ONE BIG IDEA - CONT'D
In the meantime, I call on the European Commission, the British Parliament, the United States Congress, and all nations to take swift action not only to protect whistleblowers, but to put an end to the global abuse of corporate registers.
Yes. And in addition to that we call all government officials to wear polka-dot underwear on every second Tuesday unless it is a full moon. In which case they absolutely must not shave their moustache! Look, you little pimple brain, what exactly is an "abuse of corporate registers" when not even the laws so define???
In the European Union, every member state’s corporate register should be freely accessible, with detailed data plainly available on ultimate beneficial owners.
Fair enough, and on the same topic we absolutely demand that all your information be made plain and all your data be available and freely accessible to every citizen on earth. Fair is fair. You cannot demand from others what you are not willing to do yourself! Oh… that's right… you are not doing it! You are hiding in anonymity!!! How was that?? Oh yes, "do as I say not as I do". Do we need to say more?
The United Kingdom can be proud of its domestic initiatives thus far, but it still has a vital role to play by ending financial secrecy on its various island territories, which are unquestionably the cornerstone of institutional corruption worldwide.
Really??? Well… well… well… so you are a British national. That should get Brit police forces and Brit prosecutors and Brit investigators going. And on the second topic, you deranged mini-brain, in which planet do you live? The US wants to become the only tax haven left on the planet, you moron!
And the United States can clearly no longer trust its fifty states to make sound decisions about their own corporate data. It is long past time for Congress to step in and force transparency by setting standards for disclosure and public access.
Sure, and while you are at, why don't you demand something useful, uhhhhh… wedunno… such as the end of all US aggression wars, the end of all US money printing, the end of all US international bullying, the end of all US unilateral and pre-emptive actions, the end of all US market manipulation, the end of all US influence peddling, arms dealing and drug dealing… just to say a few. But no. Obviously banking transparency has primacy over all of that. This is obviously so because… because… because… oh… we see.
And while it’s one thing to extol the virtues of government transparency at summits and in sound bites, it’s quite another to actually implement it.
Really??? Wow! And when exactly did you come out with this epiphany? Because, you know, this stuff is heavy and deep. Not everybody is that clever and so intelligent as to conclusively determine that talk is cheap and doing is hard. Seriously man, did you forgot to take the 4PM pill? Because you know what your physician told you about skipping doses….
It is an open secret that in the United States, elected representatives spend the majority of their time fundraising. Tax evasion cannot possibly be fixed while elected officials are pleading for money from the very elites who have the strongest incentives to avoid taxes relative to any other segment of the population. These unsavoury political practices have come full circle and they are irreconcilable. Reform of America’s broken campaign finance system cannot wait.
Of course! Silly us. It's US' politicians that need to be blamed. Not the "other" politicians around the world that do not spend most of their time fundraising. Of course! Look mini-brain, the whole so-called democratic system is an abject failure simply because our so-called "representatives" not only do not represent us but it is actually, factually, impossible to represent opposing points of view simultaneously. As such, the democratic system cannot be fixed because it has fatal, theoretical, fundamental flaws and consequently no amount of practical "fixes" will be able to overcome them.
With regards to "elites", who exactly are you referring to? Is there a magical money threshold which qualifies a person as an "elite"? If so, we are not aware of it. The problem with these kinds of brain-dead qualifiers is that they always assume there is a threshold while a sliding scale exists in reality. Every one of us despises paying taxes; from the poorest to the richest person on earth. Nobody in their right mind is happy to have less so that they receive less from the government. Even the poorest people have a large incentive not to pay taxes. Don't believe us? Just ask somebody on disability or pension or unemployment payments or welfare payments or any other social so-called support payment systems if they are happy to pay taxes. It is not a matter of incentives not to pay taxes, it is a matter of influence. As a matter of fact, the poorest people have the largest incentive not to pay taxes simply because their lives are at stake. However, it so happens that in the democratic system (yeah, that system that you support), poor people have pretty much zero influence! So much for equity! Are you getting this?
And then we have the "unsavoury" thingy. So, according to you politicians should not be allowed to take money from people. Fine. Then how do you propose they finance their political campaigns? Are you going to pay them? From your own pocket? Oh… of course… you are anonymous… Then who? The government? And if this is so, why should taxpayers support parties they are not interested in and will not vote for? Have you thought about that, you deluded amoeba-brain? No, right? Thought so.
Of course, those are hardly the only issues that need fixing. Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand has been curiously quiet about his country's role in enabling the financial fraud Mecca that is the Cook Islands.
Right… right…The Cook Islands that according to the Financial Secrecy Index has an FSI Value of 17.8… which is the second lowest value of all so-called Tax Havens. In other words, in the big picture the Cook Islands hardly matter. Those Cook Islands? And also, what kind of "financial fraud" are you referring to? Because, obviously, you have provided proof of it, right? Proof that is valid in a court of law, right? You have stepped forward and provided bona-fide documents that unquestionably describe the "financial fraud" going on in the Cook Islands, right? And you are so sure about those documents that you don't mind people knowing who you are because you have no fear of being sued by libel and/or slander, right? Oh… that's right… you didn't (either provide proof or step forward… we keep forgetting this tiny detail).
In Britain, the Tories have been shameless about concealing their own practices involving offshore companies,
Right. First off, so what. Again, so what? An "involvement" with offshore companies is perfectly legal. After almost one full year of investigations by UK government agencies, there has not been a single indictment that would indicate any wrong doing and/or tax evasion in this particular scenario. So, we ask again, what "shameless" practices are you talking about?
while Jennifer Shasky Calvery, the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the United States Treasury, just announced her resignation to work instead for HSBC, one of the most notorious banks on the planet (not coincidentally headquartered in London). And so the familiar swish of America’s revolving door echoes amidst deafening global silence from thousands of yet-to-be-discovered ultimate beneficial owners who are likely praying that her replacement is equally spineless.
Oh… we see. So, according to you people should not have the right to change jobs. People should be tied to one job for life if that job happens to belong to the government. Though luck! Besides, if you don't like this "revolving door" why don't you get elected and change the laws! Too complicated? Yeah… it's much, much better to climb atop of your moral high ground and moralize everybody without actually doing anything useful… yeah… Because, you know, you have provided such a magnificent documented proof about Jennifer's spinelessness that we are in nothing short of awe… oh… wait a moment… you didn't… silly us. That's because the bank she is moving to, the HSBC has such a notorious and well documented history of… of what precisely??? We can't find anything anywhere that would merit your claim! Camon, don't leave in suspense, what exactly is HSBC so noteworthy of? Because, you know, banks would trip over each other to become noteworthy as you can't possibly buy such good press… But we are guessing that's not what you are hinting at… then again, what are you hinting at? But that's OK because we trust you implicitly because you deserve our trust because… because… camon… help us here… because??? Oh, yeah… because you have uncovered such a nest of evil, evil ultimate beneficial owners who are doing… what exactly are they doing that it is so evil? Oh… nothing… just having completely legal corporations with accounts in duly legal and registered sets of banks… and that is obviously evil because??? Because??? Hellooooooooo…..
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.
