As Bad As I'd Imagined

G. Toland

August 7, 2013

I've felt for a long time that our representatives have gladly sold their power to the highest bidder. People around the world are feeling financial stress accompanied by deep anger. Much of that anger is directed at America - Wall street and Washington in particular. But don’t take my word for it. Here is someone who has perhaps the most informed perspective of anyone.

Jeffery Sachs

On

 The Sense of Anger Toward Wall Street and Washington

                 

Last week I attended the Future of Learning Institute at Harvard Graduate School of Education where about 300 of us were privileged to be in a two hour interview with Jeffery Sachs. Sited twice by TIME magazine as among the 100 most influential people in the world, Sachs brings extremely thorough first-hand perspective to the topic of global economics and policy.

Today, I found this YouTube video in which he is speaking to a meeting at the Philadelphia Fed April 17, 2013. I was encouraged and disheartened that Sachs confirms what I have been saying for a long time. I’m encouraged that I seem to have read things accurately and of course disheartened that he has confirmed my perception that Wall Street and Washington conspire against the very people they are supposed to serve. I started to say “the very people they pretend to serve”, but, as you will hear from Sachs, they don’t even make a pretense of serving anyone but themselves. That is how powerful and unaccountable they are. That last sentence would be a good springboard for a rant, but I will let someone much more qualified make the case.

Listen to Sachs' well informed insights regarding America's standing due to its current corruption and impact on the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCCr-uiqtAY

I would encourage those with the time to listen to the entire half hour. For the rest, I have highlighted what I consider important summaries.

 23:30 Conflict of interest feeds corruption Clinton, Graham et. al. Those who caused the collapse were then called in to fix it.

 25:20 It is clearly criminal behavior and nothing is done – fines are tiny compared to compensations for the wrong doers.

 30:30 “The final point of course is separating the politicians from the crooks; but maybe that’s so close together that they can’t actually be separated. Maybe its just the same community”

 31:40 There is a sense of complete dependency on the international financial system of which the U.S. Fed and the IMF are the major powers. He speaks of very clever U.S. attorneys who help the wealthy avoid taxes all over the world thus depriving governments of needed revenues.

 33:10 “Palpable anger …. Very very high…. Then talking about values, morality, ethics.

 33:55 If you listen to nothing else HEAR THIS summary statement!  Sachs repeated this sentiment in no uncertain terms last week at Harvard also.

 36:15 I have not seen anyone on Wall Street speak with any moral language. NOT ONCE! And it is not going to happen.