Is this Progressive? Hillary fought to cut the Haitian minimum wage of $0.61

[cali]

on behalf of U.S. manufacturers

no, the President didn't micromanage her at State. She harbored latitude.

And that she wasn't the only one is a lousy excuse. If you're going to defend something this loathsome, do try and be more creative.

Haitian Wages
A meme that claims that the State Department under Hillary Clinton fought to keep Haiti's minimum wage from reaching $0.61 an hour is correct, but lacks context.
WHAT'S TRUE: The U.S. State Department, among others, pushed to cut Haiti's minimum wage in 2009.

WHAT'S FALSE: Hillary Clinton was the sole architect of the move to reduce Haiti's minimum wage.

EXAMPLE: [Collected via Facebook, April 2016]
n June 2009, the Haitian Parliament unanimously passed a law requiring that the minimum wage be raised to $0.61 an hour, or $5 a day. (The average cost of living is estimated to be the equivalent of about $23 a day.) This pay raise was staunchly opposed by foreign manufacturers who had set up shop in the country, and the United States Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development backed those manufacturers. After Haiti's government mandated the raise, the United States aggressively (and successfully) pushed Haiti's president to lower the minimum wage for garment workers to what factory owners were willing to pay: the equivalent of about $0.31 an hour (or $2.50 per eight-hour day).

In 2011, WikiLeaks released a set of previously-secret diplomatic cables. The American publication The Nation partnered with Haitian news organization Haïti Liberté to cover them, finding (among other things) how strongly the United States had opposed the minimum wage hike:

<snip>
http://www.snopes.com/hillary-clinton-suppressed-haitis-minimum-wage/

[silvershadow]

1. K&R

[DefenseLawyer]

2. Google "Tony Rodham Haiti" n/t

[cali]

3. Don't need to. Rank cronyism

[Katashi_itto]

4. Vote Hillary. We need this sort of action in the US!

Hillary! She will Do stuff!

[cali]

5. And yet the MSM, her campaign,her superpacs and others who know better

try to shove the "She's a strong peogressive" down our throats.

[Katashi_itto]

6. She is a very strong progressive---If you compare her to, say Stalin.

Then She is!

Vote Hillary!

She isn't as bad as Stalin!

She hasn't started purges just yet either.

[Melissa G]

16. Yeah...Lots of stuff that people first Pay Money For

To the Clinton Foundation and/or it' s affiliates.
Unless they just give it to her directly for speeches!

Nothing to see here folks! Just Vote for Hillary and Move along to the next shiny object that we have to distract you!

[VulgarPoet]

7. > insert cricket noises

[Trust Buster]

8. Hillary is not a member of the Haitian government. Bill Clinton traveled to Haiti after their

earthquake and raised HUGE money for their recovery efforts. What did Sanders do to help the Haitian people in a time of crisis ?

[cali]

9. That has shit to do with it.

[Trust Buster]

11. Sure it does. I posted actual fact while you posted politically convenient unsupported allegations

[cali]

15. First this is not unsupported it is fact. This is what your idol pushed. Live with it.

Denial is a river- a river filled with bullshit.

[Trust Buster]

19. The Clinton-Bush Initiative raised $54 million for the Haitian people. The majority of the money

was spent on job creation and training for the Haitian people. What did Sanders do ?

[HooptieWagon]

29. IIRC it went to build a resort hotel.

Nothing at all to do with earthquake relief or helping Haiti's poor.

[Trust Buster]

37. Nonsense. Google it.

[frylock]

72. I Googled it.

Google sez not nonsense.

[Dragonfli]

73. Goggle says it went mostly for this (the jobs they created were mostly for maids, bus-boys and

kitchen help that were employed by this "housing for the poor" luxury looking hotel quit a bit removed from the locations where the poor and disaster scattered remains of the natives live (who wants to have to look at that). in the end, to be payed roughly half of the $0.61 per hour wage they were trying for.



Great charitable work restoring "housing for the homeless" there Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea! Your philanthropy is WELL KNOWN in Haiti among the Haitians, very well known, they honor you often with "effigy burnings", (I hear that in their culture, such is a show of great respect and honor).

Well done!

The Clintons did help set up some business parks. but only invested a bit of that raised money in it (offices or rich people to exploit cheap haitian labor).

After all, sweat shop owners, that can pay so little for labor and nothing for safety can't be expected to do bussiness out of anything less than posh business park offices.

Meanwhile nearly all of the poor Haitian natives still live in their make shift lean to and canvass shelters they have been using since the disaster.

Just Like Iraq! The Clintons know a "business opportunity" when the see one!

[pangaia]

40. Same as in Sri Lanka.. funny that (although that wasn't the Clintons,..)

still disaster capitalism at it's best...or....worst, depending on one's view....

