Episode 59 - Bankrupt Ethics

After the US government shutdown of 2018-2019 witheld two paychecks from 800,000 federal workers and countless more contractors and businesses, and with US officials encouraging furloughed employees to simply take out loans, we've got debt on the mind again. Citizens of the US and UK are experiencing record high levels of debt concurrent with falling wages, and higher costs of living. But the financial systems that enable these vicious debt spirals play out on the world stage, as private companies and wealthy governments alike employ innovative strategies for ensnaring vulnerable countries, companies, and individuals in inescapable economic webs. Vulture funds play an important role here, but we also want to understand how the opportunities for vulture funds open in the first place. Will we finally solve the global debt crisis, or will the hole get deeper and deeper?

Full Transcript Available

Subscribe now on: iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Soundcloud | Spotify | RSS | or search "Ashes Ashes" on your favorite podcast app.

Chapters

  • 00:33 Debt on the Mind
  • 13:35 Africa: opportunities for predatory financial systems
  • 26:30 Sudan and the HIPC Initiative
  • 34:32 Puerto Rico: Vicious Cycle
  • 47:15 Debt in a Climate Change World
  • 50:38 What Can We Do?

Sources

@misc{Allen_2018, title={Countries face higher debt bills due to climate risks}, url={https://www.ft.com/content/18103b92-7ae6-11e8-bc55-50daf11b720d}, journal={Financial Times}, author={Allen, Kate}, year={2018}, month={Jul} }
@misc{Anne Krueger_Ranjit Teja_Andrew Wolfe_2015, title={Puerto Riceo - A Way Forward}, url={http://www.gdb.pr.gov/documents/FinalUpdatedReport7-13-15.pdf}, journal={Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico}, author={Anne Krueger and Ranjit Teja and Andrew Wolfe}, year={2015}, month={Jul} }
@misc{Center for responsible credit_2018, title={The case for a household debt jubilee}, url={https://jubileedebt.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/The-Case-For-A-Household-Debt-Jubilee.pdf}, journal={Jubilee Debt Campaign UK}, author={Center for responsible credit}, year={2018}, month={Mar} }
@misc{Credit Union National Association_2018, title={OVER 500 CREDIT UNIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY OFFERING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ASSISTANCE}, url={https://www.cuna.org/shutdownassistance/}, journal={CUNA}, author={Credit Union National Association}, year={2018}, month={Dec} }
@misc{David Dayen_2015, title={How Hedge Funds Are Pillaging Puerto Rico}, url={https://prospect.org/article/how-hedge-funds-are-pillaging-puerto-rico}, journal={The American Prospect}, author={David Dayen}, year={2015}, month={Dec} }
@misc{Dayen_2015, title={Don’t Reward the Greedy Vulture Funds Who Recklessly Invested in Puerto Rico}, url={https://newrepublic.com/article/122218/dont-reward-vulture-funds-who-recklessly-invested-puerto-rico}, journal={The New Republic}, author={Dayen, David}, year={2015}, month={Jul} }
@misc{Global Justice Now, et al_2017, title={Honest Accounts 2017: How the world profits from Africa’s wealth}, url={https://jubileedebt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Honest-Accounts-2017-WEB-FINAL.pdf}, journal={Jubilee Debt Campaign}, author={Global Justice Now, et al}, year={2017}, month={May} }
@misc{IMF_2018, title={Factsheet - Debt Relief Under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative}, url={https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/01/16/11/Debt-Relief-Under-the-Heavily-Indebted-Poor-Countries-Initiative}, journal={IMF}, author={IMF}, year={2018}, month={Mar} }
@misc{Jeff Spross_2018, title={How vulture capitalists ate Toys “R” Us}, url={https://theweek.com/articles/761124/how-vulture-capitalists-ate-toys-r}, journal={The Week}, author={Jeff Spross}, year={2018}, month={Mar} }
