America's Role in World Poverty
Tuesday, 05 August 2008
Written by J. Craford Smith
How does the U.S. government lead to much of the poverty in the world today?
I’d first like to clarify that I do NOT believe "All" poverty in the world is created by "America." Each of us obviously has the ability to choose, and therefore can avoid poverty, at the individual level to some degree or another. Also, "America" is NOT synonymous with "Americans." (Unlike the current situation of the war, where the majority of "Americans" now know our current administration lied to us to get us to support war, and still have NOT taken to the streets and poles to end the war.) That those causing "much" (not all) of the world’s poverty are indeed "from America" does NOT imply you are guilty. To the contrary I'll show, you and I, are the real "SUCCOR" here.
I'd suggest that there are some issues and/or beliefs that folk hold fast - in spite of evidence to the contrary. You can state your position, without undue passion and with respect for the other person, and hope for rational, civil discourse. Things may then take their own course in spite of your best efforts. It's been my experience that fast held positions/beliefs are not easily dissuaded, and that persistent argument is often counter productive. My worry is that if you push you views too hard that your LDS family and friends will disavow you. That is not your objective and will convince no one.
Sometimes the best method of teaching and/or getting your view across is by example." As one of my girl's teachers stated, "I know I can poke fun at smokers without offending anyone in the audience because I know that the parents here at Simon Bulivar always make logical decisions, and everyone knows the scientific evidence has proven smoking causes cancer, so I know none of you smokes." (laughter erupted) The same can be said of Americans, "in spite of evidence to the contrary" is it VERY unlikely that I'll ever convince you that "America" IS indeed the cause of "much" of the world's poverty at a "macro" level, even if you are a CPA, and can "logically" understand what causes poverty at a macro level.
First we must identify what the code word "Babylon" represents in at "latter-day" context and flee from her. Early Christian and Jewish writers used the code word "Babylon" to mean the Roman Empire, while earlier Hebrew prophets used the word to speak of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon herself. When we've identified the latter-day "Babylon the Great," spoken of in Revelations 17, 18 (and many other places like Isaiah 13, 14; 1 Nephi 12, 13, 14, 15, 22; 3 Nephi 16, 20, 21) THEN the command to "flee from her" becomes understandable from more than the typical esoteric, spiritual realms needed for salvation, but instead from the very real temporal/physical realms of salvation which so often precede spiritual salvation by those who actually flee from their respective "Babylon's" The Isrealites from Egypt, Lehi from Jerusalem, Nephi from his brothers, Mosiah from the Lamanites, Limhi from the Lamanties, the Latter-day Saints from America etc.
To understand world poverty allow me to ask some simple questions.
Q: At the macro level what is the easiest, nay probably the only way, to create poverty upon the masses of an entire country?
A: Taxes. (Isn't it interesting that when King Noah imposed a 20% tax to support his wickedness, his people did not complain, in fact when Abinidi came to tell them of their collective wickedness, the people defended their King in his wickedness, but when the Lamanites imposed a 50% tax the people felt this was oppressive. See Mosiah 7 – 11)
Q: What is the MOST insidious "tax" imposed on any country? This is a tax that is NEVER voted upon, and most do NOT even see it as a "tax," but it is the worst kind, especially upon the poor!
A: Inflation.
Q: What causes Inflation?
A: (In simple terms) the printing of more money that is NOT backed by hard currencies like gold or silver. "Fiat currency" like the current system MOST every country in the world uses. (A little homework on "money" will show you that the concept of a "central bank" whose funds were backed by the Government as the ONLY legal tender – not printed by the Government mind you – was first created to help an English Prince raise the funds he needed to go to WAR, because if he'd tried to raise taxes the people would have revolted. "History repeats itself," comes to mind. Can you imagine how many 9/11s it would take if Bush had to ask YOU and I to fund even one more penny for this war by raising our taxes by enough to pay the $8 trillion he's borrowed from my grand kids?)
Q: Who controls the central banks that have the power to print more money, hence inflation?
A: In the US it is the Federal Reserve, a Private company, which has NEVER been audited since its inception in 1916 (I think). We do NOT know who the real owners of the stock/shares in the Federal Reserve belong to. Wouldn't that be a great money maker? Own the sole rights, as a privately held company which is NOT subject to any IRS audits, to "loan" money, from an empty account, to the US government at interest no less, with the full backing of the US Tax payer behind the loans? WOW what a "Racket"...probably worth killing to keep that kind of money flowing. We know the names of the private banks that make up the Fed, and the Fed Chairman etc. but we don't know who owns the shares in those banks, they are private! We do know who they were when the Fed was created, The Morgan's (representing the Rothchild's) and Rockefeller's. (Read "The Creature from Jekyll Island" for a history of the Fed.)
