A rousing account of the 2002 World Social Forum that will inspire activists…
Let's Make Money
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
More than ever before, it has become clear that the markets affect us all. Produced by Erwin Wagenhofer, LET'S MAKE MONEY follows the trail of our money through the worldwide finance system.
What do our retirement savings have to do with the property blow-up in Spain? We don't have to buy a home there in order to be involved. As soon as we open an account, we're part of the worldwide finance market--whether we want to be or not. We customers have no idea where our debtors live and what they do to pay our interest fees. Most of us aren't even interested, because we like to follow the call of the banks to 'Let your money work.'' But money can't work. Only people, animals or machines can work.
The film starts at the Ahafo mine in Ghana, West Africa, where vast areas are being blasted open. Gold is extracted from the rock in a tedious process, then smelted and flown directly to Switzerland. The spoils are divided up proportionally: 3% for Africa, 97% for the West. The mine was opened with the assistance of the World Bank.
'I don't think the investor should be responsible for the ethics, the pollution or anything the company in which he has invested produces. That's not his job. His job is to invest and earn money for his clients.' Mark Mobius, president of Templeton Emerging Markets
'In the end it's always the so-called man or woman on the street who's left paying the bills.' Hermann Scheer, winner of the alternative Nobel Prize and a member of German Parliament
'Let's Make Money exposes the seamy underside of investment where the gain of the rich comes as the expense of everyone else. The film graphically shows the human cost of high finance in the lives of its many victims around the globe. Viewers will come away from the screen determined that investments advance and not impede genuine world development.' John Boatright, Professor of Business Ethics, Loyola University Chicago, Author, Ethics and the Conduct of Business
'An in-depth examination of the global economic and financial system in the age of neo-liberalism. Beautifully filmed...Wagenhofer seeks to illuminate the global economy for those of us who are kept in the dark; and yet suffer the consequences...Shown are the efforts of investors to make money, and with no consideration of ethics, much less the impact on human lives...An excellent film that will get audiences to raise many provocative questions. It's clear that we must join together to change this system...It deserves wide distribution.' Dr. Kim Scipes, Department of Sociology, Purdue University North Central
'Let's Make Money is a dramatic and visual feast depicting the high flyers of global finance that fueled the economic meltdown juxtaposed powerfully with those around the planet who pay the price--the world's poor and struggling middle classes. The film follows the money--our money--as it travels through the global casino of financial markets and reckless speculation. Essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand the roots of the global financial crisis.' Chuck Collins, Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies, co-Author, The Moral Measure of the Economy
'The film presents, quite literally, a factory floor peek into thought processes of executives for growth, emerging markets, and efficiency....Outstanding content...A resounding enterprise. Highly Recommended.' Michael Coffta, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Educational Media Reviews Online
'A disturbing exploration of the 'new' global capitalism...This economic horror film is both shocking and revelatory. Highly recommended.' Video Librarian
'How does money grow? This is the main question Erwin Wagenhofer tries to answer with this movie...This documentary is must-see for everybody willing to be responsible for his actions. It simply opens our eyes.' J. Epstein, The Incomplete News Project
'Through simple, educative words and pictures of overwhelming intensity it explains how the tax haven of Jersey works, why there are 600,000 new houses in Spain not meant for anyone to live in and other details of the worldwide market that have led to our present financial crisis.' Andrea Dittgen, Sight and Sound
'A momentous and chilling work of reportage...that maps and analyzes the contemporary global financial system. Shuttled around the world in private limousines and welcomed to corporate offices atop gleaming towers, we are treated to a litany of explanations by people close to the action, outlining how the financial world works and where it stands...In settings ranging from India to Austria, from Burkina Faso to Washington, D.C., the legacies of decades of relaxed credit, deregulation of markets, and privatization of public facilities are illustrated by concrete examples so bizarre, outsized, and chilling that you'd expect to find them in a science-fiction movie rather than a documentary. The testimonies of economic theorists, proponents of offshore tax havens, and even one 'economic hit man' combine to create a portrait of high stakes and shortsightedness, with war, mass migration, and ecological disaster as only a few of the downsides. Viewed in such volatile economic times as these, this prescient, shocking, shocking, and expertly crafted primer will spark many urgent debates.' Sundance Film Festival Program
'Dissects the philosophies and practices of the neo-liberal system to lay out the direct causes and contributing factors of the ravenous consumption that has led to global economic collapse. What might have seemed merely informative a year ago now takes on the character and significance of an autopsy report. A remarkable degree of access to central players in international finance, economic theory, and government policy...makes for many fascinating insights, particularly in light of the recent seismic shifts in the global economy. Lucid and cogent, with an important environmental undercurrent that runs throughout the film, Let's Make Money serves as a kind of time capsule for a failed economic model.' HotDocs Festival Program
'[A] probing, penetrating and deeply critical look at the economic foundations of neo-liberalism.' AllMovie.com
'The most impressive cinematic work on the issue...crucial, devastating and inspired by rare intelligence in this era of political propaganda, Let's Make Money is a must-see.' DVD Drama
'Let's Make Money gives us much reason not only to lament the current state of affairs but also to work on ways to correct it.' Ken Keuffel, Winston-Salem Journal
Citation
Main credits
Wagenhofer, Erwin (screenwriter)
Wagenhofer, Erwin (film director)
Wagenhofer, Erwin (cinematographer)
Grasser, Helmut (film producer)
Other credits
Editors, Lisa Ganser, Paul M. Sedlacek, Erwin Wagenhofer; music, Helmut Neugebauer.
