Open Letter to IMF and World Bank EDs: Impending Financial Collapse and IMF's Mandate - Part 2

See Open Letter to IMF and World Bank EDs: Impending Financial Collapse and IMF's Mandate - Part 1

The IMF Mediator, Geetha Ravindra (in addition to the Ethics Committee and Ombudsman) needs to be investigated for her negligence and omission of action, in relation to investigating allegations of abuses of power within the Fund, as well as within the Virginia judicial system—which, from my understanding from victims and activists in the USA, is amongst the most grievous in human rights violations of women and children, as well as its cover-up by regulators, mediators, etc. The fact that Ravindra has been a mediator in the Virginia judicial system, and mediator in family courts, for over 10 years, contrary to being an endorsement of her skills and integrity, is cause for concern, and investigation for malfeasance and criminal negligence. The lawlessness within American courts is highlighted in my blog series The Right to Truth, the Obligation to Protect, and Universal Jurisdiction, pursuant to my ‘court-watch’ for Erin Eddy in Arlington, VA courts, as well as my blog for Maria Jose Carrascosa after her release from illegal imprisonment for 8 years in Bergen, New Jersey In Defense of Maria Jose Carrascosa: Rights Are No Rights Unless Protected and Defended. The elevated level of discrimination and negligence in American courts is also high-lighted in Avena, Mexico vs. USA, (2004, International Court of Justice).

In the same way Ravindra is accessory to the criminal activity, and human rights violations, being covered-up by family court systems, she is accessory to the labor rights violations, and infractions of the law, perpetrated by IMF employees, under US, and international law—and needs to be held accountable, along with the principles, and their accessories. In addition to abuses of power and discrimination in court systems, I have been tracking and documenting the same cover-up of discrimination, and other abuses of power, in court-systems, as well as societies, by Ombudsmen, starting with the former Ombudsman of National Press Radio (NPR), Alicia Sheppard (2010), and the Spanish Defensor del Pueblo (2012-present). The quantity of ‘regulators,’ and those fulfilling oversight functions, who need to be investigated for negligence, malfeasance and cover-ups is extra-ordinary, and of crisis proportions—and why the situation constitutes crimes agains humanity under art.7 of the Roma Statutes. 

Francis Fukuyama proved in his book, State Building, Governance, and World Order in the 21st Century, that good governance is few rules, uniformily applied. However, just like the governments that the IMF has a legal obligation to oversee and regulate, Management in the Fund is actively covering-up the criminal activity of its own employees. Civil servants in finance ministries are turning a blind-eye to problems within banking systems and financial markets in the same way as the IMF is turning a blind-eye to its internal management problems, as well as problems in banking systems and financial markets. Charles Ferguson’s documentary film, Inside Job, as well as Michael Lewis’s book, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, provides an excellent examination of the problems which led to the financial collapse in ’08. As demonstrated in this documentary and book, rampant greed, unethical and often criminal behavior within the financial profession and a total lack of governance by regulators and public authorities, has allowed banking systems to become increasingly speculative and erratic. It is this culture of corruption that the IMF (and World Bank and UN) need to address, and combat, in their ‘capacity building’ efforts—rather than espousing more politically-correct, but empty, rhetoric of policy-makers and ‘experts’ (who are in the pockets of corporate interests and their greed). After the ‘08 financial collapse, and ensuing financial crisis, Dr. Michael Burry (hedge-fund manager who predicted the financial collapse) contacted authorities in the American government, offering to explain how, and why, the markets collapsed. The response of the American government was an investigation of Burry by the FBI and several audits by the IRS. Burry explains the collapse, and failure of regulators to heed warnings that “anyone” could see in his NY Times article, I Saw the Crisis Coming. Why Didn’t the Fed?

…I have often wondered why nobody in Washington showed any interest in hearing exactly how I arrived at my conclusions that the housing bubble would burst when it did and that it could cripple the big financial institutions. A week ago I learned the answer when Al Hunt of Bloomberg Television, who had read Michael Lewis’s book, “The Big Short,” which includes the story of my predictions, asked Mr. Greenspan directly. The former Fed chairman responded that my insights had been a “statistical illusion.” Perhaps, he suggested, I was just a supremely lucky flipper of coins.

Mr. Greenspan said that he sat through innumerable meetings at the Fed with crack economists, and not one of them warned of the problems that were to come. By Mr. Greenspan’s logic, anyone who might have foreseen the housing bubble would have been invited into the ivory tower, so if all those who were there did not hear it, then no one could have said it. 

As a nation, we cannot afford to live with Mr. Greenspan’s way of thinking. The truth is, he should have seen what was coming and offered a sober, apolitical warning. Everyone would have listened; when he talked about the economy, the world hung on every single word. Unfortunately, he did not give good advice…

Capital markets are currently dominated by speculation and rumors—run like casinos—rather than competent analysis of market fundamentals and a dedication by investors to responsible capitalism. What investors, policy-makers, as well as the general-public fail to understand is that the capitalism western societies have lauded for decades, if not centuries, is as ‘corrupt’ as the Eastern bloc communism developed in the USSR and China—and why those societies and political systems broke down, and have been replaced by ‘free market’ systems (which are no more ‘free’ than their western counter-parts). Free-market capitalism is a better economic system than government-directed markets, as demonstrated by the damage done to economies and societies in communist countries in past decades (ie. USSR, Eastern Europe, China, Cuba, Venezuela, etc.)—and why capitalism has managed to survive, until recently. However, contrary to popular belief, capitalist economies of the West are a far-cry from following ‘purist’ Keynesian economics, with an optimal allocation of resources based on supply and demand. Instead, resource allocation in these economies are based on predatory “suppliers,” and destructive and dysfunctional “demanders”—creating chaos, predatory banking systems and business environments, rampant corporate greed, excessive consumerism, and political extremism.