[lostnfound]

48. Bullshit. more useful to have given that money to Paul Farmers clinics

They were the only ones I trusted during the earthquake. All that money pouring in and they are still poor as shit. 32 cents an hour equals slavery. Especially when combined with undermining a democratically proposed initiative to raise the minimum wage. People who defend this are defending slavery.

[Trust Buster]

49. And how much did your idol Sanders raise for this clinic you speak of ?

[Human101948]

54. High Hopes for Hillary Clinton, Then Disappointment in Haiti ­

Among the litany of complaints being laid at their feet: Fewer than half
the jobs promised at the industrial park, built after 366 farmers were evicted
from their lands, have materialized. Many millions of dollars earmarked for
relief efforts have yet to be spent. Mrs. Clinton’s brother Tony Rodham has
turned up in business ventures on the island, setting off speculation about
insider deals.
“A vote for Hillary Clinton means further corruption, further death and
destruction for our people,” said Dahoud Andre, a radio show host in New
York who has helped organize protests against the Clintons. “It means more
Haitians leaving Haiti and not being able to live in our country.”
And now, Michel Martelly, a president whom Mrs. Clinton helped get
elected, has turned out to be another in a long line of troubling leaders.


5/9/2016 High Hopes for Hillary Clinton, Then Disappointment in Haiti ­ The New York Times


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/us/politics/hillary­clinton­haiti.html?_r=0 3/7
elected, has turned out to be another in a long line of troubling leaders.

[EndElectoral]

12. Her actions are reprehensible and indefensible on this. How anyone can defend them is beyond me?

[Katashi_itto]

10. Poor attempt at deflection. Minus five penalty.

[Trust Buster]

13. Just posted a fact. The world knows how the Clintons helped the Haitian people after their

earthquake. Sanders, not so much.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

14. In an odd sort of way, the fraud the Clintons perpetuated on the Haitian people did provide them with a modicum of help...

... but not nearly as much as it helped line their own pockets.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2016!!!

[Trust Buster]

17. The Clinton-Bush Initiative raised $54 million most of which was spent on job creation and training.

In other news, Sanders was a no show.

[Katashi_itto]

21. Echo Chamber -10 points

[Trust Buster]

24. Facts. Facts that show that the Clintons went out of their way to help the plight of the Haitian

people. Quite a quandary for those pushing false political memes. I can't find any effort on Sanders' behalf to help the Haitian people.

[Katashi_itto]

27. -15 points player keeps pushing points that have nothing to do with anything being discussed.

[Trust Buster]

28. You are just wasting bandwidth with this repeated nonsense and not winning a debate.

[Katashi_itto]

30. I already won. You brought up points not relevant to the fact Clinton destroyed the min wage in

Haiti.

You could bring up nothing to counter that simple fact.

[Trust Buster]

36. The plight of the Haitian people IS the topic and the Clinton's raised $54 million in their time

of need. What did Sanders do ?

[Katashi_itto]

41. -20 points A dead chihuahua has better critical thinking capabilty than you, pushing same point.

Repeating the same talking points that have nothing to do with what Hillary did in her official capability is not winning a debate. Unless your simply trying to go for endurance To say you have the last entry.



Meanwhile music to listen to while poster repeats themselves:

[cali]

56. Snort. I think I love you.

[Katashi_itto]

61. :)

Thanks!

[BlindTiresias]

67. Wow

Katashi just crushed you, if you had any honor you would concede the field to them.

[Armstead]

47. No you are repeating a meme

Charity -- and related "development' that coincidentally benefits corporations is not the same as meddling in internal affaots of nations to surpress wages.

If you want to dispute the claims about the stance of the State department go ahead and research and come uip with counter information. But stop parroting the apples and oranges about what sanders did or did not do in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The article below is obviously biased but...

http://www.haiti-liberte.com/archives/volume9-40/Haitians%20Rally%20to%20Sanders,%20Shun%20Clinton.asp

Haitians in New York City are flocking in great numbers to the campaign of challenger Bernie Sanders, hoping to give leading Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton a little payback for her meddling in Haiti’s 2010-11 election when she was the U.S. Secretary of State.

On the evening of Apr. 12, about 15 Haitians gathered at the Sanders mobilizing office at 1300 Flatbush Ave., corner of Foster Ave., to plan canvassing routes and lawn sign distribution for the campaign.

“We had a good meeting, and everyone is very motivated,” said Marlène Jean-Noel, a veteran Haitian activist who had proposed a Haitian march and rally with Sanders the day before to Nadya Stevens, NY State Director for Bernie 2016. Jean-Noel had gone to the Sanders campaign headquarters in Gowanus with a delegation from a recently formed “Haitians for Bernie Sanders” coalition, one of at least three which have popped up in the New York Haitian community.

“If Haitians unite in a strategic alliance behind the Sanders campaign, this can influence large sectors of the black American Democratic Party base who are either fooled by the Clinton campaign’s propaganda or, if they sympathize with Sanders’ message, as many do, are fearful that he cannot win,” Jean-Noel’s coalition wrote in a statement which was given to Stevens....

