigation

CfJC-D9UkAE5ZpG.jpg
 
Simpleχity;1065736911 said:
Putin's a Pauper, His Friends Are Rich

The Panama Papers show how corruption really works in Russia

As expected, the Kremlin explains the Panama Papers scandal as an anti-Putin conspiracy and the Russian media are silent...

Vladimir Putin's spokesperson blames 'Putinophobia' for financial allegations

Kremlin Says Offshore Investigation Seeks to 'Destabilize' Russia

No news is good news How Russia’s pro-Kremlin media responded to the Panama Papers

Kill it, spin it – Putin will do anything to stifle the Panama Papers story

Russian Parliament Deputy promises to sue Novaya Gazeta for Panama Papers investigation

CfJC-D9UkAE5ZpG.jpg
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What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/04/panama-papers-ukraine-petro-poroshenko-secret-offshore-firm-russia
 
Re: The Panama Papers

Hawkeye10 said:
Not unless he gets the R nomination. I dont feel much differently about this than I do about potential employer running credit checks on job applicants, which is to say that it is unreasonable. He has to do it eventually if his runs for POTUS because too many cucks before him have done it, but I dont think he should have to.
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Just how many lies does a candidate have to tell before you abandon him? It's impossible to keep up with them. He's well over a thousand by now, not to mention he's the most clueless person I've ever heard about the issues.

He's like the drunk uncle at the wedding feeling up the bridesmaids.

I'm mortified and embarrassed that Republicans are voting for this twerp, and if he wins, the conservative movement is officially gone for two decades.
 
Andalublue said:
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Ukraine’s leader set up secret offshore firm as battle raged with Russia | News | The Guardian
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If you had bothered to look, you would have realized that Poroshenko's offshore venture is well publicized in Ukraine, is being investigated, and two parliamentary parties have called for his impeachment.

There is nothing even remotely similar occurring in Russia.

Investigation Launched Into Ukraine's Poroshenko After Panama Leak

Panama Papers: Ukraine’s President Defiant Despite Impeachment Push
 
Funny how people and media are so focused on Assad and Putin, but totally ignore the 99.9% of all the others using this company... Is it really a shock that 2 dictators are hiding money abroad?
 
Simpleχity;1065738006 said:
If you had bothered to look, you would have realized that Poroshenko's offshore venture is well publicized in Ukraine, is being investigated, and two parliamentary parties have called for his impeachment.
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Would that make him less culpable, less corrupt or less despicable than Putin, should it emerge that he was doing the very same thing the Russians have been up to?
 
I don't often post jpeg tropes but I thought this one was interesting.

12919924_1781502318736641_8702941257035248764_n.jpg
 
Re: The Panama Papers

Samhain said:
Based on the article, it said everything done was legal.
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Yes, offshore accounts are 'legal,' and is some cases, perfectly useful with legit purposes. Yet it does not mean one iota that tax fraud/money laundering has not occurred. See what I'm sayin'?
 
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Re: The Panama Papers

World Leaders Hid Wealth Via Shell Companies, Report Alleges
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well, whodathunkit.
 
Northern Light said:
I don't often post jpeg tropes but I thought this one was interesting.

View attachment 67199854
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Interesting? I was more thinking relevant, topical, scathing, even iconic of each of the Dem nominees, handily summarizing them (especially Hillary's perpetual false concern for the working class as she champions the wealthy), but I suppose it's that too.
 
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Re: The Panama Papers

OrphanSlug said:
Give it time. The more we grow our own government to a point where more business is dependent on government activity, the more we risk politicians padding their pockets from transaction with oligarchical self serving intentions. At that point, US politicians will hide their collections of wealth offshore just as private corporations in this nation do right now.
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It might not occur as the director of ICIJ, Gerard Ryle, stated that they "have no plans to release the full dataset, WikiLeaks-style, which he argues would expose the sensitive information of innocent private individuals along with the public figures on which the group’s reporting has focused." (How Reporters Pulled Off the Panama Papers, the Biggest Leak in Whistleblower History | WIRED)

My question is: Who gets to decide who is an "innocent private individual" and who isn't?
 
DA60 said:
Thoughts?
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my thoughts?.. I don't care too much about it... it doesn't affect me , or any of us.

maybe instead of spending so much time trying to find ways to take peoples money and stop them from hiding it, we oughta be asking ourselves what we are doing to cause people to hide their money in the first place.... but that doesn't fit with the current political environment, so it won't happen.
 
Thrilla said:
my thoughts?.. I don't care too much about it... it doesn't affect me , or any of us.

maybe instead of spending so much time trying to find ways to take peoples money and stop them from hiding it, we oughta be asking ourselves what we are doing to cause people to hide their money in the first place.... but that doesn't fit with the current political environment, so it won't happen.
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with hiding money. Hiding income is the problem.
 
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