SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Understanding 'Moneyland' — the offshore world of the super-rich
Many of the world's problems — from declining public services to corruption — can be explained in two words: offshore wealth. That's according to investigative journalist Oliver Bullough, who is working to unravel the intricate global web of money and power. To try and de-mystify the idea, Bullough came up with his own word: Moneyland. "I invented 'Moneyland' to try and get my own head around this problem, basically," he says.
[...] One of the greatest stumbling blocks in addressing the issues around offshore tax havens, Bullough says, is that the very term is relatively ambiguous and generally difficult to conceptualise. "'Offshore' isn't a place, it's not the British Virgin Islands or Hong Kong or whatever," he says. "'Offshore' just means not here; elsewhere. It's a legal construct that essentially means something can hide without being anywhere in particular."
To try and de-mystify the idea, Bullough came up with his own word: Moneyland. "I invented 'Moneyland' to try and get my own head around this problem, basically," he says. Moneyland — also the name of Bullough's book on the issue — makes up roughly 10 per cent of the world's wealth, he says. "If you look at its economy, it is the third biggest economy in the world after America and China, it's absolutely massive." Bullough declares London to be the likely capital of Moneyland, followed closely by New York. According to Oxfam, the top three-and-a-half dozen people in the world this year owns the same amount of stuff as the bottom 3.5 billion people in the world.
How far does the Gini curve have to bend before something snaps?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by sjames on Monday October 15 2018, @06:23PM (3 children)
Looks like you fell into a trap as well. There are plenty of progressives and other more left leaning people who have a much more nuanced understanding. They know there is a trend for the very wealthy not coming about their wealth honestly.
Most recognize that there are also greedy poor people, but also recognize that their contribution to the current problem is minuscule, just like their current net worth.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @07:31PM (2 children)
But we gotta virtue signal and keep the class war going!!!
Virtue signalling, not just for hair dying liberals.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @07:48PM (1 child)
It seemed for a while that the class war might be over. However, the 60s happened, and all was not well, so certain people decided to begin the disinformation campaign of a new class war with the Kerner Commission report. Few months later in June, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. Finally, in August, there was that fateful Democratic National Convention.
The working class has been in denial that they are under assault ever since.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @09:06PM
Yup. Propaganda is a helluva thing. I still have hopes that the internet will help us fix things, but until people realize that centralized control is the problem we won't get any solutions. The only way a private corporation can fix this is by creating a decentralized network with a central backbone of servers. It would need to be censorship proof and encrypted.
I think we'll get there pretty soon, and then online reputations will be developed where (hopefully) skilled investigators will be the new aggregators along with algorithmic aggregators. Trust will be earned instead of assumed. Ok, that is an optimistic outlook but it is possible.