...Haitians are primarily angry that Hillary intervened in Haiti’s sovereign elections to make Haitian President Michel Martelly president in 2011. But they also condemn her for fighting the Haitian Parliament’s efforts in 2009 to raise the Haitian minimum wage to $5 a day (winning $3 instead), impeding exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s return home in 2011, and, after the 2010 earthquake, unilaterally deploying in Haiti without permission 22,000 U.S. troops, who brought more guns than gauze. Clinton also always supported MINUSTAH, the hugely unpopular UN military occupation of Haiti, first deployed after the 2004 coup d’état against Aristide.

Haitian ire also comes from the record of Bill Clinton, who is blamed for hijacking the post-earthquake Interim Haiti Recovery Commission’s $13 billion in international aid to build sweatshops and luxury hotels and for destroying Haiti’s rice production by dumping cheap Arkansas rice on the country. (Clinton now publicly admits that this was a “terrible mistake,” the consequences of which he “must live with for the rest of my life.”)

[Katashi_itto]

18. Another Minus five penalty. Another poor attempt at deflection.

[cali]

26. Delusion plus worship is potent

[BuelahWitch]

32. Aw, he only just graduated from Brock University!

Go easy on him! He might have been a remedial student.

[Katashi_itto]

33. LOL! Awesome!

[cali]

58. Can't. Stop. Laughing.

[BootinUp]

23. Why are you feeding the cali?

[Trust Buster]

25. I just don't like false nonsense to stand. The Clintons raised $54 million for the Haitian people.

And some were $27 donations that didn't find it's way into Tad's pocket.

[HooptieWagon]

31. Building a resort hotel doesn't help the Haitian people much.

[Trust Buster]

34. Go to Wilipedia. No resorts. Just $54 million for job creation and training. And Sanders' efforts ?

[BuelahWitch]

42. Miami Herald is better than Wikipedia"

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article11107349.html

Three years after encouraging one of the Caribbean’s largest private employers to go into the hotel business to help bring much-needed jobs and tourism to a destitute Haiti, former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Tuesday welcomed Haiti’s first Marriott, calling it one of the best hotels in the country.

“I want to thank Marriott for more than the hotel, more than the jobs, more than the training, more than the income,” Clinton said. “I want to thank them for giving all of you the chance to show the real Haiti to the world that will come to this hotel.”

A $45 million investment, the 175-room hotel is owned by Digicel Group, Haiti’s largest mobile provider. Company founder and CEO Denis O’Brien joined Clinton in inaugurating the 11-story ornate structure in Port-au-Prince’s Turgeau neighborhood, ahead of its official March 1 opening.

“I know lots of people were asking: What on earth is a telecom company doing getting into the hotel business?” O’Brien said. “The idea of investing in this new Marriott Hotel came from Haiti’s great friend, President Clinton... His guiding words to Arne [Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Marriott International] and myself on this project was, ‘Let’s do this together for Haiti.’ ”

[Human101948]

60. $45 million spent to create 200 jobs...

Wow! If they gave that money to the Haitians, it could support hundreds of families for decades.

[kgnu_fan]

20. She is NOT progressive.

[ljm2002]

22. Thanks for the reminder...

...and yes, regardless of how many others shared her position on this, it is utterly loathsome.

[polly7]

35. Haitians Protest Outside Hillary Clinton's Office Over 'Billions Stolen' by Clinton Foundation

Haitians Protest Outside Hillary Clinton's Office Over 'Billions Stolen' by Clinton Foundation

Divernan (15,419 posts)
1. Thank god Clinton Foundation "facilitated" a $45 million luxury hotel in Haiti

so potential corporate investors cough/boodsuckers looking to take advantage of cheap labor/cough could visit in comfort. Those damned ungrateful, greedy Haitians (do I need a sarcasm emoticon?) expected the Clinton Foundation to direct the "donations" cough/bribes/cough to replace housing destroyed by the earthquake. But that $45 million was used to build a 173 room hotel. That works out to $260,000 per room. Way to go, Clinton Foundation! ! ! Five star all the way for corporate investors & your next glittery gathering in Haiti for photo ops.

Once all of the carnage was assessed, more than 100,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people were left without homes and Haiti's government put the death toll at 316,000, according to ABC News.

Five years later, after billions of dollars of aid and donations, many are still living in abject poverty created by the earthquake. NBC News notes that while some $13 billion went to the country, more than "85,000 people still live in crude displacement camps and many more in deplorable conditions."

NBC News does note that while many of the roads destroyed by the earthquake have been repaired and some businesses have been rebuilt, very few people displaced by the massive quake have acquired permanent housing.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/01/_5_years_after_massive_earthquake_where_is_haiti_now.html

Two years after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake leveled Haiti's capital, a deal brokered by former President Bill Clinton's charitable foundation will add new lodging for aid workers and other travelers to Port-au-Prince -- in the form of a $45 million hotel.