Q: How do you place an entire country in your control, without using the military?
A: Loan that country huge sums of money, backed by the taxes of the people (which includes inflation). Lets stop here for a moment to read some of the definitions of "Babylon the Great." (and yes I believe there are lesser "Babylons" but the code name "Babylon the Great" does refer, just as it did in ancient times, to an imperialist nation like Rome, Babylon, Egypt, Assyria before them. In fact Daniel's dream lets us understand there will be a succession of said imperialist nation state Babylons that will control the world throughout time.
Revelations 18: And I saw another angel come down from heaven…And he cried …saying, Babylon the great is fallen,…For # 1: all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and # 2: the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, # 3: the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. ...she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, … (Sounds like 3 Nephi 16:10) And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,…And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
- The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,… And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, … saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. So here we find that the latter-day "Babylon the great" is a real imperialist empire like she ALWAYS has been in the past, and that she has enough power to control the world's economy and make the rest of the worlds leaders go along with her wicked materialism, as imperialist nations always do.
Also we see that the "merchants of the earth" are made "rich" through the purchases of the "delicacies" which Babylon the Great purchase from them. Can you please tell me the ratio of American consumption of the world's goods as compared to the world's population? Back to your letter, you state: "Isn't poverty caused by the corruption of their own leaders? At least doesn't it contribute to it?" We know from what we just read in Revelations that "Babylon the Great" will control the leaders of the world and force them to participate in her fornications. So back to your poverty question. YES, the leaders of many third world countries have "contributed" to the poverty of their people.
But who is the puppet master? Who is "Babylon the Great" which is pulling the strings of "the kings of the earth?" I had lunch a few months ago with a man who's been both an Area Authority and Senator in the Mexican Senate. I asked him if Mexican's were "slaves." He immediately said, "No." I repeated the question. He said "Yes." I said, "To whom?" (I thought from the context of our conversation, and from my experience in Mexico where most of the small 2nd tier parties blame Mexico's problems on "America," that his answer would be "America." It was not.) He said, "The IMF." (International Monetary Fund.) YES! Right back to the true source of debt and slavery in our world today. How is this done? As a CPA you understand.
For about 100 years now, US companies have dominated Latin America, and the resources of most 3rd world countries for that matter. Wars are fought to control resources, not always to pilfer them directly. You say, "Years ago I heard a talk in conference where the speaker discussed all the things America had done to help the world in its problems. Then he said something about they always rely on old UNCLE SUCCOR. Actually America has done more to help other nations than any other nation." Maybe its time we define who those "succors" really are! You and I the TAX paying Americas! NOT the banks, nor the majority share holders in those banks, who get paid EVEN IF, 3rd world countries default on their loans because even THEIR loans are back by you and I, the American Tax Paying "SUCCOR."
I lived in Okinawa on the Base named after the revered Marine General Smedley Butler. He wrote a popular book almost 100 years ago after retiring from the Marines called, "War is a Racket." He explains, "A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. War is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many."
How did that happen then? Paradigm shift: think of war as a transfer of money and power from the poor to the ultra rich. Again General Butler gives the answer, "Out of war a few people make huge fortunes. Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. (Texas, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado all come to mind! Also recall Senator Lincoln accused President Polk of starting the war with Mexico so the USA could take Texas and thus obtain a monopoly on the world most important resource at the time, cotton.
History repeats itself. This is NOT a conspiracy theory; it is saved in the Senate records, because Senator Lincoln made that accusation "official" on the Senate floor and had it placed into record.) This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few -- the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill." And what is this bill? This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations." I want to shortly return to those points about economic instability, depression, taxation for generations. General Butler continues, "Of course, for this loss, there would be a compensating profit -- fortunes would be made. Millions and billions of dollars would be piled up. By a few. Munitions makers. Bankers. Ship builders. Manufacturers. Meat packers. Speculators. They would fare well.
