Because of the relentless amount of propaganda we are all subjected to, there seems to be confusion about identifying the most dangerous types of criminals in society. I understand that this confusion is "manufactured," and that's why it's so important to break through the obfuscation and smokescreens that interfere with our ability to correctly identify the most dangerous criminals.
Here's a profile and background of these criminals: They start their existence innocently-enough, just like any other "person." A group of individuals get together to form a commercial enterprise; a business. As the business grows and succeeds, they start generating profits consistently. So far, so good; no harm there.
Some of these enterprises grow so big and powerful that they become predatory, and at that point they become criminal organizations. Antitrust (anti-monopoly) legislation, and other regulations are supposed to address this common tendency in the business world, but once these criminals are able to take over the government agencies in charge of enforcing such regulation, then the entire system becomes corrupted, predatory, and oppressive, and it turns against the population--hence, causing the most egregious and harmful damage against the entire society.
After President Truman retired from office in 1952, he was left with an income consisting of basically a U.S.Army pension, reported to have been only $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an "allowance" and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.
When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the president, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."
This statement by president Truman is very important because it really applies (or it should) to every single public office in the country, from city mayors, to governors, state and federal congress people, to members of regulatory agencies, to military Generals working in the Pentagon.
So in every situation where you have a revolving door between private industry and government officials in charge of oversight of those industries, what you are witnessing is the commission of a crime.
Any public official that during the discharge of his duties takes into consideration (in any way) his own financial gain or career enhancement as it relates to private sector entities he interacts with in the normal course of his duties, is committing a crime, even if that crime has not been codified into law.
Unfortunately, that is the current state of affairs in our nation; this situation is endemic, and it explains the great distortions in the market, the looting of the treasury, and the ability for these criminals to act with impunity.
The damage these criminals cause is truly mind-boggling; incalculable. They create the conditions to keep the country in a perpetual state of war, mainly for the benefit of the military industrial complex; they prevent the implementation of a single payer health care system (which would be much more efficient and economical), causing actual unnecessary suffering and death; they use the financial system to loot the country's coffers with impunity; corporate media conglomerates use their control over virtually the entire media landscape to turn it into a brainwashing propaganda apparatus; they use their influence to oppress the population by restricting access to education, engaging in union busting; they are responsible for the imposition of an increasingly fascistic police state.
Another thing that may be confusing to the good citizens of this country is that these criminals dress pretty good, and talk a good game. They are educated at the top Universities, and they seem polite... So there is a certain cognitive dissonance, especially if one takes into consideration the effects of fear-mongering propaganda that helps create one boogieman after another in order to deflect attention from the real criminals.
So when it comes to crimes, these criminals are harming society more than any other type of criminal.
The second tier, of course, includes the violent crimes like murder, armed robberies, etc. But as hideous as these crimes are, the damage they cause in society pales in comparison to the entrenched criminality caused by the unholy (and incestuous) relationship between business and government in the form of influence peddling, bribing, and corruption.
So to borrow a phrase from Homeland Security, "If you see something, say something." Who are the government officials (from both parties) kowtowing to the industries they are supposed to be regulating, but instead are positioning themselves to benefit by getting hired within that industry? They are committing a crime. Let's flush them out; all of them; let's expose them; let's not support them.
We're not done with the Occupy protest movement; we are just beginning; I heard that there is planning for a May 1st General strike. Let's not lose momentum. And let's make sure we only support decent and ethical public servants to elective office in the 2012 elections.
The pressure on the corrupt system must be maintained until it is cleaned up. We have a lot of work to do, together, in solidarity.
Comments are closed on this story.