With only about 500 operable hotel rooms, the city has limited space to house aid workers, potential investors and other visitors, according to a news release Monday by the future hotel's owner and its operator.

Caribbean cell phone provider Digicel will own the hotel, which will have 173 new rooms and create 175 new jobs. Marriott Hotels and Resorts will operate the hotel upon completion in 2014. Construction is set to begin in 2012.

Divernan (15,419 posts)
4. SOS HRC presided over the $300 million failed park's opening in 2012

Disaster capitalism has proven a veritable gold mine for the Clintons in many respects! As documented below, Hillary's State Department promised "more than 65,000 jobs". The harsh reality? No more than 1500 jobs, paying $3.40 a day, with no benefits. Thanks, Hillary!

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/9/10/a-glittering-industrialparkfallsshortinhaiti.htm

A glittering industrial park in Haiti falls short (headline)

A cornerstone of post-earthquake 'reconstruction', the Caracol park is not living up to its backers' lofty promises (subheadline).

CARACOL, Haiti — The young men playing dominoes in this tin-roofed fishing village used to have high hopes for the industrial park being built up the road. They had heard of the U.S. government's plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a part of Haiti where most people are barely scraping by, and promises from a South Korean garment manufacturer to create tens of thousands of jobs.

But less than a year after Caracol Industrial Park's gala opening — with Bill and Hillary Clinton, Sean Penn, designer Donna Karan and Haiti's current and former presidents among the guests — the feeling these days is disappointment. Hundreds of smallholder farmers were coaxed into giving up more than 600 acres of land for the complex, yet nearly 95 percent of that land remains unused. A much-needed power plant was completed on the site, supplying the town with more electricity than ever, but locals say surges of wastewater have caused floods and spoiled crops.

Most critically, fewer than 1,500 jobs have been created — paying too little, the locals say, and offering no job security. "We thought there was going to be some benefit for us," says Ludwidge Fountain, 34, laying his domino with a satisfying smack. He worked for two months at the park as a guard, taking home about $3.40 a day, until his contract ran out. "Maybe it’s good for some of the people inside the park. Everyone else got nothing."

The industrial park near Caracol is the centerpiece of U.S.-led reconstruction of Haiti after its January 2010 earthquake — even though the northern village was undamaged, sitting more than 100 miles northeast of the epicenter. (AND HERE'S THE STATE DEPARTMENT'S BIG, BIG LIE ) The State Department has promised the park will create 65,000 jobs, powering an economic revitalization of northern Haiti while reducing overcrowding in the quake-stricken capital (though northern Haiti is at least as seismically active as the south). At the opening, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called it "a new day for Haiti and a new model for how the international community practices development."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511398370


The Clinton's, Haiti and Why Sanders is the Better Choice.

Forget Benghazi and the myriad of multiple "fake" scandals and lets concentrate on the real vermin crawling in the Clinton woodwork.

Full disclosure, I am a Sanders supporter. I'm excited about him and can't wait to Caucus for him. I am in a solidly blue state but want my voice heard for Senator Sanders. I also despise Hillary Clinton. It is not sexist. I am a 46 year old middle class white woman, her target demographic. I voted for Bill in 1992 but next time around I was so disgusted, I checked out of politics until my hate for George W. drove me back into the fray in 2004. Since then I have been fanatical. In 2008, before I knew better, I was in for Edwards then Obama. Just anybody that was not her. I got really into Obama, saw him speak, volunteered, the whole nine-yards. Was thrilled when he took office. Less so now. He has done good but not really what candidate Obama lead me to believe he would do. I sure do wish that Candidate Obama was our President. Wow, would that of been something. But, I digress. Honestly, I never even knew about this subject. I give credit to listening to Make it Plain with Mark Thompson. He had a discussion on Haiti, talking with a Haitian reporter. At the end I was aghast. How anyone can support Hillary Clinton for anything more than dog catcher is beyond me. Unfortunately, I came in late to his guest who was talking about the Clinton's, emails, the Clinton foundation and the financial shenanigans that have brought still more suffering to people who have already suffered so much. So I don't know her name or where to find the information. It was on his show tonight but google would not give me any thing I could find so forgive me, it is from memory but with other sources I found later included. That is why I am posting to this board. Let me know if this is something that could be in General Discussion. I don't post a lot and the vitriol is something that makes me nervous, even to post this here. Also, let me know if this is inappropriate or has been posted with better documentation by someone else.

In a nutshell, the reporter said how the Clinton Foundation went into Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and using that raised something like 500 million dollars. Only a small fraction of the money found it's way to the Haitian people. Big Clinton Foundation donors suddenly had Mine rights (Hillary's brother), a monopoly on phone service (some Irish investor), a luxury hotel and others. They used this tragedy to enrich themselves even more along with their rich friends. They also meddled in elections and supported corrupt regimes that created even more suffering.

