Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Sovereign Wealth Messiahs (Tim Swanson)

Tim Swanson writes on the scam of state-controlled funds that steal money from taxpayers, and then gamble it away on risky "investments" such as propping up poorly run big banks, with the taxpayers taking the hit when things go wrong. An excerpt:

While Sovereign Wealth Funds have existed for several decades, it has only been in the last few years that their investment schemes have been investigated and scrutinized. While their portfolios and long-term goals vary, one common trait every state-controlled investment fund shares is that the initial seed money came from the pockets of coerced taxpayers or nationalized resources.

Furthermore, not only are they politically controlled by individuals unduly tempted by outside influence (e.g., bribery), but underneath the euphemism of "investment vehicle" these funds are no different than any other government-managed investment scheme.

Read the rest

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