Bernie Sanders warns of 'international oligarchy' after Paradise Papers leak

[sandensea]

Source: The Guardian

Bernie Sanders has warned that the world is rapidly becoming an “international oligarchy” controlled by a tiny number of billionaires, highlighted by the revelations in the Paradise Papers.

In a statement to the Guardian in the wake of the massive leak of documents exposing the secrets of offshore investors, Sanders said that the enrichment of wealthy individuals and companies in tax havens was “the major issue of our time.”

The same tax breaks, he said, were being seized upon by super-wealthy members of Trump’s cabinet “who avoid billions in US taxes by shifting American jobs and profits to offshore tax havens. We need to close these loopholes and demand a fair and progressive tax system.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/06/bernie-sanders-paradise-papers-leak-international-oligarchy

[lagomorph777]

1. +1

[olegramps]

15. What it could have been:

I wanted Bernie to accept the nomination as Hilary's Veep. I am convinced that they could have won. She handling the international agenda and he the domestic issues. Why it didn't happen,? Was it egos?

[ananda]

19. Did Clinton ask Sanders before Tim Kaine?

???

[Chasstev365]

28. ????

[Sunlei]

71. Their campaigns worked together very well for a couple weeks, IMO almost was a Bernie VP.

Neither of them have said if 'the VP question' was actually asked. IMO also, if Bernie was the VP choice-that would have been enough for a win.

I understand why Hillary picked Tim Kaine, they've known each other for decades, worked together, she trusts him. He would've been a very good VP.

[pnwmom]

38. The Rethugs would have stopped them, too, with the help of the Russians. n/t

[Sunlei]

72. No, I don't agree. some of those counties, small districts went Sanders in primary & trump by few hu

by few hundred in GE. IMO with a Sanders VP, Clinton would be President today.

She won the popular vote by over 3 million votes, just a few hundred votes in some counties would have swung the electoral college votes in Hilary's direction.

[pnwmom]

76. You're assuming that Sanders would have won ALL Hillary's districts PLUS MORE.

Nice theory but there is no evidence for it. Some of the same counties that she won by a few hundred votes, he could have lost by that margin.

And the Russians would have opposed him just as hard -- because they wanted Trump. Or do you think the Russians would have been fine with Bernie? And if so, what would that say about Bernie? Nothing good.

[Sunlei]

77. I meant as VP for 'President Clinton' during the General election vs the Republican primary winner.

Clinton clearly won the primary vs Sanders & others.

[tavalon]

51. I was not aware that this was ever placed forward.

[ehrnst]

64. I can't imagine Bernie would want to be VP when he has more opportunity in the Senate

to act on the issues he cares about.

But I think he would have liked to have been asked, even if he would have turned it down.

[Sunlei]

74. me too olegramps, I think they were close to that but Clinton was more comfortable with Kaine.

[onit2day]

17. Trump is starting a war with NK. It's why he's in Japan

[Sunlei]

73. remember China said, if NK is attacked they will step-in. China will attack Japan.

China and Japan aren't friends at all.

[Bradshaw3]

2. He's right, along with the growing authoritarianism that goes with their power

That's why we have to fight back against dump, putin, et al.

[delisen]

32. That is what we have been doing.

[George II]

3. No one should exploit tax breaks, no one.

[NurseJackie]

4. Agreed! In fact, I think all candidates for public office should be REQUIRED to release...

... their tax returns (no excuses, no delays) before they can be on any ballot.

[NanceGreggs]

7. Agreed.

[hueymahl]

8. Never miss a chance to take a shot! NT

[NurseJackie]

23. Of course! I hate Trump as much as anyone!

[sheshe2]

29. +1!

[ehrnst]

63. Most definitely!

[lunamagica]

80. absolutely!

[ehrnst]

60. How is expecting financial transparency from candidates "taking a shot?"

What on earth are you talking about?

[VermontKevin]

66. Can you think of a reason for any 2018 candidate not to release taxes?

[delisen]

31. I hope Sanders will do so and set a good example

[NurseJackie]

36. Honesty and integrity are important to me. Now, I don't begrudge anyone's wealth and success...

... as long as they're truthful about how they earned their money, as long as they're not pretending to be poorer (or richer) than they actually are, and as long as their income it's legitimate, and as long as they aren't squirreling-away funds offshore, or making questionable investments, or dealing with hostile foreign governments, AND as long as they're paying their fair share of taxes.