I have included here some articles that I found about this. They are all enlightening:

http://www.haitian-truth.org/the-clinton-foundation-and-haiti-contracts/
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/03/21/wapo-clintons-seen-in-haiti-as-exploiters-elites/
http://thehaitianblogger.blogspot.com/2015/03/hillary-clintons-scandalous-conduct-in.html
and this from DU: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016123850

There are even more illuminating articles here on DU too. I know that what happens in this beleaguered nation may not seem as important as so many of the big issues that face us as a nation but I think that this speaks to character. And in this, the character of Secretary Clinton stinks to high heaven! I don't know why everything concerning Clinton is considered a hit piece by some. There is so much smoke around the Clinton's that something is burning.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/128066869


The Clinton-Bush Fund has closed up shop in Haiti: Here are the fruits of neoliberal "charity"

Last edited Fri Feb 22, 2013, 06:44 PM - Edit history (6)

The haitian earthquake occurred January 12, 2010. The Clinton-Bush fund was founded on Jan. 16, 2010. At the time, the PR said the money would go "for the Haitian relief effort".

“At this moment, we’re moving forward with one of the largest relief efforts in our history — to save lives and to deliver relief that averts an even larger catastrophe,” Mr. Obama said. He said that Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton “will ensure that this is matched by a historic effort that extends beyond our government, because America has no greater resource than the strength and the compassion of the American people.”

“I know a lot of people want to send blankets or water,” Mr. Bush said. But he reiterated what the relief organizations have been saying for days. “Just send your cash.” He promised that he and Mr. Clinton would “make sure your money is spent wisely.”

A letter on the new Web site, which went up on Saturday, asks for donations and promises to “channel the collective good will around the globe to help the people of Haiti rebuild their cities, their neighborhoods, and their families.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/world/americas/17prexy.html?scp=4&sq=Former%20Presidents%20Bush,%20Clinton%20to%20Help%20on%20Haiti&st=cse&_r=0



From that description, what would you think you were funding as a donor? Emergency food and supplies? Search & rescue? Emergency medical? Clean-up and reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure? Security? Stabilization of water supplies and sanitation & rebuilding of same?

That's what I'd think I was donating to.

The Clinton-Bush fund got $54 million in donations, & some portion of it was from an outpouring of support from small donors after the quake. They've spent it all now & closed up shop -- yet according to recent reports there are still 400,000 people living in tents as refugees, without sanitation, lighting, or even security:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/18/world/americas/cnnheroes-haiti-rape

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022415607


think (9,364 posts)

Protests continue against Hillary Clinton’s role in Haiti after earthquake

CARIBBEAN360 - MARCH 17, 2016

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Thursday March 17, 2016 – Six years after Haiti was devastated by the massive 2010 earthquake, many people in the impoverished Caribbean country continue to hold Hillary Clinton’s State Department and the Clinton Foundation responsible for a recovery effort that cost billions for what is widely perceived to be little return.

The New York Times reports that the Clintons have been a target of protesters in Port-au-Prince, who claim earthquake aid money was mismanaged and lucrative deals went to Clinton cronies.

The litany of complaints included the circumstances surrounding the Caracol industrial park, a project which was backed by both the Clinton Foundation and the State Department. Hundreds of farmers were evicted from their land during the park’s construction, and the project delivered less than half the number of promised jobs.

Also singled out by critics was Mrs Clinton’s brother Tony Rodham, who turned up in business ventures on the island, sparking speculation about insider deals.


Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/protests-continue-hillary-clintons-role-haiti#ixzz456PR2wCf



Additional information here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/us/politics/hillary-clinton-haiti.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0


OnyxCollie (9,781 posts)

The Clinton Foundation and slave wages.

Originally posted in GD (and locked, for not posting in GD-P).

For your edification:

Perhaps the most important modern institution in the field of group power-and it contrasts dramatically with Maitland's picture of clubs, religious associations, and charities preferring the hedge of the trust and the anonymity of unincorporated status- is the "foundation" which flourishes in contemporary America.