Distributor subjects
African Studies; Agriculture; Anthropology; Asian Studies; Business Practices; Capitalism; Economics; Environment; Ethics; European Studies; Geography; Global Issues; Globalization; Government; Human Rights; India; International Trade; Labor and Work Issues; Migration and Refugees; Mining; Natural Resources; Neoliberalism; Poverty; Social Justice; SociologyKeywords
WEBVTT
00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:18.000
[sil.]
00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:33.000
[sil.]
00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:30.000
[sil.]
00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:48.000
[sil.]
00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:08.000
[sil.]
00:05:55.000 --> 00:06:03.000
[sil.]
00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:54.999
Yeah. Sure.
00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.999
Hi, my name is Mark Mobius.
00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.999
I am president of Templeton
Emerging Markets.
00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:09.999
We manage the largest Emerging Markets
funds in the world. Uh… We now,
00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:14.999
managing over $50, billion
in emerging market funds.
00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.999
Right. May have people have
called me an investment guru,
00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:24.999
the father emerging markets, the
\"Bald Eagle,\" I combine these names,
00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:29.999
they define uh… but the reality is that uh…
we\'re just investing. We\'re trying our best
00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.999
to do well for our investors
to increase the assets
00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:39.999
we have under management and investments
which will benefit our investors.
00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.999
I see, yeah. Uh… Well, uh… you see,
what we\'re gonna probably tell them is
00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:49.999
that there\'s nothing wrong with
having all these restrictions,
00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:54.999
uh… for another manager, in other words
uh… there are some managers, who uh…
00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:59.999
indexing the portfolio and uh…
00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.999
that those managers would be
best qualified to use for such,
00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:09.999
you know, such, portfolio but
if they put restrictions like
00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:14.999
they\'re not using us in the right way, if
you know what I mean. You know what I mean?
00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:23.000
[sil.]
00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:54.999
We are here in Singapore.
00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:59.999
We pay a very low tax.
00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.999
Why? Because the Singapore government
wants to attract people like us,
00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:09.999
money managers, investment managers to the city.
Because they want to become a financial center,
00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:14.999
global financial center, so we
are able to pay very little tax
00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:19.999
and in some cases no tax at all.
And of course,
00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:21.000
our employees pay taxes and
when we\'re (inaudible)
00:09:21.001 --> 00:09:24.999
uh… we are hiring people to come in.
00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:29.999
So, indirectly the government benefits from people
who are working here and paying taxes on their
00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:34.999
individual incomes. Globalization
has a very bad connotation,
00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.999
but actually globalization
has proven to be very good,
00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.999
for all countries around the world,
because, it lowers the total cost of goods
00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:49.999
and services. If you have a
competitive market on a global basis,
00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.999
it lowest cost for everyone and
keeps inflation under control.
00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:59.999
So we think that this globalization
trend is generally very, very good,
00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.999
and of course, in our field, we are
now investing in emerging markets
00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.999
and we are helping the pensions in the
west, in the developed countries,
00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:14.999
because we\'re earning money in the
emerging markets and moving it back
00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.999
to the west, it\'s quite
possible that your pension fund
00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.999
is invested in one of our
funds because pension manages
00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:29.999
also want to have a diversity of
opportunities around the world.
00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:35.000
[sil.]
00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:48.000
[sil.]
00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:13.000
[non-English narration]
00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:28.000
[sil.]
00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:13.000
[sil.]
00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:45.000
[sil.]
00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:13.000
[sil.]
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.999
My name is Sujatha Raaju. I have completed
commerce studies from the Madras University.
00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:29.999
We are here in Chennai, one of
the biggest cities in India.
00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.999
It was formally known as Madras.
It is populated
00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:39.999
with 8 million people. One third of
the population lead a life like this.
00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.999
That is, they live on the
banks of the rivers.
00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:49.999
Some of them live even a much poorer
life, living on the pavements.
00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:58.000
[sil.]
00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:43.000
[sil.]
00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:18.000
[sil.]
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.999
[sil.]
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:38.000
Fortunately not, up to now.
00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.999
I try to take into account our
00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:50.000
employees\' social situation.
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:58.000
[sil.]
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:03.999
Just a think, that\'s (inaudible)
00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:05.000
.
00:19:05.001 --> 00:19:09.999
This is the best. This is the best, because we do not have move
the factory. Exactly! May have all the infrastructure, we can…
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:15.000
All infrastructure including canteen…
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
Not cheap anymore. No, it\'s not cheap anymore. No, it\'s not cheap…
We… we should buy it. Thinking, they are not given… We should buy,
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.999
we should buy as quickly
because it will be (inaudible)
00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:35.000
more expensive later on.
00:19:35.001 --> 00:19:38.999
It\'s true. The point is that since we he knows that we\'re
showing interest, by the time immediately… (inaudible)
00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:40.000
.
00:19:40.001 --> 00:19:44.999
Okay, by then, you, where you can tell him, we have the option to go
elsewhere. Okay. We\'ll call them and… Then… I mean, it\'s all bargaining.
00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
You have the option to go elsewhere.