I think it also helps to judge a candidates character by seeing where their charitable contributions go (and how much it may be.... or if they even do so at all.) A lot of candidates (or potential candidates) are a lot of talk-talk-talk but something as simple as honest, full and complete tax returns can reveal whether a candidate is a hypocrite or a liar.

[lunamagica]

81. +1 ICAM

[ehrnst]

61. It would clear up any and all questions very easily. (nt)

[riversedge]

48. It certainly would do away with all the fighting over that issue.

[R B Garr]

62. Yes, this is just common sense. If you are going to attack others over alleged

financial corruption, you should release your taxes first. An absolute requirement before you get to accuse people.



edit: and, of course, you should have proof of their alleged corruption also before accusing people endlessly.

[Sunlei]

75. They do it all the time, look at the thousands of political "charities" wealthy donate to and take

off their taxes as a deduction to charity. The object is to pay as little or no tax as possible. And plenty of the wealthy don't pay any taxes.

[George II]

78. Yes, the wealthy and those who continually criticize the wealthy, who are most likely wealthy.

Hypocritical if you ask me.

[Sunlei]

82. perhaps if I win the lottery, I'll start a charity. No one likes to pay taxes :P

or get some dancing horses or some race horses, they're good for 250k a year tax deduction and they're fun to have as pets.

[Hekate]

5. For once, I agree with Bernie without reservation

[Not Ruth]

6. I would pay attention to who asks for justice and who does not

[BlancheSplanchnik]

9. Makes sense. Of course, why wouldn't there be.

They certainly have the means and motivation.

[SeattlePop]

10. Dammit Bernie stop telling folks the truth. They dont

Want to hear it.

That's what got you into trouble the last time.

[sandensea]

11. Sad, but true.

It's amazing how easily some people, just because they have a house and a few other assets, delude themselves into thinking they somehow belong to the offshore club.

"It's a small club," to paraphrase George Carlin, "and you're not in it."

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

33. So damn true... thankfully, Bernie never stops fighting for what's right.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Great income & wealth inequality worldwide is reaching levels where revolutions happen.

It will be corrected. Peacefully or otherwise.

Let the "powers that be" recognize the issue for what it truly is (respect for people) and correct it peacefully.

[sandensea]

13. Part of the problem is that a faction (maybe most) of the elite have convinced themselves

that if - God forbid - it ever comes to that, their spy complex and rent-a-thugs can respond with overwhelming force.

Maybe so; but they forget about unintended consequences and Murphy's Law: what can go wrong, would indeed go wrong - for all of us.

Let's hope we can find an equitable solution to all this, before it's just too late.

[sarcasmo]

16. A new version of the Pinkertons.

[sandensea]

18. Bingo - but light-years ahead in technology.

How history repeats itself.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

39. Technology works both ways. What enables upper crust iPhone 15 or 16 also enables

... also enables old iPhone 3 and 4 to run things like flash mobs to disrupt lifestyles and greatly upset the 1% and limit their ability to get around and amuse themselves.

Forest hideaways are not so hidden away thanks to Google maps and other tech.

[dhol82]

41. Maybe Elysium will happen?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysium_(film)

[Bernardo de La Paz]

42. Wait, your link was corrupted

I thought you had no point.

Let me go read the proper link.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysium_(film)

DANG! DU is corrupting the link!

Let me try it this way:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysium_%28film%29

[dhol82]

44. Damn. Sorry.

Anyhow,for anyone who is interested, look up the movie ‘Elysium.’

[Bernardo de La Paz]

46. Not your fault. Due to hyper-cautious DU programming. This works:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysium_%28film%29

[dhol82]

49. Sadly, this is looking more and more like our future

Oligarchs will need somewhere to go after they destroy the earth.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

47. Could be. Interesting premise & film to see at a later date. Thanks. (working link below)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysium_%28film%29

[Bernardo de La Paz]

37. When people have little left to lose, they can make the people who have the most to lose lose a lot.

[dhol82]

45. +1

[lagomorph777]

54. You got that right.

Eventually these things are resolved. It really depends on whether the oligarchs think they can die of natural causes (and let their brats face the angry mobs down the road), or whether they think some kind of FDR-style compromise will serve their interests better.

[SeattlePop]

14. Make the scum paY their taxes

Solution easy

[LeftInTX]

20. I wish the Paradise Papers were front and center in the US

I can only find a handful of US based articles online. Most of it is BBC, Guardian etc.

[sandensea]

22. Good point.

Whenever one discusses current events with Republicans they always parrot the same line: 'the nooz iz biased 'cause most journalists are lib'rul Democrats'.