The foundation is largely an American creation. No doubt the accumulation of vast wealth was one reason for its rise; another-at least in the days when Carnegie, Rockefeller, and others perpetuated their names through their now world famous bequests-was unquestionably a desire of wealthy and successful men to purge their consciences before God and man and to justify the acquisitive society which had enabled them to accumulate enormous riches by leaving a vast proportion of their wealth for the benefit of mankind.6 But in recent years these reasons for the earlier foundations have become less important, and the incorporated foundation or trust has become predominantly a business device, a paramount instrument in the struggle between the demands of the modern Welfare State and the wish of the individual entrepreneur to perpetuate his fortune and his name. The greatest and most influential of the foundations (Ford, Rockefeller, Carnegie) are the creations of individuals or families, but the large foundations of the future will increasingly be the creations of corporations. The desires to give and to perpetuate the name of the individual or corporate donor are undoubtedly still important motivations, but the immense growth in the number and size of foundations in recent years7 suggests that business considerations play an increasing role. By either bequeathing or giving during his lifetime a proportion of his estate to a permanent institution established for officially recognized charitable purposes, the donor, usually the controller of an industrial or business empire,8 achieves a number of purposes.9 In the United States gifts to such organizations are exempt from gift taxes, and bequests to them are deductible for estate tax purposes. The organizations themselves are normally exempt from income tax, property tax, and other taxes. A charitable gift intervivos is an allowable deduction from the taxable income of the donor.10 The absence of the latter privilege in English law may be one reason why incorporated charities are not so widespread in Britain (apart, of course, from the vastly greater capital wealth of United States business). Otherwise, motivations for the establishment of charitable companies are very similar." The arithmetics of these benefits vary from year to year and are, of course, subject to legislative changes. Unless, however, there were to be a fundamental change in legislation in regard to charitable gifts,12 the advantages of transferring both capital and annual income away from the personal estate of a taxpayer in the high income brackets or away from a corporation are very considerable.13 But in the age of the managerial revolution and the Welfare State, a motive at least equal to that of providing a suitable mechanism for philanthropy and a tax free reservoir for an otherwise highly taxable income is the power which the foundation gives to the controller of a business or industry to perpetuate his control.14

Friedmann, W. G. (1957). Corporate power, government by private groups, and the law. Columbia Law Review, 57(2), 155-186.


The Clinton Foundation - About
http://www.clintonfoundation.org/main/our-work/by-initiative/clinton-foundation-in-haiti/about.html

The Clinton Foundation has been actively engaged in Haiti since 2009, focusing on economic diversification, private sector investment and job creation in order to create long-term, sustainable economic development. After the devastating earthquake in 2010, President Clinton formed the Clinton Foundation Haiti Fund and raised $16.4 million from individual donors for immediate earthquake relief efforts. Since 2010, the Clinton Foundation has raised a total of $34 million for Haiti, including relief funds as well as projects focused on restoring Haiti's communities, sustainable development, education and capacity building. In 2012, the Clinton Foundation concentrated on creating sustainable economic growth in the four priority sectors of energy, tourism, agriculture, and apparel/manufacturing, working to bring new investors, develop and support local organizations and businesses, and create access to new markets. The Clinton Foundation also continued working to support government efforts to improve Haiti’s business environment and supported programs in education and capacity building.



Washington Backed Famous Brand-Name Contractors in Fight Against Haiti’s Minimum Wage Increase
http://www.haiti-liberte.com/archives/volume4-47/Washington%20Backed%20Famous.asp

The U.S. Embassy in Haiti worked closely with factory owners contracted by Levi’s, Hanes, and Fruit of the Loom to aggressively block a paltry minimum wage increase for Haitian assembly zone workers, the lowest paid in the hemisphere, according to secret State Department cables.

The factory owners refused to pay 62 cents an hour, or $5 per eight-hour day, as a measure unanimously passed by the Haitian parliament in June 2009 would have mandated. Behind the scenes, the factory owners had the vigorous backing of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Embassy, show secret U.S. Embassy cables provided to Haïti Liberté by the transparency-advocacy group WikiLeaks.

The minimum daily wage had been 70 gourdes or $1.75 a day.

The factory owners told the Haitian parliament that they were willing to give workers a mere 9 cents an hour pay increase to 31 cents an hour – 100 gourdes daily – to make T-shirts, bras and underwear for U.S. clothing giants like Dockers and Nautica.


Report: State Department-Backed Garment Complex in Haiti Stealing Workers’ Wages
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/17/headlines#10179

A new report by the Worker Rights Consortium has found the majority of workers in Haiti’s garment industry are being denied nearly a third of the wages they are legally owed due to widespread wage theft. The new evidence builds on an earlier report that found every single one of Haiti’s export garment factories was illegally shortchanging workers. Workers in Haiti make clothes for U.S. retailers including Gap, Target, Kohl’s, Levi’s and Wal-Mart. The report highlighted abuses at the Caracol Industrial Park, a new factory complex heavily subsidized by the U.S. State Department, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Clinton Foundation and touted as a key part of Haiti’s post-earthquake recovery. The report found that, on average, workers at the complex are paid 34 percent less than the law requires. Haiti’s minimum wage for garment workers is between 60 and 90 cents an hour. More than three-quarters of workers interviewed for the report said they could not afford three meals a day.

Clintons' Pet Project for Privatized 'Aid' to Haiti Stealing Workers' Wages: Report
https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/16-4

Haiti's Caracol Industrial Park—the U.S. State Department and Clinton Foundation pet project to deliver aid and reconstruction to earthquake-ravaged Haiti in the form of private investment—is systematically stealing its garment workers' wages, paying them 34 percent less than minimum wage set by federal law, a breaking report from the Worker Rights Consortium reveals.