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
[sil.]
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
Indians pay their taxes. Taxes
are collected by the government
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
in form of sales tax, revenue
tax, water tax, electricity tax,
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
property tax and so many other taxes,
that are collected by the government.
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
But this revenue is given to foreign
investors in the form of grants.
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
And the government lacks the money to take
care of the social welfare of the people.
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:28.000
[sil.]
00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
I don\'t know what these
guys are telling them.
00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
Uh… I think maybe as who would
be the person to talk them?
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
No, I mean, uh…
00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
on their side. I don\'t think an investor
should be responsible for ethics
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
or the pollution or whatever of the company
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
which is invested. And what? That
not his job, his job to invest
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
and make money for his clients. Yeah.
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
Shall we give him a ring, you think? When we talk about
emerging markets, we\'re really talking about growth.
00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
Growth is what we\'re all about.
That\'s the reason why we
00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
got into emerging markets in the first place. And
it\'s panned out just like we expected 20 years ago.
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
When the eye of sea saw that the
use of the word emerging markets.
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
It was called under developed countries,
00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
the poor, the world, the south,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
Then someone, he had the bright idea of going
into an emerging markets started really nice,
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:10.000
uh… and, you know fast growing and, of
course, that\'s exactly what happens.
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
Flourishing economic growth has nothing
to do with the people or the society.
00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
Economic growth is only for the politician,
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
for the investor and for the
middleman who plays between them.
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
10 years ago, in a middle class
family, if the income of the family
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
was around 10000, they were able to
save at least 2000 to 3000 rupees.
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
But those days are gone. Today,
even if they earn 20000,
00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
they are not able to save a single penny.
There is a lot of foreign culture
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
inside India and people are
getting accustomed to it,
00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
following all the ways to imitate the Western
culture. But poverty has not been eradicated.
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
There are still poor people.
This can be eradicated only,
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
if there is a good
political system in India.
00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:58.000
[sil.]
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:43.000
[sil.]
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
There was a famous saying that
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
the best time to eye when
this blood on streets
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
and I add to the saying is
that even if it\'s your own
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
because uh… usually when
there\'s born revolution
00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
and political problems, economic
problem, prices of stocks go down
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
and those people that born at the
bottom, uh… made a lot of money.
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:28.000
[sil.]
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:08.000
[sil.]
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:58.000
[non-English narration]
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:38.000
[sil.]
00:29:55.000 --> 00:30:00.000
[sil.]
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
The city of London
00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
is the financial quarter of London. It
holds the largest accumulation of banks
00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
anywhere in the world. And since the 1980s,
00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
it has purposely gone out of its way
to attract banks from all continents.
00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
In the 1970s, the British government facing
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
a crisis of its manufacturing
industry that set out to make
00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
the city of London the preeminent
financial center. And it did this
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
by drastically deregulating
00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
all the controls over uh… the banks
00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
and the major financial houses
that operate here. It allowed
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
the banks to lend credit in
a very relaxed sort of way.
00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
It deregulated financial
services generally.
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
More importantly, it allowed the banks
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
to move many of their operations off
shore to financial centers like Jersey,
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
Guernsey, The Isle of Man, and even
further of the field in the Caribbean,
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
Cayman and the British Virgin Islands.
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
The purpose of this was to allow
British banks to attract capital
00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
from all over the world into the
city, and keep the city of London
00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
access to cheap capital.
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
[sil.]
00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
The Washington Consensus
goes back to the 1970s,
00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
when the International Monetary Fund and
the World Bank set out on this project
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
with four key strands of thinking.
00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
Strand number one was to deregulate
financial markets around the world,
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
in other words to allow capital to move
freely from one country to another.
00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
The second part was to liberalize
trade flows. In other words
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
to break down the trade barriers that
have been put in place very carefully
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
over many decades by developing countries
to protect their own industries.
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
The third strand was to break,
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
completely break the hold of the states to
reduce the ability of the states to intervene,
00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
in other words, bring down tax revenues
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
so the states could not intervene
to protect their citizens.
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
And the fourth strand was to require
states to privatize their industries.
00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
And by a large that was done in such a way as to
ensure that as the industries were privatized,
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
it was sold at below their real
value to external investors.
00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
These are the four strands
of political pressure
00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
coming from the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank which people call \"Neo liberalism.\"
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:23.000
[sil.]
00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:38.000
[sil.]
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:58.000
[sil.]
00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:05.000
[sil.]
00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:23.000
[sil.]
00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:08.000
[]
00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:18.000
[sil.]
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:33.000
Try to understand us.
00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
We beg you. You see how tiring the work is.
00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:10.000
If we managed to pay back our
loans, we would be glad.
00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:08.000
[sil.]
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:43.000
[sil.]
00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:53.000
[sil.]
00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:18.000
[sil.]
00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:23.000
[sil.]
00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:28.000
[music]
00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:53.000
[music]
00:49:55.000 --> 00:50:03.000
[sil.]
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:23.000
[sil.]
00:50:55.000 --> 00:51:00.000
[sil.]
00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:33.000
[sil.]
00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:30.000
[sil.]
00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:53.000
[sil.]
00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:48.000
[sil.]
00:55:55.000 --> 00:56:03.000
[sil.]
