Panama Papers

I am amazed.

All the crackpot conspiracy theories that are given credence on this forum, but the biggest intelligence leak in history doesn't get a mention for two days.

Will definitely be interesting how this information unravels.
 
I think very little will change. Most people have already accepted that there is corruption and tax evasion and money laundering and all sorts of illegal or grey-area machinations to keep money in the hands of the wealthy. But these things are too massive and complex for us be able to demand solutions that make sense. Apart from the fact that the solutions might be unworkable since no country can impose extra-national laws against other countries.

We'll collectively just shrug our shoulder, shake our heads and move on. Look at the reaction here.
 
I think it'll change *something*. I would be somewhat surprised if Mossack Fonseca survives this, for one. Iceland PM is already out. Some Chilean dude is out. Tax agencies everywhere are investigating the leak. There are hints that more big news is coming that concerns the U.S., something that has been absent from the released info so far
 
TwistedKestrel said:
I think it'll change *something*. I would be somewhat surprised if Mossack Fonseca survives this, for one. Iceland PM is already out. Some Chilean dude is out. Tax agencies everywhere are investigating the leak. There are hints that more big news is coming that concerns the U.S., something that has been absent from the released info so far
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True, but that's not significant change in terms of the underlying issue.

I suppose meaningful change might follow from this leak if it gets people riled up even more than they already are after the credit crisis, such that it drives support for new leaders like Sanders or Trump or equivalent non-conformists in other countries. Those types will be real ****-disturbers for the powers-that-be in the world, though for those two in the US it may be too late to have any impact on their races.
 
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TwistedKestrel said:
I think it'll change *something*. I would be somewhat surprised if Mossack Fonseca survives this, for one. Iceland PM is already out. Some Chilean dude is out. Tax agencies everywhere are investigating the leak. There are hints that more big news is coming that concerns the U.S., something that has been absent from the released info so far
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Wouldn't surprise me if One Percenter Donald Trump has been hiding container-ship loads of money through Panama...
 
Once the U.S. gave Panama back to the Panamanians it became a haven for financial institutions with less scruples than the Swiss. And apparently less security. How this is news is comical.
Listen to those that preach loudest about equity and fairness and socialism, they usually have the biggest piles of cash hidden.
 
-D- said:
What says you?
Anything will change?

How the heck did someone get access to all of those files?
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for starters Mossack Fonseca will change the name under which it will reopen
 
In the mid 90's I worked in Chile and was paid in USD. They played the game of keeping things on the 'up and up' but it was kinda comical how they did it. You take your USD to the Chilean bank and explain you want to send it home to Canada. Well, if it was > $10K then you need to 'clear' the money. They bank teller says I need to do this via another company (all arms length etc I was thinking). So I asked for the address of the company. No address .... it was a desk over in the corner of the bank. You sit in the chair, guy comes over, you hand him the $, he counts it, fills out a form and asked to see my contract. Then he hands the $ back to you with the form. You can then send the $ out of the country.

Aside - there are other 'interesting' business practices in Chile which meant I wasn't paid for 6 months and couldn't leave the country (though visa expired) as then I couldn't get back to get my money owed. I'm sure similar stuff happens all over.

So nothing in the Panama Papers really surprises me. There are loop holes in the system for people with $$$ because people with $$$ make the rules and people with $$$ like to keep as much of their $$$ as possible. And most of what these people are doing is technically legal because of these loop holes, they just don't seem morally right or 'fair' to those of us who can't play in those circles.

Jeff
 
fastar1 said:
I think very little will change. Most people have already accepted that there is corruption and tax evasion and money laundering and all sorts of illegal or grey-area machinations to keep money in the hands of the wealthy. But these things are too massive and complex for us be able to demand solutions that make sense. Apart from the fact that the solutions might be unworkable since no country can impose extra-national laws against other countries.

We'll collectively just shrug our shoulder, shake our heads and move on. Look at the reaction here.
Click to expand...

I think you're right, but I think most people will wait for more definitive proof of corruption before anyone screams bloody murder... any and all information that has leaked thus far has been too vague to really get upset about. And you're right, most people that understand anything about politics beyond what is reported on Fox News and CNN accept the corruption that exists.

Here in the GTA, we'll just shrug, wait for spring, and hope no group of freedom fighters, or incessant babies crying over regulations blocks the roadways.
 
My name isn't on there :(
 
This just exposed what everyone knew already. Who here if they didn't have the resources wouldn't be trying to send it offshore? Ireland is good too.
 
The unwashed masses will start riots only when they can't feed themselves anymore.

The ultra-wealthy just need to ensure that we have enough to afford pop & string cheese.
 
Showing my naivete but how does anybody trust paper money/paper and electronic investment documents and financial institutions? So many ducks have to be kept in line for every thing be secure. 2008 financial crises shows what can happen. I'd be scared to put big cash off shore, it's bad enough around here.
 
These days, nothing happens to bonafide thieves (like JP Morgan and most other high-end banking institutions ...), so why should something happen to anyone who participates in somewhat not really unlawful, yet unethical/unfair money evading/hiding games?
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