Dysfunctional banking sector helps keep Iraq in economic shambles
By ROY GUTMAN
Updated: 2011-12-25T08:08:37Z
To understand the economic shambles that is Iraq, look no further than the banking sector.
What makes the outlook so bleak is that Iraq lacks the banking infrastructure to grow out of this mess and the political will to undertake dramatic economic reform.
"Iraq is a completely destroyed country. Nothing is working. All the sectors are obsolete, and we have to start from minus, not zero," said Ali al-Dabbagh, a minister of state and the official government spokesman.
At the heart of the crisis are two debt-laden, state-owned banks, which are the depository for all government funds. Far from functioning as lending institutions to stimulate the economy, the Rafaidan and Rasheed banks are widely thought to facilitate the corruption that bogs the economy down.
Transparency International, which monitors corporate and political corruption in international development, rates Iraq as the eighth most corrupt country on the planet, tied with Haiti and only slightly less corrupt than Sudan, Afghanistan and North Korea.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/25/3337377/dysfunctional-banking-sector-helps.html#storylink=cpy
Dysfunctional banking sector helps keep America in economic shambles
By BOY POTMAN
Updated: 2011-12-25T08:08:38Z
To understand the economic shambles that is America, look no further than the banking sector.
What makes the outlook so bleak is that America lacks the political will to fix the banking infrastructure that got America into this mess. There is no political will to undertake dramatic economic reform.
"America is a completely destroyed country. Nothing is working. All the sectors are obsolete, and we have to shipped all of our jobs to Asia," said an official government spokesman who did not want his name used for fear of being fired for speaking the truth in America.
At the heart of the crisis are four debt-laden, Wall Street-owned financial institutions which are the depository for all corruption and skimming. Far from functioning as lending institutions to stimulate the economy, the "gang of four" are widely thought to facilitate the corruption that bogs the economy down. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, the Bank of America and Citigroup are distorting the economy and destroying the American homeowner.
Transparency International, which monitors corporate and political corruption in international development, rates Wall Street by itself as the most corrupt place on the planet, outdistancing Haiti and even more corrupt than Sudan, Afghanistan and North Korea.
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