Re: Panama Leaks... Whistleblowers 0, Apathy 1

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

I'm intrigued by the level of apathy inherent to that case. I suspect it is insurmountable. The Snowden leaks did nothing, this will probably pass right over the heads of the peasantry as well. Really, what are we actually expecting to happen? The Snowden leaks have had an impact and are talked about constantly in reference to government snooping - but so what? Are we expecting some sort of revolution? Meh.

Sure, these leaks will probably have a somewhat bigger impact because the press love to bring people down a peg or two, and with specific people being named it's easier for people to focus their attention. I would expect a few important people to suffer serious setbacks in their careers and a few prosecutions too where applicable. And that's about it.

I hate to sound cynical, but I'm not even seeing the big deal here. Isn't it entirely expected that this is how things work? This is like how a while ago the investigations started on that oil manipulation allegation in Monaco, everyone made these mock sounds of surprise and horror. "Does this mean that there are no rules and everything is a lie?!" Huh-huh

It's like baby's first realization of the fact that global governance is indistinguishable from mafia operations. Every single time.

Also, Hong Kong, UK and Switzerland at the top of the above list. Babies around the world are somehow surprised again. There is no student of history - particularly if the British Empire is their strong point - who could possibly be surprised by that. It's the most obvious thing in the world.

This is not even 'corruption'. This is just actual normality. Did we learn anything new from this case? I guess not. News flash: the system is corrupt. Money talks in election campaigns and the rich have generally bought most politicians already. Rich people use lawyers in order to not pay tax. Loopholes are placed in laws that are forged under heavy lobbyist influence, so that those lawyers could sneak through there.

Let's face it, folks. Nothing is going to change after the Panama Leaks. It might cause some individual politicians to resign (like the case in Iceland), or their parties might lose some votes, or indeed even lose office. But do you really expect that their successors to really be any different? Rich people will keep using their power/influence/wealth in order to get more wealth. The rich acting like the law does not apply to them - what a surprise, eh? Well, that's pretty much how capitalism works.

Comments

Piggy bank!

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

A nice adorable comic has been made to represent the Panama leak in a nutshell. Check it out, it's fun! (here (http://www.vox.com/2016/4/4/11361780/the-panama-papers-cartoon))

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

This isn't how capitalism is "supposed" to work. But it's how it does work in reality. Maybe that's the main source of the outrage in cases like these.

That still doesn't prevent most people from failing to make the distinction, though.

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

I saw some comments much to the effect of, "Look how many Europeans are corrupt! Almost no Americans there!" Well, that company works with Europeans mostly. If we make a random investigation in the Caymans, the picture would be quite different.