Government exists to enrich the rich
Lots of folk think that Bush got most of his personal fortune directly from his father, or from his failed oil businesses. The fact is, however, that much of it came from a scheme to bilk the taxpayers out of their money. Steal from the poor to give to the rich.
Lots of folk also know that he once owned (partially) the Texas Rangers baseball team. This came to be because he and his business partners realized that this money-losing team would be worth a lot more money if it came with a big, new stadium. So he and partners arranged to by the Rangers, and they had more than enough money to build the stadium themselves. But rather than build the stadium, they lobbied for and got a special election held (in January, an odd time for such a referendum) to increase sales tax in the Arlington area. Taxpayers thought this was for the good of their team, and Bush got his tax increase passed.
That money was funneled into building the stadium. The city also enacted eminent domain, so it seized private property all around the stadium site, taking it from private property owners for a fraction of the value of the land. This was added to the deal, so Bush and his partners got a lot more land than the stadium needed. The city then sold the stadium and all this property, under this special arrangement, to Bush and his partners for a small fraction of its value – all of which was paid for by taxpayers or seized from citizens.
This greatly increased the value of the Rangers. Bush and his partners then promptly flipped the team, with all of the taxpayer-financed subsidy turning into massive profit to line their pockets. The local and state government could have done this deal themselves much cheaper, but instead higher taxes enriched the dealers.
Bush personally netted $17M from this deal, about 2/3 of his personal fortune. It all came from taxpayers through this scheme.
Further, Bush’s entire investment in this deal was $600,000 of borrowed money. Therefore, based on his percentage ownership, his proceeds from the sale should have been $2M. However, the partnership was set up to give him the extra $15M as wages for his part in greasing the wheels of the government to make the deal happen.
When he filed his income tax return, he claimed the entire $17M was capital gains, instead of accurately reporting $2M as gains and $15M as salary. That means the $15M was taxed at a lower rate and he paid $3.4M less than he owed. This is, of course, illegal. However, according to the tax code, since he was not officially audited, he was able to get away with it. Friends in high places make sure this swindle was passed over, and there was no audit.
The deal and his connections not only gave him a huge personal fortune from the pockets of taxpayers, but he also counted on his political connections to avoid paying the taxes that he owed.
Now take this basic concept and enlarge it thousands of time, and you'll begin to see the money trail of the war against Iraq.
Lots of folk also know that he once owned (partially) the Texas Rangers baseball team. This came to be because he and his business partners realized that this money-losing team would be worth a lot more money if it came with a big, new stadium. So he and partners arranged to by the Rangers, and they had more than enough money to build the stadium themselves. But rather than build the stadium, they lobbied for and got a special election held (in January, an odd time for such a referendum) to increase sales tax in the Arlington area. Taxpayers thought this was for the good of their team, and Bush got his tax increase passed.
That money was funneled into building the stadium. The city also enacted eminent domain, so it seized private property all around the stadium site, taking it from private property owners for a fraction of the value of the land. This was added to the deal, so Bush and his partners got a lot more land than the stadium needed. The city then sold the stadium and all this property, under this special arrangement, to Bush and his partners for a small fraction of its value – all of which was paid for by taxpayers or seized from citizens.
This greatly increased the value of the Rangers. Bush and his partners then promptly flipped the team, with all of the taxpayer-financed subsidy turning into massive profit to line their pockets. The local and state government could have done this deal themselves much cheaper, but instead higher taxes enriched the dealers.
Bush personally netted $17M from this deal, about 2/3 of his personal fortune. It all came from taxpayers through this scheme.
Further, Bush’s entire investment in this deal was $600,000 of borrowed money. Therefore, based on his percentage ownership, his proceeds from the sale should have been $2M. However, the partnership was set up to give him the extra $15M as wages for his part in greasing the wheels of the government to make the deal happen.
When he filed his income tax return, he claimed the entire $17M was capital gains, instead of accurately reporting $2M as gains and $15M as salary. That means the $15M was taxed at a lower rate and he paid $3.4M less than he owed. This is, of course, illegal. However, according to the tax code, since he was not officially audited, he was able to get away with it. Friends in high places make sure this swindle was passed over, and there was no audit.
The deal and his connections not only gave him a huge personal fortune from the pockets of taxpayers, but he also counted on his political connections to avoid paying the taxes that he owed.
Now take this basic concept and enlarge it thousands of time, and you'll begin to see the money trail of the war against Iraq.
posted by zblog at
9:49 PM
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