00:56:05.000 --> 00:56:09.999
The picture that people normally
00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:14.999
pank(ph) of a homeless person being
an old, drunk alcoholic of something,
00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:19.999
is something not true. We have people come
into the shelter from domestic violence.
00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:24.999
Houses are burn down, then
poor of a catastrophe
00:56:25.000 --> 00:56:29.999
such as Katrina and then become homeless.
We have people who have PhDs,
00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:34.999
Master\'s degrees and everything else.
People who were lawyers,
00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:39.999
formally doctors that sometime when went wrong in
their lives and they wind up homeless. But overall,
00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:44.999
most of our clients come
from the D.C. area.
00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:49.999
3 south attention! Ladies on the floor.
There are ladies on the floor.
00:56:50.000 --> 00:56:54.999
Gentlemen, dress accordingly.
There are ladies on the floor.
00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:59.999
Ladies on the floor, ladies on the floor.
Please dress appropriately.
00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:04.999
Ladies on the floor, gentlemen. Please close the
bathroom doors and dress appropriately, please.
00:57:05.000 --> 00:57:13.000
[sil.]
00:57:45.000 --> 00:57:49.999
Many of them man, older man many of them have
retired, have some type of benefits come in,
00:57:50.000 --> 00:57:54.999
but they don\'t make enough money to live
anywhere. Because the price of living
00:57:55.000 --> 00:57:59.999
in the district is sky rocket it so high, some
people simply cannot afford the apartments
00:58:00.000 --> 00:58:04.999
and houses that they have out here.
00:58:05.000 --> 00:58:09.999
[sil.]
00:58:10.000 --> 00:58:14.999
This organization has been running off
00:58:15.000 --> 00:58:19.999
to donations from the average citizen.
I see the checks
00:58:20.000 --> 00:58:24.999
they come and we didn\'t get
one from the World Bank.
00:58:25.000 --> 00:58:33.000
[sil.]
00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:37.999
You can see the (inaudible)
00:58:38.000 --> 00:58:39.000
side, (inaudible)
00:58:39.000 --> 00:58:40.000
White House with
00:58:40.001 --> 00:58:44.999
all the barricades and
security they have there.
00:58:45.000 --> 00:58:49.999
And, about uh… block up the street,
00:58:50.000 --> 00:58:54.999
we have the World Bank coming up.
And this is where
00:58:55.000 --> 00:58:59.999
I guess they deal with all foreign
countries and money exchange there,
00:59:00.000 --> 00:59:01.000
I…(inaudible)
00:59:01.001 --> 00:59:04.999
. But I really don\'t have the slightest
idea what actually goes on in there.
00:59:05.000 --> 00:59:09.999
And this is the World Bank.
00:59:10.000 --> 00:59:14.999
[sil.]
00:59:15.000 --> 00:59:16.000
I wanna (inaudible)
00:59:16.000 --> 00:59:17.000
, I don\'t wanna (inaudible)
00:59:17.001 --> 00:59:19.999
, I just wanna little…
00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:24.999
[sil.]
00:59:25.000 --> 00:59:29.999
I think is important for all of us to realize that
the World Bank is really a United States Bank.
00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:34.999
And many countries contribute to
the World Bank. Germany, Austria,
00:59:35.000 --> 00:59:39.999
many European countries contribute to the
bank. And there are stockholders in the bank,
00:59:40.000 --> 00:59:45.000
they\'re theoretically owners in the World Bank. The fact
of the matter is the United States controls the bank.
00:59:50.000 --> 00:59:54.999
[sil.]
00:59:55.000 --> 00:59:59.999
I\'m John Perkins, I am a U.S. citizen,
01:00:00.000 --> 01:00:04.999
born in the United States raised in the
United States, I\'m a former economic hit man.
01:00:05.000 --> 01:00:09.999
We work very much like some
of the hit man for the mafia,
01:00:10.000 --> 01:00:14.999
because we\'re looking for a favor later. And
then, Mafia people have done this and gangsters
01:00:15.000 --> 01:00:19.999
have done this for, for ages. We just do
it on a very large level with governments,
01:00:20.000 --> 01:00:24.999
with countries, huge level. And
we\'re much more professional.
01:00:25.000 --> 01:00:29.999
We do this in many ways but
perhaps the most common
01:00:30.000 --> 01:00:34.999
is that economic hit man will identify
a country that has resources,
01:00:35.000 --> 01:00:39.999
our corporations covered like oil
and then we arrange a huge loan
01:00:40.000 --> 01:00:44.999
to that country from the World Bank
or one of its sister organizations.
01:00:45.000 --> 01:00:49.999
But the money never actually goes to the
country, instead it goes to our own corporations
01:00:50.000 --> 01:00:54.999
to build big infrastructure
projects in that country.
01:00:55.000 --> 01:00:59.999
Things that benefit a few very
rich people in that country
01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:04.999
as well as our own co operations, but
don\'t help the majority of the people
01:01:05.000 --> 01:01:09.999
who are too poor, but these people,
01:01:10.000 --> 01:01:14.999
the poor people are left hold a huge debt, and
it\'s so huge that they can\'t possibly repay it.
01:01:15.000 --> 01:01:19.999
But in the process of trying to repay it, they
create a situation where they can\'t afford
01:01:20.000 --> 01:01:24.999
to have good health programs
or educational programs.
