Plundering The Public

February 17, 2009

Plundering the Public
By T.S. Khanna

The old adage, “When wealth is lost, little is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, everything is lost”, is proving its validity in the modern times. When integrity in public affairs is lost, everything is lost.

Democracy is based on the assumption of integrity in public affairs, imposed by moral and legal restraints. Nevertheless, our corporations and politicians seem to have freed themselves of such restraints.

Under the existing democratic laws, proving the cases of corruption is both expensive and cumbersome. Besides, the threshold of ethics in public affairs has been gradually degraded in the name of soft skills in public relations. Freedom from moral restraints is well reflected by Merrill Lynch Chief, John Thain. Some other chiefs, supposedly the trustees of the companies, make more than 360 times the wages of the average workers while shareholders are at their mercy.

During an unprecedented bailout of corporations by taxpayers’ funds, the corporations executives had the audacity to take eighteen billion dollars in bonuses. Bonuses are meant to serve as incentives for the executives to be paid in accordance with the performance level. Through TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) funds, at the taxpayers’ expense, the executives have been fully rewarded for their failures. No restrictions or regulations were included in the bailout funds packages. Now the public is informed that there is no law under which drawn out bonuses can be recovered.

Further, the value of many of the corporations is less today than it was soon after the bailout. For instance, since October 2008, the government has deposited $ 165 billion into the accounts of the nation’s eight largest financial institutions, including Bank of America, CITI, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo Bank. Yet, today their worth is $ 418 billion less than it was in early November 2008.

No effort is in the works to identify or stop this financial hemorrhage. Each political party blames the other political party. In this political fog, no justice can be served or any blame pinpointed to any person or organization. The taxpayers watch powerlessly. They can only use the power of prayers to overcome their outrage and live in the dream of hope and optimism. Thus, the public oversight is nullified and the operatives of public affairs get more elbowroom.

Now the new government would like to meet the old challenge with a new effort of $ 787 billion, again at the taxpayers’ expense, with a proviso that there are no guarantees. Are we getting out of the frying pan or getting into the fire?

There is a lot more to be highlighted but your space limits my words. I solicit readers’ ideas to reign in the out of control politicians and corporations.