Commons
The United States' natural resource
policy - which gives away mineral rights and is controlled by special interests -
is a model for how things should not be done. The secrecy with
which the Bush administration formulated its energy policy - even
refusing to disclose the names of the industry representatives who
participated - also makes for a dismal role model. Bush's arguments
for executive privilege are loved by those trying to keep secret
what they are doing - whether to benefit themselves, their cronies,
or a wider circle of friends who have helped them stay in power. pg
151 Making Globalization Work. Joseph E. Stiglitz. www.wwnorton.com
“In one of the greatest ongoing surrenders of any
country's history, our nation's natural resources have either been given away freely or
leased at bargain-basement prices. Unlike any other country in the
world, the United States has a law on the books - the 1872 Mining Act - that requires the federal
government to give away mining rights, without any royalties in return, to mining
companies, domestic, or foreign, that discover precious "hard rock" minerals, such
as gold, silver...” Ralph Nader, Breaking Through Power
pg 62 -
the federal government is now giving away public assets
worth tens of billions of dollars to these holdouts, which include a
relatively small number of billionaires who own media conglomerates. The American Prospect 10/2016
"The west has pursued an industrialisation path that allows for the privatisation of wealth from the commons,
along with the criminalisation of commons rights of the public, as well as the externalisation of all true costs.
Never mind that fracking produces earthquakes and poisons aquifers - corrupt politicians at local, state or province,
and national levels are all too happy to take money for looking the other way. Our entire commercial, diplomatic,
and informational systems are now cancerous. When trade treaties have secret sections - or are entirely secret -
one can be certain the public is being screwed and the secrecy is an attempt to avoid accountability.
Secrecy enables corruption. So also does an inattentive public enable corruption." Robert Steele
“The test of our progress is not whether we add
more to the abundance of those who have much; it is
whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” -
FDR
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