01:01:25.000 --> 01:01:29.999
So we cannot make hit man go back in and
we say, \"Listen, give us a lot of money,
01:01:30.000 --> 01:01:34.999
you can\'t pay your debts.\"
So give us a pound of flesh,
01:01:35.000 --> 01:01:39.999
sell your oil real cheap to our oil companies or vote
with us on the next critically United Nations vote,
01:01:40.000 --> 01:01:44.999
send troops in support of our system
place in the world like Iraq,
01:01:45.000 --> 01:01:49.999
and in that way we\'ve really
managed to create this empire.
01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:54.999
Because the fact of the
matter is we write the laws,
01:01:55.000 --> 01:01:59.999
we control the World Bank, we
control the I.M.F., we even control
01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:04.999
the United Nations to a large degree and so we write the
law, so the things economic hit men are not illegal,
01:02:05.000 --> 01:02:09.999
putting countries in huge debt and
then demanding favors in return,
01:02:10.000 --> 01:02:14.999
that\'s not illegal, it should be it isn\'t.
01:02:15.000 --> 01:02:23.000
[sil.]
01:02:30.000 --> 01:02:34.999
For one of the characteristics of an empire
is that it\'s in force as its currency
01:02:35.000 --> 01:02:39.999
on the rest of the world. And we\'ve
really done that with the dollar.
01:02:40.000 --> 01:02:44.999
So in 1971, uh… the e United States
01:02:45.000 --> 01:02:49.999
had a tremendous amount of debt and a lot
of this was a result of the Vietnam War.
01:02:50.000 --> 01:02:54.999
And we were on the gold standard and so, some of these
other countries decided to call in their debts in gold
01:02:55.000 --> 01:02:59.999
because they didn\'t trust the dollar.
Nixon refused to pay in gold,
01:03:00.000 --> 01:03:04.999
in fact, took us off the gold standard because he knew
he couldn\'t pay in gold, we didn\'t have the value.
01:03:05.000 --> 01:03:09.999
And so, very quickly after that
we went on the oil standard
01:03:10.000 --> 01:03:14.999
and I was a large part of that deal
that we struck with Saudi Arabia,
01:03:15.000 --> 01:03:19.999
insisting that OPEC only sell oil in
dollars. And so, suddenly the dollar moves
01:03:20.000 --> 01:03:24.999
from the gold standard to the oil standard which
in many respects is a much more important standard
01:03:25.000 --> 01:03:29.999
because oil is intrinsically more valuable than
gold in this day and age. And so, suddenly
01:03:30.000 --> 01:03:34.999
uh… the world can only buy oil for dollars and
the dollars a very, very important currency.
01:03:35.000 --> 01:03:39.999
Today, the United States once
again is a bankrupt uh… country.
01:03:40.000 --> 01:03:44.999
We have huge amounts of debt and more debt than any
countries ever had in the history of the world before
01:03:45.000 --> 01:03:49.999
and, uh… if some other country
to call that dead end
01:03:50.000 --> 01:03:54.999
in a currency other than the dollar,
we\'d be in very, very serious trouble.
01:03:55.000 --> 01:03:59.999
Right now, they\'re only calling in and
dollars because oil is the big commodity
01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:04.999
and you can only buy oil in
dollars but Saddam Hussein
01:04:05.000 --> 01:04:09.999
threatened to, to sell oil for something other
than dollars, just before he was taken down.
01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:18.000
[sil.]
01:04:40.000 --> 01:04:44.999
Sometimes we can only hit man fail
01:04:45.000 --> 01:04:49.999
to corrupt leaders of other countries
as I found with Omar Torrijos in Panama
01:04:50.000 --> 01:04:54.999
and Jaime Roldós(ph) in Ecuador. It
doesn\'t often happen but when it does
01:04:55.000 --> 01:04:59.999
then the jackals are sent in.
And these are people who
01:05:00.000 --> 01:05:04.999
overthrow governments or assassinate their leaders.
So when I failed with Jaime Roldós in Ecuador
01:05:05.000 --> 01:05:09.999
and Omar Torrijos in Panama, the
jackals went in and assassinated them.
01:05:10.000 --> 01:05:14.999
On the few occasions when neither the
economic hit man nor the jackals
01:05:15.000 --> 01:05:19.999
are successful then and only
then do we send in the military
01:05:20.000 --> 01:05:24.999
and this is because it is exactly
what happened in, in Iraq
01:05:25.000 --> 01:05:29.999
and economic hit men could not corrupt said couldn\'t corrupt Saddam
Hussein. could not bring him around, the jackals couldn\'t take him out
01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:34.999
and so the military was sent in. The first
time we sent the military and in 1991,
01:05:35.000 --> 01:05:39.999
uh… we destroyed his military and figured
that he had been sufficiently chastised
01:05:40.000 --> 01:05:44.999
that now he would come around, and so
during the 90s the economic hit men
01:05:45.000 --> 01:05:49.999
went back in to try to bring Saddam
Hussein around, but he wouldn\'t give in.
01:05:50.000 --> 01:05:54.999
If he had, he\'d still be running the country and we\'d be
selling him jets and tanks and everything else he wanted.
01:05:55.000 --> 01:05:59.999
But he didn\'t give in, the jackals couldn\'t
assassinate him. His security forces were very good
01:06:00.000 --> 01:06:04.999
and he had a lot of look-alike double, so his own security
men didn\'t know whether they were guarding him or a double.