For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it." In fact General Butler goes on to say that his years of service as a Marine were nothing more than a paid Hit Man for the "bankers, and Wall Street boys." If General Butler is accurate, and I believe his is, it's been over 100 years since, "America has done more to help other nations than any other nation." If President Abraham Lincoln is accurate its been since about the time the Saints were forced to leave the USA….(3Nephi 16:10) Their statements may sting, but recall General Butler begins by defining a "Racket" as "something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about."Back to world poverty. Marines like Smedley Butler are only called in and used when other more peaceful means of compliance with America's corporate will and interests are NOT accepted by other world leaders. (Chile, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama all come to mind.) Let me explain. For the past 50+ years the IMF (recall the Mexican Senator stated Mexican's are slaves to this organization) has sent in economists – AKA "economic hit men" – to justify US corporate exploitation of 3rd world resources and or enslave their people in debt. (One such "economic hit man," John Perkins, came out of the closet and has written two detailed accounts of how this was accomplished by himself personally during his time with the CIA. His books "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," and "The Secret History of the American Empire" both explain in great detail what General Butler saw 100 years ago, and many times by the same players, i.e. Wall Street and the Bankers.)
I'll paraphrase Perkins' books as follows. A team of CIA "economists" go into a 3rd world country to justify HUGE loans to said country for the purpose of building their infrastructures. (Electrical generation plants, dams, nuclear power plants, water purification, telecommunication infrastructures, large engineering projects etc.) Their "findings," all based on fictitious numbers, state that when XYZ country borrows X Billions of dollars from the IMF and American Banks, to build said infrastructures, their economies will grow. This is a win/win for ONLY the banks because even if these people don't repay their loans, they are also backed by the good faith and backbones of the those in America. "Economic hit man" also have the job of "selling" these loans to the existing local leadership of third world countries. As Perkins points out in his book, the bribes usually were enough to convince them, to accept the projects and accompanying loans, but Perkins tells us he was to make sure these leaders understood that "real hit man" and or the "Marines" would be called in if they did not want to comply. (Again, Chile, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador all come to mind. Yah why not just look up Chile!
OUR President Nixon, had the CIA have their democratically elected president KILLED so that ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph) and our copper mining interests could continue their monopoly and control of Chile's resources. This is common knowledge today, and has come to light as "secret" documents have been forced to come out to the public's knowledge…assuming the US public (1) read, and (2) cared!) In reality the effects of these loans, on 3rd world countries, are the SAME effects mentioned by General Butler after war, except less bloodshed, "Economic instability, depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations." Since most 3rd world leaders understand this, Perkins points out they usually opted for the bribes.
And the same game has been played out so many times in Latin America it would be hard for you NOT to find the info you need to research this on your own. But here's a good place to start. Location Period Type of Force Comments on U.S. Role Argentina 1890 Troops Buenos Aires interests protected Chile 1891 Troops Marines clash with nationalist rebels Haiti 1891 Troops Black workers revolt on U.S.-claimed Navassa Island defeated Nicaragua 1894 Troops Month-long occupation of Bluefields Panama 1895 Naval, troops Marines land in Colombian province Nicaragua 1896 Troops Marines land in port of Corinto Cuba 1898- Naval, troops Seized from Spain, U.S. still holds Navy base at Guantanamo Puerto Rico 1898- Naval, troops Seized from Spain, occupation continues Nicaragua 1898 Troops Marines land at port of San Juan del Sur Nicaragua 1899 Troops Marines land at port of Bluefields Honduras 1903 Troops Marines intervene in revolution Dominican Republic 1903-04 Troops U.S. interests protected in Revolution Cuba 1906-09 Troops Marines land in democratic election Nicaragua 1907 Troops "Dollar Diplomacy" protectorate set up Honduras 1907 Troops Marines land during war with Nicaragua Panama 1908 Troops Marines intervene in election contest Nicaragua 1910 Troops Marines land in Bluefields and Corinto Honduras 1911 Troops U.S. interests protected in civil war Cuba 1912 Troops U.S. interests protected in Havana Panama 1912 Troops Marines land during heated election Honduras 1912 Troops Marines protect U.S. economic interests Nicaragua 1912-33 Troops, bombing 20-year occupation, fought guerrillas Mexico 1913 Naval Americans evacuated during revolution Dominican Republic 1914 Naval Fight with rebels over Santo Domingo Mexico 1914-18 Naval, troops