@misc{Joel Cintron Arbasetti_Carla Minet_Alex Hernandez_Jessica Stites_2017, title={Who Owns Puerto Rico’s Debt, Exactly? We’ve Tracked Down 10 of the Biggest Vulture Firms.}, url={http://inthesetimes.com/features/puerto_rico_debt_bond_holders_vulture_funds_named.html}, journal={In These Times}, author={Joel Cintron Arbasetti and Carla Minet and Alex Hernandez and Jessica Stites}, year={2017}, month={Oct} }
@misc{Jose Fajgenbaum_Jorge Guzman_Claudio Loser_2015, title={For Puerto Rico, There’s a Better Way}, url={http://www.centennial-group.com/downloads/For%20Puerto%20Rico%20There%20is%20a%20Better%20Way.pdf}, journal={Centennial Group}, author={Jose Fajgenbaum and Jorge Guzman and Claudio Loser}, year={2015}, month={Jul} }
@misc{Jubilee Debt Campaign_2018a, title={History of debt}, url={https://jubileedebt.org.uk/history-of-debt}, journal={Jubilee Debt Campaign UK}, author={Jubilee Debt Campaign}, year={2018}, month={Jan} }
@misc{Jubilee Debt Campaign_2018b, title={Don’t owe, shouldn’t pay: the impace of climate change on debt in vulnerable countries}, url={https://jubileedebt.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Dont-owe-shouldnt-pay_10.18.pdf}, journal={Jubilee Debt Campaign}, author={Jubilee Debt Campaign}, year={2018}, month={Oct} }
@misc{Justin Rohrlich_Ana Campoy_2019, title={The US government owes federal workers almost $5 billion in back pay}, url={https://qz.com/1522984/the-us-government-owes-federal-workers-over-5-billion-in-back-pay/}, journal={Quartz}, author={Justin Rohrlich and Ana Campoy}, year={2019}, month={Jan} }
@misc{Lopez_2014, title={At Least One Billionaire Investor Knows Exactly What He’ll Do If Argentina Defaults}, url={https://www.businessinsider.com/novogratz-will-buy-argentina-after-default-2014-7}, journal={Business Insider}, author={Lopez, Linette}, year={2014}, month={Jul} }
@misc{Nick Brown_2017, title={Puerto Rico oversight board approves revised government turnaround plan}, url={https://www.reuters.com/article/us-puertorico-debt-idUSKBN16K1WG}, journal={Reuters}, author={Nick Brown}, year={2017}, month={Mar} }
@misc{Peter Whoriskey_2018, title={‘A way of monetizing poor people’: How private equity firms make money offering loans to cash-strapped Americans}, url={https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/a-way-of-monetizing-poor-people-how-private-equity-firms-make-money-offering-loans-to-cash-strapped-americans/2018/07/01/5f7e2670-5dee-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_story.html}, journal={Washington Post}, author={Peter Whoriskey}, year={2018}, month={Jul} }
@misc{sland_2019, title={Predatory loans offer tempting stopgap for federal workers missing pay}, journal={NBC News}, author={sland}, year={2019}, month={Jan} }
@misc{SyndiGate_2017, title={US: No Debt Relief for Sudan Until Removed from Terrorism Blacklist}, url={https://www.albawaba.com/news/us-no-debt-relief-sudan-until-removed-terrorism-blacklist-1036230}, journal={Al Bawaba}, author={SyndiGate}, year={2017}, month={Oct} }
@misc{Tim Jones_2018, title={Vulture funds and governments seek profit from Sudan debt relief}, url={https://jubileedebt.org.uk/blog/vulture-funds-and-governments-seek-profit-from-sudan-debt-relief}, journal={Jubilee Debt Campaign UK}, author={Tim Jones}, year={2018}, month={Dec} }
@misc{USAID_2017, title={Coca-Cola and USAID: A Global Partnership on Water | Fact Sheet | U.S. Global Development Lab | U.S. Agency for International Development}, url={https://www.usaid.gov/GlobalDevLab/fact-sheets/coca-cola-and-usaid-global-partnership-water}, journal={USAID}, author={USAID}, year={2017}, month={Feb} }
@misc{Watson_2018, title={Tim Geithner Enjoying His Post-Obama Life by Scamming Poor People}, url={https://splinternews.com/tim-geithner-is-living-his-best-post-obama-life-by-runn-1827285288}, journal={Splinter}, author={Watson, Libby}, year={2018}, month={Jul} }
Published 31-01-2019 00:24