01:06:05.000 --> 01:06:09.999
So neither the economic hit
man nor the jackal succeeded
01:06:10.000 --> 01:06:14.999
the second time with Saddam Hussein and at
that point, we sent in the military again
01:06:15.000 --> 01:06:19.999
and this time we took him out
and the rest is history.
01:06:20.000 --> 01:06:28.000
[sil.]
01:06:40.000 --> 01:06:48.000
[sil.]
01:08:30.000 --> 01:08:35.000
[sil.]
01:10:30.000 --> 01:10:35.000
[sil.]
01:11:05.000 --> 01:11:13.000
[sil.]
01:11:50.000 --> 01:11:58.000
[sil.]
01:13:10.000 --> 01:13:18.000
[sil.]
01:13:45.000 --> 01:13:53.000
[sil.]
01:15:20.000 --> 01:15:24.999
[sil.]
01:15:25.000 --> 01:15:29.999
Imagine a city, a city
design from the beginning.
01:15:30.000 --> 01:15:31.000
A city design for (inaudible)
01:15:31.001 --> 01:15:34.999
, city design not to be changing
the next 50 years. Imagine a place
01:15:35.000 --> 01:15:39.999
where one 124,000 apartments
could live with one million
01:15:40.000 --> 01:15:41.999
(inaudible)
01:15:42.000 --> 01:15:44.999
villas not together but very close.
Imagine an 85000 square meters lake
01:15:45.000 --> 01:15:49.999
including 75,000 square meters of
commercial design on market style,
01:15:50.000 --> 01:15:54.999
big enough to get lost during
minimum two-three days,
01:15:55.000 --> 01:15:59.999
but not a classic city.
Uh… The city we grow
01:16:00.000 --> 01:16:04.999
not around the church as
normally they used to do.
01:16:05.000 --> 01:16:09.999
Uh… They will not grow in several
centuries. They will grow in few years.
01:16:10.000 --> 01:16:14.999
They will grow from uh… basic and
very high design, previously uh…
01:16:15.000 --> 01:16:19.999
previously thought that these optimized
from the begging to be the biggest
01:16:20.000 --> 01:16:24.999
and the more luxuriate resort in Europe.
01:16:25.000 --> 01:16:33.000
[music]
01:17:55.000 --> 01:18:03.000
[music]
01:18:45.000 --> 01:18:53.000
[music]
01:20:10.000 --> 01:20:18.000
[music]
01:21:10.000 --> 01:21:18.000
[sil.]
01:21:35.000 --> 01:21:39.999
We could raise prices 35% in a year.
01:21:40.000 --> 01:21:44.999
And is very easy uh… when you tell you
why because we could, because we can.
01:21:45.000 --> 01:21:53.000
[sil.]
01:22:15.000 --> 01:22:23.000
[sil.]
01:22:45.000 --> 01:22:50.000
[sil.]
01:23:05.000 --> 01:23:10.000
[sil.]
01:23:30.000 --> 01:23:35.000
[sil.]
01:24:25.000 --> 01:24:33.000
[non-English narration]
01:27:00.000 --> 01:27:08.000
[sil.]
01:28:20.000 --> 01:28:28.000
[music]
01:29:55.000 --> 01:30:03.000
[music]
01:30:20.000 --> 01:30:21.000
(inaudible)
01:30:21.001 --> 01:30:24.999
Island to Jersey Airport.
Please remain seated,
01:30:25.000 --> 01:30:29.999
put your seat belts fastened till the aircraft comes to
a complete stop and the seatbelts sign is switched off.
01:30:30.000 --> 01:30:31.999
Please be careful while leaving
your seats (inaudible)
01:30:32.000 --> 01:30:34.999
.
01:30:35.000 --> 01:30:39.999
This is St. Helier. St. Helier
is the capital of Jersey
01:30:40.000 --> 01:30:44.999
and the largest town on the island.
01:30:45.000 --> 01:30:49.999
Although, the island itself very small.
On the right here,
01:30:50.000 --> 01:30:54.999
we see the buildings of the
royal court of Jersey.
01:30:55.000 --> 01:30:59.999
The buildings act both as the seat of
government and as the seat of justice
01:31:00.000 --> 01:31:04.999
for major criminal cases.
01:31:05.000 --> 01:31:09.999
We\'re approaching now some
of the new Headquarters
01:31:10.000 --> 01:31:14.999
of legal firms. Although, Jersey,
01:31:15.000 --> 01:31:19.999
may be regarded as the financial race,
01:31:20.000 --> 01:31:21.999
it\'s (inaudible)
01:31:22.000 --> 01:31:24.999
that financial support,
you need legal advice,
01:31:25.000 --> 01:31:29.999
many of the warehouses have now been
converted into modern banks and offices.
01:31:30.000 --> 01:31:34.999
So that we will have overall,
a complete financial center
01:31:35.000 --> 01:31:39.999
in this new St. Helier. These
all we have over there,
01:31:40.000 --> 01:31:44.999
the headquarters of Credit Suisse as well as
European banks, we have some American banks
01:31:45.000 --> 01:31:49.999
such as Citi Group, who also have a presence
in Jersey. So that is Scottish Bank
01:31:50.000 --> 01:31:54.999
but alongside there we have one
further away the Bank of India.
