World Innovation Foundation Blog: Vast Corporate & Political Power in the West have Impoverished the People of the USA and the EU over the past 30-years – and unfortunately it will get far worse as things will not change for the better

Read first how the TTP (Trans Pacific Partnership) will wreak havoc on future America and its people - 'This is what corporatocracy looks like!: Trading US Democracy for Corporate Profits with TPP' - http://www.opednews.com/articles/This-is-what-corporatocrac-by-Dave-Lindorff-Corporate-Corruption-Crime_Corporate-Rule_Corporatocracy_Democracy-150215-572.html

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'We Are All Greeks Now' (by a joint Pulitzer Prize winner) - http://www.opednews.com/articles/We-Are-All-Greeks-Now-by-Chris-Hedges-Austerity_Banks_Capitalism_Corporate-150712-434.html

Over the last 30-years the American government, their political leaders and the largest American corporations have sold the American people down the Swanee Rivers.

Likewise over the last three decades EU governments, their political leaders and the EU’s largest businesses have also sold the European people down the Swanee Rivers.

'The Lie Machine' - http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Lie-Machine-by-Paul-Craig-Roberts-America_Corporate_Corporations_Power-141012-777.html by Dr Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury for Economic Policy in the Reagan Administration

They have done this by closing massive plants and vast business facilities in their own countries and setting up new equivalent state-of-the-art plants and vast business facilities in China and other parts of the world. Added to this, unparalleled outsourcing for products and services to the East and foreign western investment on an unprecedented scale never seen before in the history of the world, has added greatly to the loss of industry and employment in the USA and the EU. But the reason they have given time and time again is that they had to do this to stay competitive and stay in business. But the real truth is that they have abandoned their own countries and their people because of sheer greed and the financial interests of the super-rich and the American and EU’s most powerful corporations. Indeed to indicate how powerful corporations are, in 2012 the Forbes 2000 (largest companies in the world) controlled 51% of all world trade, leaving 49% for the rest-of-the-world - a mere 2,000 companies showing the economic and financial power that they have over our politicians and political decision-makers.

This has been at the clear expense of major unemployment in the USA and EU. Indeed the wealth of 90% of the people in the world has receded at an alarming rate and where in real terms a reduction of 23% over the last ten years alone. But on the other side of the coin the top 10% of the people of the world, including the super rich and board room corporate executive, have increased their personal wealth in real terms by a staggering 124%. This has caused tremendous disparity in incomes and where last year according to Credit Suisse’s global wealth report, a mere 0.7% of the world’s people controlled 41% of the world’s total wealth. Indeed the same report also cited that the richest 10% of the world’s people controlled 86% of all the world’s wealth. That means of course that 90% of the world’s people only control 14% of the world’s wealth and where Credit Suisse’s report stated that 50% of the world’s people controlled less than 1% of the world’s wealth.

This massive difference cannot be right for humanity's long term and survival as a species and something will have to give. Indeed if things continue like they are and where the ‘inequality gap’ continues to widen across the globe, eventually this time bomb will explode. Therefore either the inequality gap has to decrease and increase the wealth of 90% of the world's people or wars will ensue. Indeed little known but true is the fact that World War 2 was precipitated by many smaller wars that grew into the world’s greatest conflict. This again was caused by the unrest of the majority.

'Cancer Capitalism' - http://www.opednews.com/articles/Cancer-Capitalism-by-Mark-Taliano-Bailout_Capitalism-Over-Humanity_Finance_Finance-151024-207.html

Now the USA and EU will never regain their former pre-eminence and ultimately go into economic decay never seen before. That is unless they change their thinking to a more innovative structure of undertaking world economics and something that present thinking is oblivious too. Indeed the 'innovation chain' that drives new wealth and economic dynamism is broken because the most fundamental aspect that drives the system at the fundamental level is totally missing. Western governments are oblivious to what it is and therefore there is no chance ever of returning to happier socio-economic times. It is therefore the ignorant thinking and not understanding what basically drives a successful economic system in the 21st century that has caused this dire situation to emerge for the USA and he EU nations. Unfortunately with no change and new understanding what has to be put in place, things will just keep on getting worse by the year.

But as the USA and EU countries are bankrupt on any measure when they are fully analysed and where debt-on-debt is the only way that is keeping the West above water, the US will become nearer to a now world war more than others.

Many things say that this will be the eventual case, but where some indicators are,

The USA and EU countries can only keep going by printing more money constantly, thus continually fuelling inflation. Indeed the USA will have to do this for as long as it can support its people but where they are putting off the inevitable and the eventual collapse if things do not change, of the American economy and the American dream. Don’t think that this is possible, just see over the next 20-years.
The US dollar is losing its control as the world’s default currency and guarantee. Indeed China and Russia have been buying up ‘physical’ gold reserves for the last 10-years at least and where they have been working together on a new global currency to topple the once mighty dollar. I say physical gold as ‘gold bonds’ cover vast amounts of gold that simply does not exist in the vaults of the USA and EU nations. Therefore whilst China and Russia et al have physical gold reserves, the West has little.
The USA’s total debt is in excess of US$293 Trillion (that is everything, private debt of the American people, corporate debt, bank debt, government debt and off balance sheet debt of the US government - http://www.globalresearch.ca/who-controls-our-government-the-psychopathic-corporate-elites-of-america/5371627). This debt is compounding every year and why the USA is on an unsustainable path of economic collapse as their economy is less than US$15 Trillion a year. Therefore the American people would have to work for nothing and eat nothing for nearly 20 years and clearly an impossibility.
The EU’s equivalent debt is near €200 Trillion. This debt again is increasing by the year and where there will inevitably be a day of reckoning for the people of the EU. Indeed the UK’s projected debt alone by 2015 according to the chief economist of PwC could be as high as £11.5 Trillion (US$ 17 trillion) and where the UK’s total economic turnover is less than £2 Trillion. Therefore the British people would have to work for nothing and eat nothing for over nearly 6 years and clearly an impossibility.

