Kids jailed for profit?

[Kang]

This article just sickens me to no end. If something like this were to happen in Canada with our poor judicial system the way it is, then who knows what the fallout would be.

[Melios]

Fuck that. I vote we outsource them to Texas, where they can give them the death penalty. And maybe we can make an industry out of that too.

Soylent Green?

[Maxxthepenguin]

The market has spoken and such practices are have been defined as moral due to the large amounts of profit able to be gained with these practices.

Go go capitalism!

[Kuya]

I'm going to admit that this reminded me of the bailout, Blagojevitch, and a slew of other economic/political issues and it made me rage the fuck out.

[Skjie]

This would be why I don't go to America. Time to nuke the place and come back in 100 years to start again.

[Gregorio]

The market has spoken and such practices are have been defined as moral due to the large amounts of profit able to be gained with these practices.

Go go capitalism!

I know you're trying to be funny, but this has nothing to do with capitalism at all. There is no free market for justice systems that people can choose from (and rightly so). Also, there's large amounts of money to be made by breaking into houses and stealing shit, but that is obviously illegal and not supported by the market just like this isn't.

[Kuya]

But they were just acting out of self interest... what could be so wrong with that? Greed is good.

February 20, 2009
BILL MOYERS: Welcome to the Journal. That great movie comic and professional curmudgeon W.C. Fields once said, "you can fool some of the people some of the time — and that's enough to make a decent living."

Watching the news unfold this week about Robert Allen Stanford — he prefers "Sir Allen" as befits a true Texas charlatan — I was reminded how right the old comedian was. As Stanford was allegedly bilking investors of billions of dollars, and making a decent living at it, he was also stroking the backs of Washington politicians causing them to purr like kittens as they licked his hand.

This story is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Sir Allen Stanford was knighted by the Governor-General of the Caribbean island of Antigua, off-shore headquarters for his alleged, multi-billion dollar con game. He bankrolled junkets to its balmy shores for several members of Congress including Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn and New York Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel, chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Stanford partied with Nancy Pelosi and Bill Clinton at the Democratic National Convention last summer. And when Tom DeLay was still House Majority Leader, he flew the friendly skies in Stanford's private jet 16 times in three years, including a trip to Houston for DeLay's arraignment on money-laundering charges. I am not making this up!

Sir Allen also showered millions of dollars on political campaigns; much of it in the very year Congress was debating a bill to curb financial fraud. Two of the biggest recipients were Democratic Senator Bill Nelson and Republican John McCain, one of the original Keating Five. Three key Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee got checks from Stanford, too. Surprise, surprise — the reform bill never got out of the Senate.

According to the indispensable Center for Responsive Politics, over the last decade, Robert Allen Stanford spent nearly five million dollars lobbying the Senate and House.

Altogether, however, Stanford's contributions were a spit in the bucket of what he's alleged to have swindled and just a tiny slice of the multibillion dollar pie the lobbying business has become in Washington. Never an industry to let opportunity pass by, lobbyists already are jumping all over Obama's economic stimulus, so much so the independent newspaper, "The Washington Examiner" newspaper, renamed the bill "The Lobbyist Enrichment Act."

My next guest, Robert G. Kaiser, says that the lobby industry "has helped moneyed interests protect their status and privileges, undermined government regulation of business and turned our elected officials into chronic money-chasers."

Does the corruption not vex you?

[Belragga]

How exactly do they profit from this. Do the jails just get more money for having more prisoners then pay off the judges?

[Gregorio]

Greed alone /= capitalism. Breaking the law to make money /= capitalism. I'm not sure how you guys aren't understanding this.

[Kuya]

They pay the judges to get more prisoners and they get more money for having more prisoners.

[Kuya]

Greed alone /= capitalism. Breaking the law to make money /= capitalism. I'm not sure how you guys aren't understanding this.

Capitalism doesn't involve deregulation, lobbying, privatization, and promotes the values of self interest? Especially American capitalism?