01:31:55.000 --> 01:31:59.999
So, it show, we not only European and American banks,
but we are looking elsewhere around the world as well.
01:32:00.000 --> 01:32:04.999
This is the offices of Deutsche Bank,
one of the many European banks
01:32:05.000 --> 01:32:09.999
that we have in the island. Deutsche bank like
others have come to the Island because they are
01:32:10.000 --> 01:32:11.000
impressed by the (inaudible)
01:32:11.001 --> 01:32:14.999
we can offer.
01:32:15.000 --> 01:32:19.999
I\'m Terry Le Sueur, the Deputy Chief
Minister, the Island of Jersey,
01:32:20.000 --> 01:32:24.999
and also the Minister for treasury
and resources. For many years,
01:32:25.000 --> 01:32:26.999
Jersey has been known for its
Jersey cow, which has (inaudible)
01:32:27.000 --> 01:32:29.999
, we were very much
01:32:30.000 --> 01:32:34.999
a rural community living on
agriculture and tourism.
01:32:35.000 --> 01:32:39.999
But in the last 50 years, there\'s been a
growth in the financial services industry
01:32:40.000 --> 01:32:44.999
and this came about when someone saw the
opportunity for lending money in Jersey,
01:32:45.000 --> 01:32:49.999
uh… in a way which could be beneficial
01:32:50.000 --> 01:32:54.999
to the rest of the world.
01:32:55.000 --> 01:33:03.000
[sil.]
01:33:05.000 --> 01:33:06.000
(inaudible)
01:33:06.001 --> 01:33:09.999
you can see the Tax Haven
Island of Guernsey,
01:33:10.000 --> 01:33:14.999
on the horizon there. The next island
along is the island of Brecqhou, Herm,
01:33:15.000 --> 01:33:19.999
and then the Island of Sark, which
is also a Tax Haven. And then,
01:33:20.000 --> 01:33:24.999
looking to the east, we have the Island of
Jersey. Which is the island which I came from,
01:33:25.000 --> 01:33:29.999
where I grew up, and when I returned in
1986 to work in the financial center,
01:33:30.000 --> 01:33:34.999
and later to become an economic
advisor to the government here.
01:33:35.000 --> 01:33:39.999
[sil.]
01:33:40.000 --> 01:33:44.999
Jersey currently according
to American estimates
01:33:45.000 --> 01:33:49.999
has something of the order of
$500 billion of personal wealth.
01:33:50.000 --> 01:33:54.999
Now held in banks on the island, uh…
01:33:55.000 --> 01:33:59.999
coming from outside the island and
existing here on deposit accounts
01:34:00.000 --> 01:34:04.999
which are no more than electronic accounts
because the money doesn\'t actually come
01:34:05.000 --> 01:34:09.999
to Jersey at all. It comes through Jersey and then
on into the major financial centers of the world,
01:34:10.000 --> 01:34:14.999
particularly going to what was London.
01:34:15.000 --> 01:34:19.999
What\'s Jersey\'s role in this? Jersey acts
01:34:20.000 --> 01:34:24.999
as what we call a secrecy jurisdiction,
what it does is it provides
01:34:25.000 --> 01:34:29.999
through offshore trusts
and offshore companies
01:34:30.000 --> 01:34:34.999
the ability for people from outside the islands
particularly from Europe but also Africa,
01:34:35.000 --> 01:34:39.999
Latin America and Asia to move their
assets into the world\'s financial markets
01:34:40.000 --> 01:34:44.999
and to hide them, that
is hide the ownership.
01:34:45.000 --> 01:34:49.999
And the ownership is hidden
through the offshore trusts
01:34:50.000 --> 01:34:54.999
and this is one of things the jersey
specializes in trusts are legal entities,
01:34:55.000 --> 01:34:59.999
established in the jurisdiction
like Jersey where the person
01:35:00.000 --> 01:35:04.999
who creates the trust and who
benefits from this trust,
01:35:05.000 --> 01:35:09.999
does not need to disclose their identity at all. In fact,
the only information that is disclosed about trusts
01:35:10.000 --> 01:35:14.999
in most cases is the name of the
trust, and sometimes the lawyers
01:35:15.000 --> 01:35:19.999
who create the trusts. But the real people
behind the trusts are not disclosed
01:35:20.000 --> 01:35:24.999
to anybody at all. And this makes
Jersey her perfect place for
01:35:25.000 --> 01:35:29.999
people who want to hide money.
01:35:30.000 --> 01:35:34.999
[sil.]
01:35:35.000 --> 01:35:39.999
A typical structure for tax
avoidance or tax evasion
01:35:40.000 --> 01:35:44.999
would involve setting up a trust here in Jersey.
The trust would own a company in Luxembourg.
01:35:45.000 --> 01:35:49.999
The company in Luxembourg
would operate a bank account
01:35:50.000 --> 01:35:54.999
which might be in Cayman or it might be in Switzerland
or it might be in London. The point is you have three
01:35:55.000 --> 01:35:59.999
different jurisdictions. The idea is
01:36:00.000 --> 01:36:04.999
to mix and match different jurisdictions
in order to maximize the secrecy
01:36:05.000 --> 01:36:09.999
in order to prevent investigation.
