Kleptocracy: a government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves.
The New York Times reporter, David Barboza, has identified assets worth $2.7 billion belonging to various members of the family of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, including his 90-year-old mother, a retired schoolteacher named Yang Zhiyun. This woman's extraordinary good fortune happened after her son was elevated to China's ruling elite, first in 1998 as vice prime minister and then five years later as prime minister. Bloomberg reports that "the net worth of the 70 richest delegates in China's National People's Congress . . . rose to 565.8 billion yuan ($89.8 billion) in 2011, a gain of $11.5 billion from 2010." That averages out to more than $1 billion per delegate; the senior party leadership is not included.
Washington Post's Carol Leonnig reports that the former vice president Al Gore's wealth is today estimated at $100 million, up from less than $2 million when he left government service on a salary of $181,400. This financial success did not come from his share of the Nobel Peace Prize. Nor was it from the book and movie proceeds from "An Inconvenient Truth." Instead, as Ms. Leonnig reports, "Fourteen green-tech firms in which Gore invested received or directly benefited from more than $2.5 billion in loans, grants and tax breaks as part of President Obama's historic push to seed a U.S. renewable-energy industry with public money."
This is not entirely fair. There probably is not enough money in those companies to account for his financial success. Gore was also named to the board at Google before its IPO and was rewarded with stock. He was paid with stock for his board membership at Apple as well. (About 2 Million dollars.) He is a highly sought-after speaker. So money came his way through a number of avenues. But not $100 million. $100 million is a lot of money for a simple guy who wanted to be a minister. One source is Gore’s investment company, Generation Investment Management, which sells carbon offset opportunities, and was the largest shareholder of CCX. (CCX called itself “North America’s only cap and trade system for all six greenhouse gases, with global affiliates and projects worldwide.” It closed because of the inactivity of trading, the result of the failure of cap-and-trade legislation in America. They struck while the iron was warming, globally, but then things cooled. With the recent election they may warm again.)
I doubt the Chinese leadership are active bandits. Nor is Gore. But the world is much easier for the political class because of their proximity to our money. And, in a political climate that is so concerned with "fairness," this especially rankles. Gore's positions at Google and Apple were unlikely the result of his technical expertize. A Joint Chief's position in the aircraft industry, the senator who becomes a lobbyist, the legislator who works for a utility--all of these hybrids are the result of influence peddling; ability is a coincidence. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (The STOCK Act) made it illegal for congressmen to trade on inside information. This was passed April 4, 2012; before then it was legal. Congressmen trading on inside information, much of it obtained through their regulatory positions, was legal. Does this happen in the real world? Yes. All the time. Is it fair? No. Things will always come people's way through knowledge of people or processes. (Personally, I've rarely seen it work out well for either side other than politicians.) But being able to invest in a company that you can support with public funds and legislation through your influence is corrupt. If that is harsh it is because the circumstances demand it.
The New York Times reporter, David Barboza, has identified assets worth $2.7 billion belonging to various members of the family of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, including his 90-year-old mother, a retired schoolteacher named Yang Zhiyun. This woman's extraordinary good fortune happened after her son was elevated to China's ruling elite, first in 1998 as vice prime minister and then five years later as prime minister. Bloomberg reports that "the net worth of the 70 richest delegates in China's National People's Congress . . . rose to 565.8 billion yuan ($89.8 billion) in 2011, a gain of $11.5 billion from 2010." That averages out to more than $1 billion per delegate; the senior party leadership is not included.
Washington Post's Carol Leonnig reports that the former vice president Al Gore's wealth is today estimated at $100 million, up from less than $2 million when he left government service on a salary of $181,400. This financial success did not come from his share of the Nobel Peace Prize. Nor was it from the book and movie proceeds from "An Inconvenient Truth." Instead, as Ms. Leonnig reports, "Fourteen green-tech firms in which Gore invested received or directly benefited from more than $2.5 billion in loans, grants and tax breaks as part of President Obama's historic push to seed a U.S. renewable-energy industry with public money."
This is not entirely fair. There probably is not enough money in those companies to account for his financial success. Gore was also named to the board at Google before its IPO and was rewarded with stock. He was paid with stock for his board membership at Apple as well. (About 2 Million dollars.) He is a highly sought-after speaker. So money came his way through a number of avenues. But not $100 million. $100 million is a lot of money for a simple guy who wanted to be a minister. One source is Gore’s investment company, Generation Investment Management, which sells carbon offset opportunities, and was the largest shareholder of CCX. (CCX called itself “North America’s only cap and trade system for all six greenhouse gases, with global affiliates and projects worldwide.” It closed because of the inactivity of trading, the result of the failure of cap-and-trade legislation in America. They struck while the iron was warming, globally, but then things cooled. With the recent election they may warm again.)
I doubt the Chinese leadership are active bandits. Nor is Gore. But the world is much easier for the political class because of their proximity to our money. And, in a political climate that is so concerned with "fairness," this especially rankles. Gore's positions at Google and Apple were unlikely the result of his technical expertize. A Joint Chief's position in the aircraft industry, the senator who becomes a lobbyist, the legislator who works for a utility--all of these hybrids are the result of influence peddling; ability is a coincidence. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (The STOCK Act) made it illegal for congressmen to trade on inside information. This was passed April 4, 2012; before then it was legal. Congressmen trading on inside information, much of it obtained through their regulatory positions, was legal. Does this happen in the real world? Yes. All the time. Is it fair? No. Things will always come people's way through knowledge of people or processes. (Personally, I've rarely seen it work out well for either side other than politicians.) But being able to invest in a company that you can support with public funds and legislation through your influence is corrupt. If that is harsh it is because the circumstances demand it.
No comments:
Post a Comment