Critics charge that poverty wages illustrate the deep flaws with corporate models of so-called aid. "The failure of the Caracol Industrial Park to comply with minimum wage laws is a stain on the U.S.'s post-earthquake investments in Haiti and calls into question the sustainability and effectiveness of relying on the garment industry to lead Haiti's reconstruction," said Jake Johnston of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in an interview with Common Dreams.

Caracol is just one of five garment factories profiled in this damning report, released publicly on Wednesday, which finds that "the majority of Haitian garment workers are being denied nearly a third of the wages they are legally due as a result of the factories’ theft of their income." This is due to systematic employer cheating on piece-work and overtime, as well as failure to pay employees for hours worked.
...
Financers included the Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. State Department, and the Clinton Foundation, who invested a total of $224 million with promises to uphold high labor standards. Its anchor tenant is the Korean S&H Global factory, which sells garments to Walmart, Target, Kohl's, and Old Navy, according to the report.

The Clinton-Bush Fund has closed up shop in Haiti: Here are the fruits of neoliberal "charity"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022415607

Bill Clinton met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to get donations for his Foundation.

Uribe meets with Bill Clinton
http://colombiareports.com/uribe-meets-with-ex-us-president-bill-clinton/

Bill Clinton, ex-president of the United States and husband of the current U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, met with Colombian president Alvaro Uribe on Wednesday in search of resources for the reconstruction of Haiti.

~snip~

While his wife is on a diplomatic tour of various Latin American countries, ex-president Clinton is using the opportunity to raise money for Haiti’s reconstruction following the devastating earthquake that happened there in January of this year. The money is being raised through Clinton’s own charity, the Clinton Foundation.

Clinton will also be taking a look at various projects in Colombia that the Clinton Foundation has helped fund while visiting the country.


Some background on Uribe:

Uribe was ‘the head of Colombia’s paramilitaries’: former AUC ringleader
http://colombiareports.com/head-colombias-paramilitaries-former-auc-leader-ex-president-uribe/

Former President Alvaro Uribe was the “head of Colombia’s paramilitary groups,” according to a former paramilitary commander and witness in the case against a presidential candidate loyal to the former head of state.

The accusations were made by Pablo Hernan Sierra, alias “Alberto Guerrero”, former commander of the Cacique Pipinta bloc of the paramilitary group AUC, during an interview with Venezuelan network TeleSur.

“He was our commander,” claimed Sierra. “He never fired a gun; but he led, he contributed, he was our man at the top.”

“The massacres, the disappearances, the creation of an {AUC} group: he is responsible,” said Sierra.

The ex-paramilitary is a key witness in an investigation into Uribe’s alleged ties with paramilitary groups, especially his role in the formation of an AUC bloc while governor of Antioquia department from 1995-97, and his use of the AUC to win votes in the 2002 Presidential election.



Details of testimony that involves Uribe in a massacre
http://colombiasupport.net/2008/06/details-of-testimony-that-involves-uribe-in-a-massacre/

The ex-paramilitary Francisco Enrique Villalba Hernández declared to the Colombian Attorney General’s
office this past February that President Alvaro Uribe and his brother Santiago participated in planning a
massacre in the north of the department of Antioquia, according to a copy of the testimony obtained by
the Nuevo Herald. Part of the confession of Villalba, whose credibility Uribe attacked this week, was
utilized by the Interamerican Human Rights Court (CIDH) to condemn Colombia for that massacre,
which occurred in the village of El Aro in 1997, according to an extensive decision of that tribunal two
years ago. Villalba did not involve the ruler or his brother in his testimony before the CIDH, but his
narrative was part of the proofs that served the tribunal to conclude that in the slaughter of El Aro
agents of the public security forces collaborated with groups of the United Self-defenses of Colombia
(Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia—AUC) to murder in cold blood at least fifteen campesinos “in a
defenseless position, taking their goods away from others and generating terror and displacement,”
according to the 160-page decision. This same decision cites a testimony to the effect that the
government of the department of Antioquia, at that time led by the currently president, refused to
extend protection to the inhabitants of El Aro, when they learned that the paramilitary attack was
imminent. “In the face of this situation, about two months before the occupation, the Community
Action Board (Junta de Acción Comunal) asked the government for protection, which was
not offered,” says the decision of the CIDH.

Until now, some of aspects of the declaration of Villalba to the Colombian prosecutors were only known
in an indirect and fragmentary way which where revealed surprisingly by Uribe during a radio interview
this week in order to reject what the ex-paramilitary pointed out. But the Nuevo Herald obtained a
complete copy of the declearation that, in fact, contains repeated testimonies of Villalba that Uribe,
when he was Governor of the department of Antioquia, hobnobbed with the highest leaders of the AUC
and gave them carte blanche to carry out the massacre. “{Alvaro Uribe told us} that what had to be
done, that we would do it,” declared Villalba in describing a meting in which AUC leaders, military
personnel and the brothers Alvaro and Santiago Uribe. Villalba’s 19-page declaration describes, using
names and details a close relationship of complicity and camaraderie between military and police
authorities with the heads of the death squads.