01:36:10.000 --> 01:36:14.999
Is quite simply impossible to discover
01:36:15.000 --> 01:36:19.999
who is behind this trust.
01:36:20.000 --> 01:36:24.999
Who really owns this company? Who
really operates this bank account?
01:36:25.000 --> 01:36:29.999
Now this raises very profound issues
01:36:30.000 --> 01:36:34.999
for contemporary capitalism but isn\'t
the vast majority of global trade
01:36:35.000 --> 01:36:39.999
now goes through tax havens and
the vast majority of that trade
01:36:40.000 --> 01:36:44.999
is passing through these tax
havens not in a physical form,
01:36:45.000 --> 01:36:49.999
but on paper, only on paper.
01:36:50.000 --> 01:36:54.999
And the purpose of this trade going
through tax havens like Jersey
01:36:55.000 --> 01:36:59.999
is to shift capital out of the country
where wealth is being produced
01:37:00.000 --> 01:37:04.999
into the tax havens.
01:37:05.000 --> 01:37:09.999
Jersey does not tax companies uh…
which have no presence in Jersey
01:37:10.000 --> 01:37:14.999
and all we do is provide services
to these companies as indeed to
01:37:15.000 --> 01:37:19.999
many other financial jurisdictions but
Jersey has perhaps more expertise
01:37:20.000 --> 01:37:24.999
and better regulation than most and is built up a
very good reputation for international services,
01:37:25.000 --> 01:37:29.999
and we have a situation now, where
Jersey can hold its head up
01:37:30.000 --> 01:37:34.999
and compete with international center like
Switzerland and Luxembourg and say that we are
01:37:35.000 --> 01:37:39.999
as good or better than they are and we can
provide anything that these people can
01:37:40.000 --> 01:37:44.999
get as well or better.
01:37:45.000 --> 01:37:53.000
[sil.]
01:39:00.000 --> 01:39:04.999
[sil.]
01:39:05.000 --> 01:39:09.999
For the majority of developing countries,
these tax havens are in fact, a catastrophe.
01:39:10.000 --> 01:39:14.999
The reason they\'re catastrophe is because
they enable massive capital flight
01:39:15.000 --> 01:39:19.999
out of developing countries to tax havens. And
in many cases that capital never returns.
01:39:20.000 --> 01:39:24.999
I just to make is that for every dollar
01:39:25.000 --> 01:39:29.999
of aid that flows into Africa at least $10
01:39:30.000 --> 01:39:34.999
flows out under the table.
01:39:35.000 --> 01:39:39.999
One of the things that I found most peculiar
about working in the financial services industry
01:39:40.000 --> 01:39:44.999
was the culture of the workers themselves.
01:39:45.000 --> 01:39:49.999
Many of them are very intelligent people,
indeed, lawyers, accountants, bankers,
01:39:50.000 --> 01:39:54.999
highly trained through universities,
very privileged people. By a large,
01:39:55.000 --> 01:39:59.999
they hate the jobs, the job
are boring, repetitive,
01:40:00.000 --> 01:40:04.999
stupid, but the money is fantastic.
They know
01:40:05.000 --> 01:40:09.999
that the work they do is without worse.
01:40:10.000 --> 01:40:14.999
They don\'t create value in any
economic sense of that term.
01:40:15.000 --> 01:40:19.999
What they do is allow capital
01:40:20.000 --> 01:40:24.999
which is being created in one country to
be accumulated in a different country,
01:40:25.000 --> 01:40:29.999
where it will become concentrated
in the hands of a very small elite
01:40:30.000 --> 01:40:34.999
of the world\'s population. Maybe
no larger than 3% possibly,
01:40:35.000 --> 01:40:39.999
even smaller.
01:40:40.000 --> 01:40:44.999
[sil.]
01:40:45.000 --> 01:40:49.999
It\'s estimated that currently a
$11.5 trillion of private wealth
01:40:50.000 --> 01:40:54.999
is held off shore, managed from offshore
01:40:55.000 --> 01:40:59.999
and avoids tax from offshore. What
does $11.5 trillion look like?
01:41:00.000 --> 01:41:04.999
But to give you some idea
of how big that figure is.
01:41:05.000 --> 01:41:09.999
If that wealth? Was earning
quite a modest rate of return,
01:41:10.000 --> 01:41:14.999
let\'s say 7% and if that income
01:41:15.000 --> 01:41:19.999
was taxed at a very modest rate of
30%, the governments of the world
01:41:20.000 --> 01:41:24.999
would have an additional $250
billion of revenue every year.
01:41:25.000 --> 01:41:29.999
Which they could spend
on alleviating poverty
01:41:30.000 --> 01:41:34.999
and achieving the United
Nations millennium goals.
01:41:35.000 --> 01:41:43.000
[music]
01:42:00.000 --> 01:42:05.000
[sil.]
01:43:15.000 --> 01:43:23.000
[sil.]
01:44:00.000 --> 01:44:05.000
[sil.]
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 107 minutes
Date: 2010
Genre: Expository
Language: English; French; German; Spanish; Tamil
Grade: 10-12, College, Adult
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
Existing customers, please log in to view this film.
New to Docuseek? Register to request a quote.
Related Films
Looks at the benefits of fair trade goods and product certification for…
Ecological economist Dave Batker questions whether GDP is an adequate…