In the past decade, I have found (and demonstrated) time and again in my research and efforts to find funding for Global Expats, that free markets do not exist in the USA and Europe; due to the fact that venture capital is reserved for, and concentrated in the hands of, a small group of irresponsible and predatory “ol’ grey-haired men” and “Game-players” (ie. Donald Trump, Mike Milken, Jeffrey Hilton, de Cabiedes family (Spain), Bernard Tapie, Xavier Giaconti, Emmaunel Macron (France) etc.). On top of a lack of free access to capital for ALL entrepreneurs, problems lie in the fact that the “Game-players” (who have exclusive access to monies in capital markets, including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) financing), are failing to conduct even a minimum of market research in analysis of their ideas and investments. This is why start-up failure rates are at 70-90%, as well as why consumer markets are flooded with an enormous amount of superfluous, and ridiculous, luxury and semi-luxury products and services for ‘urbanites’ and Millennials—while the masses are being exploited by predatory corporate interests and criminally negligent government policies, couple with a failure of the business community to provide the products and services these markets need, and want.

As one capital venurist in Spain avowed in a youtube presentation, investors do not care about the value of the products or services in which they are investing; only how fast they can get ‘in and out’ of the investment, while maximizing their profit margin. In the capital venture world, the first question asked is “what is your exit strategy?” with little concern as to the necessity (or value to society, economies, or the planet-earth) of the actual products and services being produced. Using this strategy, investors occasionally “strike it rich,” but in the process waste enormous resources (financial and human) in unnecessary, unviable, counter-productive and/or unprofitable products and services. The assumption of most economists—that resources are being efficiently and effectively allocated—is extremely erroneous, and de-bunked in George Ackerloff and Robert Shiller’s book Phising for Phools (noting that Ackerloff is married to Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve).

The reason that failure rates for start-ups are at 70-90%, is not only because investors are failing to properly investigate potential investments, but they are also failing to hire managers who understand how to implement progressive and effective personnel management-styles into their respective organizations, and industries. The antiquated management-style that pervades the IMF (and ALL bureaucratic government, and pseudo-government agencies), which is based on bullying, nepotism, and ‘ostrich-playing;’ is highly dysfunctional. Yet, it is being upheld, and even encouraged, by management of these organizations, as well as the HR departments; encouraging back-scratching/back-stabbing and intellectual property theft amongst ‘experts,’ as well as seat-warming and ‘power-games’ amongst support staff—as demonstrated in the case study of bullying in the workplace in the IMF. As I demonstrate in my analysis, it is the dysfunctional management within the Fund, which is translating into a failure of ‘experts’ to see the ‘Bigger Picture’ and why the IMF (along with other regulators) are, once again, failing to ‘foresee’ the upcoming financial collapse, and ensuing Global Depression. 

The failure of ‘public authorities’ to understand the problems and challenges of modern societies, is why ‘democratic’ governments are becoming increasingly extremist and autocratic. Democrats lost the US Presidential election, as well as a majority in Congress, because they are failing to understand the challenges and problems of Middle-America (and the middle-class) and instead cow-towing to special interests of minority groups, led by ‘urbanites’ and Millennials—with monopolistic, Bill Gates, Microsoft, and techy-liberalism leading the way down a highly dysfunctional path. Silicon Valley is not only inundated with high-risk investments, but is also inundated with highly dysfunctional and emotionally unstable people managing those investments, as highlighted in CNN article How Silicon Valley is dealing with mental illness and Forbes article Is Silicon Valley bad for your health?.

Additionally, bankruptcy-building billionaire, US President Trump’s recent interviews with media outlets (see CNN article Donald Trump just gave two incredibly bizarre (and fact-free) interviews) is a perfect example of the extent to which the ‘savvy’ businessmen do not deal with facts or the ‘real world’ or even minimally prepare for any work they do. Kellyanne Conway even coined the phrase “alternative fact” to cover-up the failure of Trump and his Administration and advisors to examine the reality of situations and issues—and instead invent some twisted narcissistic, psychopathic world-view in their arguments. The level of ignorance amongst the ‘important people’ and ‘experts’ in the public and private sectors in the USA and Europe is INCREDIBLE, and of crisis proportions. Additionally, Trump’s recent announcement to pull the USA out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is a perfect example of the narcissistic, short-sightedness of the American government, their business community, and their people in efforts to maintain a privileged position in the world—at the expense, and detriment, of the other 7 billion people who inhabit the planet. The paradigm that the USA in collusion with the IMF, World Bank, UN, etc. is promoting globally is a ‘Rat-Race’ towards excessive consumerism and irresponsible spending that will continue to increase global warming exponentially, and assure the demise of the Planet and its ecological balance. This is why Trump’s Administration is promoting the ‘faulty reality’ that global-warming is a ‘hoax.’