[Sol-Blackguy]

Not to mention that most criminals no matter how good they are at what they do eventually get busted for tax evasion. It's like the government doesn't give a shit what you do, as long as they get their cut.

[Stumblingdrunk]

Not to mention that most criminals no matter how good they are at what they do eventually get busted for tax evasion. It's like the government doesn't give a shit what you do, as long as they get their cut.

That is not exactly the case. Often times Tax evasion is just the easiest crime to prove before a jury, and the idea is charge them with whatever puts them behind bars

[Kuya]

Driving the point home:

The antics of the august members of the House and Senate remind us once again that money is the root of all hypocrisy – especially in politics.

Take United States Senator Roland Burris, appointed by former Illinois governor and clown prince Rod Blagojevich to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama. Testifying before the impeachment committee investigating Blagojevich, Senator Burris claimed he had no conversations with anyone from the governor’s clan of cronies prior to his appointment. Now he says, oops, I just remembered – the governor’s brother asked me to raise $10,000. Or was it $15,000?

Luckily, Senator Burris still has some space in Chicago’s Oak Woods Cemetery on that spiffy mausoleum he had built with a list of all his accomplishments. Like some ancient Egyptian pharaoh ordering up the hieroglyphics for his made-to-order pyramid, the senator has room to have inscribed there one final act of public service. “Resignation” would seem to fit rather neatly.
Then there are Republican congressmen John Mica of Florida and Don Young of Alaska. As the McClatchy News Service reported, both stood with their party – good and true, cool conservative men – voting against President Obama’s economic stimulus. So did every other GOP House member. Twice.

But then, eager to ride a gravy train with a popular President at the throttle, each of them had the chutzpah to issue press releases praising aspects of the stimulus package – while never mentioning they’d actually voted “nay.” This was followed by the spectacle of several other Republican House and Senate members who voted against the stimulus going back home during the President’s Day recess and touting the money the bill will provide their constituents.

But the prize of the week – the ever-loving, loving cup – goes to the multitude of Congress members – both Democrats and Republicans – who enjoyed balmy Caribbean breezes and substantial campaign contributions thanks to the largesse of financier Robert Allen Stanford, now accused of bilking investors of some $9 billion and, like W.C. Fields, making a decent living at it.

According to WASHINGTON POST associate editor Robert G. Kaiser, the lobby industry “has helped moneyed interests protect their status and privileges, undermined government regulation of business and turned our elected officials into chronic money-chasers.”
Kaiser, an intrepid, longtime reporter and native Washingtonian has a new book out titled, SO DAMN MUCH MONEY: THE TRIUMPH OF LOBBYING AND THE CORROSION OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. He appeared as a guest on the current edition of BILL MOYERS JOURNAL on public television.

The fix is in, he told my colleague Moyers, eliminating a fair competitive system. We should ask for more transparency, Kaiser suggests. And campaign finance reform would go a long way to making a difference, but he doesn’t think it likely anytime soon.

The “everybody does it” syndrome took over in Washington a long time ago and, in general, an indifferent, cynical public seems unmotivated to do anything about it. “They do not expect Congress to do the right thing,” Kaiser said, “They do not expect high ethical standards. On the contrary.”

So why should the lobbyists and the government stop their profitable roundelay if we fail to do anything to stop the music and fall for the “everybody does it” meme? Do we deserve what we get? The way lobbyists, special interests and politicians regard the citizenry brings to mind another W.C. Fields aphorism, the title of one of his movies: “Never Give a Sucker an Even Break.”

Perhaps this judge thing isn't an isolated incident, and just a sign of a much much greater problem. Private interests merging with the government.