That is what the West’s governments and the largest corporations have doe to their people over the last three decades and where they have impoverished them. But worse is to come and some may say that it is casting their people into eventual slavery as jobs and wealth have been destroyed by the powerful few.

The question that has to be asked therefore, can we do anything about this future nightmare in the West? Not a great deal if western governments and their largest corporates continue to become even richer and the vast majority become poorer by the decade in allowing this government-big business agreements behind closed doors to continue. Basically in this respect our politicians and huge corporate empires are destroying the lives of western people and they will continue to do so if unchecked.

Therefore people will have to come to the understanding that the only way that they can take back their rights (for jobs and wealth) and the fundamental rights of their children and grandchildren et al for their own good, is to come together in what can be described as ‘human power unions’ that force governments and corporations to rethink. This is not political democracy as we know it, but people democracy and how it should be.

Indeed these human power unions would have enough power to bring governments down and to put corporation out of business. In this respect things have to change and the people will have to take back the wealth of the world that clearly belongs to ‘all’, not just the very few who basically trample on humanity at every opportunity and where personal vested-interests always rises above humanity itself. Therefore things clearly have to change completely if we are to have a future on this planet at all.

For if we allow the present political and corporate systems to continue, this will only lead to greater poverty for nine out of ten people living on the planet and eventually global wars as everything gets out of hand. No use either for politicians and corporate leaders thinking that this will never happen, for it will and in this respect as all revolutions in the history of the world has shown, the military forces always come down on the side of the majority – a nation’s people. For in this respect, over 90% of the military personnel in the West come from the poorest side of the equation and where they will side with family and friends before either political leaders or corporate leaders. History shows this time and time again and where those that caused the vast human injustices come to a very sticky end – Politicians and corporate leaders therefore beware for they are creating their own destiny and where the bottom-line is that it will be something that they will not like.

'Fast Track Trade Traitors Murderers and Enemies' - http://www.opednews.com/articles/Fast-Track-Trade-Traitors-by-Rob-Kall-Enemies_Enemies-Of-Democracy_Fast-Track_Killing-150614-57.html

The biggest problem of course is to change all this but where our political leaders are bought and sold on the altar of power and wealth both in the USA and the UK. For when it comes to ultimate control, less than a mere thousand people control the destiny of the USA as an example, and at their pleasure. For it's official now, as they control the White House in reality, even before a new President is elected, no matter which Party gets into power. In this respect, in the USA things are not as they seem and where western media controlled by the top 1% wealthiest Americans, is suppressing the 'real' America of today. A few Americans have bought their political leaders before they even enter the White House and where the working poor, working class and middle class that accounts for 90% of the American people, have no say anymore in their country's future. Only the rich and powerful has any real say. Indeed the article by investigative journalists at the New York times released on 10 October 2015 makes this perfectly clear For just 158 families have provided nearly half of the early money for efforts to capture the White House. - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/11/us/politics/2016-presidential-election-super-pac-donors.html?emc=edit_na_20151010&ref=headline&_r=0

Dr David Hill

Chief Executive
World Innovation Foundation
22 March 2014 (updated 17 September 2016)

As a postscript - 'Global Inequality' is due to the economic model that western nations abide by. It is a pure capitalist system that gives the lion's share of wealth to the very few. Added to this it gives these few and the corporations that they control, the power to dictate to governments how things will be. When you consider that a mere 2,000 companies (Forbes 2000) controlled 51% of all world trade last year, you start to appreciate the financial and economic power that they have to wield. Indeed Credit Suisse in their most recent global wealth report stated that a mere 0.7% of the world's people controlled 41% of all the world's wealth and 10% controlled 86% of the world's wealth. Therefore you start to appreciate the dire and obscene inequality in the world today and where it is not a sustainability strategy for the survival of humanity in the long-term - http://worldinnovationfoundation.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/vast-corporate-political-power-in-west.html

Another telling statistic is that last year the richest 100 people in the world increased their wealth by $240 billion and where OXFAM stated that this amount would have solved global poverty for that year and left a lasting legacy. The system is an unsustainable one looking at the jigsaw of global conflict and where we are heading unfortunately with this vast inequality in the inequality of global wealth

Further Reading

'Buyer Beware: An Historical Look at Bayer's Unethical Practices' -

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Buyer-Beware--An-Historic-by-jenny-miller-Anthrax_Auschwitz_Bayer_Bio-weapons-160917-415.html