Talking about the economy and the government on the phone with my father the other day, he called the government a kleptocracy. It wasn't a word I was familiar with, but then, unlike him, I don't have a PhD in English and I wasn't a university professor for over 30 years. He asked me if I knew what a kleptocracy was.
I didn't, but being a professor emeritus, he forgets he doesn't have to give lectures anymore so I didn't tell him that or I'd get one.
Later on, I looked the word up and you know something? He's absolutely right.
Here's what Wikipedia has to say on the subject-
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
A kleptocracy (sometimes cleptocracy, occasionally kleptarchy) (root: klepto+kratein = rule by thieves) is a term applied to a government that extends the personal wealth and political power of government officials and the ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats) at the expense of the population.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Bush, Cheney and their friends are not any poorer because of this economic downturn. In fact, they will be leaving office much, much richer than they were when they came in. Meanwhile, they have helped destroy not just the economy of this country, but the economy of the world.
Kleptocracy, by the way, literally means 'rule by theft.'
Wikipedia continues-
Kleptocracies are often dictatorships or some other form of autocratic and nepotist government, or lapsed democracies that have transformed into oligarchies.
By the way, if you don't know what an oligarchy is, it's-
a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military powers or occult spiritual hegemony.
Again, sound familiar? But we aren't talking about oligarchies here, we're talking about kleptocracies.
Now, what does this mean? Wikipedia discusses the effects of a kleptocratic government-
The effects of a kleptocratic regime or government on a nation are typically adverse in regards to the faring of the state's economy, political affairs and civil rights. Kleptocracy in a government often results in a severe deficit of foreign investment prospect, and drastic weakenings in the market and exportation/importation affairs. As the kleptocracy often embezzles its money from its citizens by misusing funds derived from tax payments, or money laundering schemes, a kleptocractically structured political system can be degrading to the quality of life of the general populace. In addition, the stolen funds that kleptocrats take to their own gain is often removed from funds that were to go towards public improvements, such as the building of hospitals, schools, roads, parks and the like, bringing about yet further adverse effects on the quality of life of the citizens living under a kleptocracy. The pseudo-oligarchy that results from a kleptocrat elite can also be undermining to the democracy, or any other political format the state is ostensibly under.
Wikipedia also lists recent examples of kleptocracies and how much money was stolen...
1. Former Indonesian President Suharto ($15 billion – $35 billion)
2. Former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos ($5 billion – $10 billion)
3. Former Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko ($5 billion)
4. Former Nigerian President Sani Abacha ($2 billion – $5 billion)
5. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević ($1 billion)
6. Former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier ($300 million – $800 million)
7. Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori ($600 million)
8. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko ($114 million – $200 million)
9. Former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Alemán ($100 million)
10. Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada ($78 million – $80 million)
This tells us two things... one, the Philippines is even more screwed up than we are, and two, Bush and Cheney have robbed the citizens of this country exponentially more than the 10 most recent kleptocratic thefts combined!
The best part of the Wikipedia article I saved for last...
In 2006, the Bush Administration enunciated a policy specifically to internationalize an effort to resist kleptocracies.
Yep, President Two-Face strikes again.
I'm going to end this diary with a graph I made which I have posted before, but I think it makes my point clear-
This is why we need change. This is why we need Barack Obama.