Series of interventions against nationalists Haiti 1914-34 Troops, bombing 19-year occupation after revolts Dominican Republic 1916-24 Troops 8-year Marine occupation Cuba 1917-33 Troops Military occupation, economic protectorate Panama 1918-20 Troops "Police duty" during unrest after elections Honduras 1919 Troops Marines land during election campaign Guatemala 1920 Troops 2-week intervention against unionists Costa Rica 1921 Troops Panama 1921 Troops Honduras 1924-25 Troops Landed twice during election strife Panama 1925 Troops Marines suppress general strike El Salvador 1932 Naval Warships sent during Faribundo Marti revolt Uruguay 1947 Nuclear threat Bombers deployed as show of strength Puerto Rico 1950 Command operation Independence rebellion crushed in Ponce Guatemala 1954-? Command operation, bombing, nuclear threat CIA directs exile invasion and coup d'Etat after newly elected government nationalizes unused U.S.'s United Fruit Company lands; bombers based in Nicaragua; long-term result: 200,000 murdered Panama 1958 Troops Flag protests erupt into confrontation Cuba 1961 Command operation CIA-directed exile invasion fails Cuba 1962 Nuclear threat, naval Blockade during missile crisis; near-war with Soviet Union Panama 1964 Troops Panamanians shot for urging canal's return Dominican Republic 1965-66 Troops, bombing Marines land during election campaign Guatemala 1966-67 Command operation Green Berets intervene against rebels Chile 1973 Command operation CIA-backed coup ousts democratically elected Marxist president El Salvador 1981-92 Command operation, troops Advisors, overflights aid anti-rebel war, soldiers briefly involved in hostage clash; long-term result: 75,000 murdered and destruction of popular movement Nicaragua 1981-90 Command operation, naval CIA directs exile (Contra) invasions, plants harbor mines against revolution; result: 50,000 murdered Honduras 1982-90 Troops Maneuvers help build bases near borders Grenada 1983-84 Troops, bombing Invasion four years after revolution Bolivia 1987 Troops Army assists raids on cocaine region Panama 1989 Troops, bombing Nationalist government ousted by 27,000 soldiers, leaders arrested, 2000+ killed Haiti 1994-95 Troops, naval Blockade against military government; troops restore President Aristide to office three years after coup Venezuela 2002 Command operation Failed coup attempt to remove left-populist president Hugo Chavez Haiti 2004- Troops Removal of democratically elected President Aristide; troops occupy country.
You may NOT want to believe President Lincoln, General Butler, John Perkins, or the "facts" listed above, so let me ask a few questions you as a CPA understand.
Q: When IMF loans are given out, who gets the majority of the funds? (i.e. Who are the checks really written out to?)
A: Latin American engineering firms who put local people to work? NO! Huge American engineering corporations like Haliburton. (Where Dick was CEO.)
Q: The other day you made it sound like America is so benevolent for spending money to repair the damage (to infrastructure, not lives) we caused in Iraq. When a country like Iraq is "repaired" by the generous taxes of the American people after the elite in America lie to us to get us to go to war in the first place, who gets the funds?
A: Local Iraqi companies? NO! The same huge American engineering corporations like Haliburton. READ! I gave you the proof….READ! Naomi Kline's "Shock Doctrine" provides the facts of who is making a killing in Iraq. WAKE UP! Please,… for the love of humanity, wake up Americas!
Q: Since these American companies and their employees are the beneficiaries running around these third world countries with the huge contracts, what is the impression left in the mind of the local people who aren't able to distinguish between a Haliburton employee and all Americans?
A: That "Americans" are to blame. (This is WHY so many in this world hate the American Empire…it isn't because we drive Hummers and go to Christian Churches.)
So quick summary.
NO! Americans have NOT caused the poverty of the third world. "American's" are the "SUCCORS" in General Butler's "Racket." But, "America" has created poverty. America is the CIA, Military, and some high level elected officials. Americans, like my daughter, donate wonderful time and energy to others throughout the world in all kinds of humanitarian aid, mostly started by Americans. US and Canadian LDS foot the majority of the bill needed for missionary work throughout the world.
Yes, Americans have done a lot to help the world, but often because America has destroyed their world first. America, sends in the CIA and Marines to capture and control other nation's resources, and they do it by debts and war. Please divorce yourself from superimposing "America's" atrocities upon yourself as an American, unless of course NOW that you have knowledge you feel compelled to act upon that knowledge so as not to be found "morally" guilty before the Lord. You can try and refute these facts by saying that you don't believe a US President, a 2 time Medal of Honor recipient like General Smedley Butler, or a more recent CIA agent, but you can't deny the facts. All you need do is a little Latin American history and you'll begin to see the truth…but then again, the Surgeon General's warning is on every pack of cigarettes too, and most choose to ignore the warning.