Maybe so; but the media owners are mostly either John Birch-style Republicans, or sympathetic to that world view - and they don't like a lot of coverage of things like the Panama and Paradise papers.

That said, Chris Hayes, Rachel, and Lawrence did a great job recapping the story. Looking forward to what they have to say about it tonight.

[whathehell]

34. I know, but there's so much else in the news

like these hideous shootings.

[LeftInTX]

40. Print journalism can multi-task

Broadcast can pick up synopsis.

There was a big deal about the Panama Papers, but there were not many US actors involved. (I can't remember why. Maybe it was the location of the offshore tax havens in the Panama Papers?)
In this case it seems that many Americans are involved.

[Xolodno]

21. Makes sense.

In the French and Russian revolutions, many of the wealthy were tied to their country to stay wealthy, and thus, were overthrown.

Now they can create proxies via "democracy" and don't suffer the consequences. Add to that, their wealth is also connected to our pensions, 401k's etc. You can't take down corporations and hurt them without hurting yourself.

[LisaM]

24. This isn't exactly news....

this has been going on forever.

[harun]

53. Pretty much been going on since the time of the Pharaohs (at least)

[LisaM]

57. No kidding.

I don't mean this against Bernie, but do people only become aware of something if he says it? I do think that obvious things like this bear repeating, if just to drill it into the public mindset, but it's hardly a new thing!

[harun]

67. They are aware, just disappointed that he is the only politician who will talk about it.

[LisaM]

69. Well, he's not, but he gets more attention.

It's just weird.

[R B Garr]

70. You have it backwards. Hillary being the victim of the Russian oligarchs,

plus the Democrats who are pursuing the Russian interference investigations, have been talking about it a lot longer. Nice to see Sanders' on board with them now. This has been common knowledge for some time. Nice to see him finally acknowledge it now that it has more attention.

[elias7]

25. This has nothing to do with Bernie. Hes a messenger.

Putin was installed in the presidency by the oligarchs who came to power in the vacuum caused by the fall of the Soviet Union. The oligarchs are organized crime on an international scale, and have infiltrated the US and other European countries.

Essentially, the US has been invaded by the mob, and we risk losing our sovereignty.

[LongTomH]

26. Thank you, Bernie! We can't allow the Republicans and/or the news media to bury this.......

.......as I'm sure they'll try to.

[delisen]

30. Nothing is being buried. Thank you guardian

The Guardian trove is being well distributed.

[LongTomH]

27. Almost forgot to add: Follow the links in the Guardian article, including the quick guide......

......to the revelations in the Paradise Papers. Near makes one's head spin, it does.

[whathehell]

35. I love Bernie..

He IS the real deal.

[Arazi]

43. Yup eom

[Catch2.2]

50. Bernie Sanders 2020!

Sanders Warren 2020!

[Bayard]

52. Remember the X-Files?

The super-secret small club of mega-billionaires who actually rule the world, and were collaborating with the aliens to take over the earth? Well, there you go.

Actually, I used to date an anesthesiologist, who basically claimed the same thing. He was a major student of world history, and said there was a small circle of elites, like the Rockefellers, that decided politics globally. They installed nations' leaders. I thought he was nuts, but I bet he's doing a lot of, I Told You So's, right now.

[FakeNoose]

79. I figured it out - thanks to you

Putin must be the bad alien from X-Files! They're all doing his bidding and he's making them rich while he takes over the world.

[coolsandy]

55. I have been warning about this looooong before Bernie. No one seemed to care until the Paradise

Papers hit the news.

[sandensea]

56. I hear you.

My favorite lunkheads on this subject are (of course) the country-club Republicans. The kind that has a nice house, maybe a vacation home, and some assets - and they think that makes them Rockefellers.

"Why shouldn't they offshore?" they'll bellow. "They worked hard for their money, and I'm tired of Uncle Sam taking it to pay for lazy minorities on welfare."

Hopeless.

[Sunlei]

58. Bernie Sanders has warned that the world is rapidly becoming an international oligarchy

Bernie Bumpity, bump

[R B Garr]

59. Alas, it appears the oligarchs have outsmarted him by copying all

his attacks on Democrats.

[KPN]

65. Bernie speaks the truth plainly as usual.

Why aren't all the Democrats saying this? They should be.

[Ligyron]

68. THAT'S RIGHT!!

The Democrats should all be saying in unison "See, the working people of this country are being screwed!!!" "You're paying THEIR taxes!!"

But, of course, we Democrats would need an actual leader to make that work.