US negotiators in Singapore to unblock TPP negotiations

State Run Companies

Ugh. Sometimes the sniveling bullshit that comes out of my government is just gross. Honestly, it's pretty much all 'Western' governments that do it, not just the US.

The fact they're worried about state run companies undercutting the private sector is just hilariously backwards. Bitching about what other countries are doing with their companies that let's them 'undercut the private sector' isn't any sort of actionable plan. That's just fucking stupid.

A much more useful idea would be for the US to look into why so many of their privately run companies are the most fiscally ineffective companies on Earth. I'm not taking about the regular private sector, I mean the preferred partner private sector which includes aerospace, defense, natural resource/energy and telecoms.

I've been in business for a long time, and while don't know everything, I'm absolutely certain that saying 'we pay 8x over market prices for goods and services and if you don't you're corrupt and destabilizing the global market' is not not the kind of thing that plays well with the citizens of other nations.

What the fuck kind if logic is that? If you don't let your private sector interests rob you blind you're cheating? Corruption makes everything cheaper? I thought corruption made everything more expensive? That's plainly not the case now is it? If corruption makes everything cheaper then taxpayers could get more for th......... Oh. I see.

You were right! Corruption does make everything more expensive. Not being corrupt makes things cheaper. So if you aren't corrupt prices are lower, but if you are corrupt then your prices will be many times higher? That doesn't sound right either, because you're saying the non corrupt entity would offer lower prices but where does that put our companies if we're on the absolute highest rung of extreme costs?

Christ. Foreign diplomats don't get paid enough to deal with us. Maybe they should put in some overtime and get their lack of corruption under control.

There is no harm in trying

We have set it up so that no matter how egregious the assault on the commons, there is simply no penalty for trying. Regardless of how much it would damage the public, this type of thing is 100% upside for the perpetrators. Their worst case scenario is they waste a little money and even that may not be the case as we actually seem to be paying out of pocket for our own civil servants to fly around the world to stab us in the back.

I would like to see us issue a statement that these interests have a narrow amnesty period during which they lay down their arms after which any further noxious behavior will be punished, even if it requires post-facto legislation.

There comes a time when it is legitimate for citizens to seize back control from a corrupt state. We are approaching that time, if we have not reached it already.

I may be naive, but I believe that until they shut down our means to communicate with one another we have a genuine chance to take back control of our government through the simple expedient of fielding candidates intent on setting things right and voting them into office. Sometimes the obvious course is the right one.