[Sol-Blackguy]

That is not exactly the case. Often times Tax evasion is just the easiest crime to prove before a jury, and the idea is charge them with whatever puts them behind bars

True, but what I mean is that most criminal masterminds that go for years without getting caught usually succumb to tax evasion charges. You're right about it being the easiest thing to put them behind bars, but it's also the tip of the iceberg when it comes to prolonged criminal activity.
If you ever get a chance, catch an episode of Masterminds on A&E and you'll see what I'm talking about. Even the most sophisticated crime rings can be taken down by a simple audit. Kind of ironic if you think about it, you pay off the cops, witnesses, the judge, but you're screwed when you have to explain where all your money is coming from.

Pro Tip: If you're going to be a criminal kingpin, set up a financial front for you activities and itemize for a decent tax break. Investments and CD accounts are good too but in small accounts, though hard to manage will allow you to slide under the radar. The Patriot Act goes both ways.

[Kuya]

IRS unlocks UBS vault hiding Americans evading taxes - USATODAY.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/bu...0tax.html?_r=1

Seems like this was working out real fine for them until now.

Bradley C. Birkenfeld kept all those secrets and more as he discreetly managed the fortunes of American millionaires and billionaires at UBS, the Swiss bank.

But on Thursday, Mr. Birkenfeld broke his silence, and with it the omerta of Swiss banking, in Federal District Court here. He pleaded guilty to a charge of helping an American billionaire, Igor Olenicoff, evade millions of dollars in federal income taxes.

Mr. Birkenfeld’s testimony, the centerpiece of a widening investigation into UBS and its wealthy American clients, blew a hole in the wall of secrecy surrounding the world of Swiss banking. Under pressure from the authorities, UBS has been considering disclosing the names of thousands of its wealthy clients in the United States.

In a seven-page statement to the court, Mr. Birkenfeld, a 43-year-old American, said UBS bankers used a variety of ruses to court American clients and help them dodge taxes. The document reads like a how-to of high-end tax evasion.

UBS advised bankers traveling to the United States to tell airport customs officials that the visit was for pleasure, not business, Mr. Birkenfeld said. The bank urged clients to destroy banking records to conceal their offshore accounts.

Some American clients were told to stash watches, jewelry and artwork that they had bought with money hidden offshore in safe deposit boxes in Switzerland. UBS also encouraged them to use Swiss credit cards so the Internal Revenue Service could not track their purchases, Mr. Birkenfeld said.

It seems like while some of the wealthy think the US government should bail them out, some others just don't think they owe the US anything.

[Woozie]

True, but what I mean is that most criminal masterminds that go for years without getting caught usually succumb to tax evasion charges. You're right about it being the easiest thing to put them behind bars, but it's also the tip of the iceberg when it comes to prolonged criminal activity.
If you ever get a chance, catch an episode of Masterminds on A&E and you'll see what I'm talking about. Even the most sophisticated crime rings can be taken down by a simple audit. Kind of ironic if you think about it, you pay off the cops, witnesses, the judge, but you're screwed when you have to explain where all your money is coming from.

Pro Tip: If you're going to be a criminal kingpin, set up a financial front for you activities and itemize for a decent tax break. Investments and CD accounts are good too but in small accounts, though hard to manage will allow you to slide under the radar. The Patriot Act goes both ways.

Someone on masterminds actually did that once. He payed taxes on all of the money he obtained illegally and claimed it was gambling winnings or something like that.

[gamez]

http://www.furuanimepanikku.com/wp-c...oyale_logo.jpg

[Darus Grey]

Someone on masterminds actually did that once. He payed taxes on all of the money he obtained illegally and claimed it was gambling winnings or something like that.

You don't even need to do that...the IRS can't legally share information with the police(doesn't mean they don't...but it's all inadmissible anyways).

Lying on your taxes is just as bad though. If you really deal 400k of drugs...you can just claim that as the source with no repercussions.

[Sol-Blackguy]

That's what I was telling this ex-con that used to work with me. He was some kind of drug kingpin and got took down by the IRS. I bet if he had my advice, he would have been a more organized Crime Boss... .... .... OH FUCK!!!