Wiretapping scandal increasingly reveals political persecution under Uribe
http://colombiareports.co/wiretapping-scandal-increasingly-reveals-political-persecution-under-uribe/

As Colombia’s Supreme Court investigates illegal spying by the country’s former intelligence agency, an increasing amount of details are revealed about the alleged political persecution of leftist opponents of former President Alvaro Uribe.

A former director of Colombian intelligence agency DAS, Jorge Noguera, is currently on trial for various charges surrounding the wiretapping scandal that has already seen multiple convictions of Uribe’s former chief of staff and a second intelligence chief.

Colombia’s now-defunct intelligence agency, the DAS, did not report to anyone but the president and had been spying on the Supreme Court, journalists, human rights defenders and politicians in a scandal that was uncovered in 2008.


This is what Hillary Clinton had to say about Uribe (hat tip to karynnj).

SECRETARY CLINTON: President Uribe, let me begin by telling you how pleased I am to be here in Colombia for the first time. You have been so gracious in entertaining my husband and my daughter in the past. And now, I finally have completed the family visits to your beautiful country.

This is a trip I have looked forward to making for quite some time, and it is a real pleasure to see how far Colombia has come and how much Colombia is contributing not only to its own people but to those who face similar struggles beyond your borders. So thank you for your hospitality, thank you for the very comprehensive discussion that we have had together today, and for the opportunity to reaffirm the friendship and strong partnership between the United States and Colombia.

In the last decade, Colombia has confronted immense challenges. And by any fair measure, Colombia has made great progress. That is thanks to the leadership of your government and to the resilience and dedication of the Colombian people. And even with continuing challenges in your own struggle, Colombia is playing a positive and increasingly important regional role, whether it be on promoting clean energy or on relief and recovery efforts in Haiti. The United States has been proud to stand with Colombia, and we will continue to stand with you in the future.

President Uribe and I discussed Colombia’s continuing efforts in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime. And I expressed the commitment of the Obama Administration to continuing to partner with Colombia as it works to consolidate the security gains of recent years.

We also discussed Colombia’s efforts to enhance human rights, the strides made, the challenges that remain, the ongoing need for vigilance and commitment. And I also want to publicly express our admiration for President Uribe providing a remarkable example of strong democratic leadership in respecting the constitutional court’s decision regarding another term.

Colombia is such a valued partner and a leader that we look forward to expanding and deepening our partnership. Colombia has helped to lead the way as an active member of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas. Just a few examples that we look to and encourage others to do so as well: developing cutting-edge mass transit systems, exploiting the potential of biofuels, becoming a leader in the use of ethanol, spearheading an initiative to help build the infrastructure for long-distance electrical transmissions from Panama, through the Andean states, to Chile.

Colombia has also worked hard to address the historic lack of opportunity for many of its people, and in doing so has provided important models for other countries in our hemisphere. Recently, the United States and Colombia concluded the first steering committee meeting for our action plan on racial and ethnic equality, which will work to improve access to education, employment, and other opportunities for Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities.

We signed a new science and technology agreement today that will facilitate the exchange of ideas and technology to help both our countries compete in the global economy. All these and many other efforts speak to the enduring bonds of friendship and the stronger partnership for the future that we have, not just between our governments but between our peoples.

Mr. President, I speak for President Obama and myself when I say that you, personally, have been an essential partner to the United States. And because of your commitment to building strong democratic institutions here in Colombia and to nurturing the bonds of friendship between our two countries, you leave a legacy of great progress that will be viewed in historic terms. I know, though, as you said yourself in your remarks here today, you realize how much more is yet to be done.

This morning, I met with the two remaining presidential candidates. This is a choice for the Colombian people to make, but I have to say that the first round of voting was a testament to the vibrancy and strength of Colombia’s democracy. And the United States will work closely and constructively with whomever the Colombian people choose in this second round.

So thank you once again, Mr. President. And you’re right; we had a wonderful dinner last night here in Bogota among friends, some Colombian, some American. And we talked about how remarkable it was that such a common event could take place. And as I drove here to the presidential palace and had the chance to look out the window at this absolutely magnificent city, my heart was filled with the hope that I know fills the hearts of so many Colombians, that what has been accomplished will only go from strength to strength. We will stand with the people of Colombia to make that so.

Thank you so much, Mr. President. (Applause.)


Alvaro Uribe is now on the Board of Directors for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

News Corp. Nominates Chao, Uribe to Board as Directors Step Down
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-09-04/news-corp-nominates-chao-uribe-to-board-as-directors-step-down.html

News Corp. (NWSA), the media company run by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, nominated ex-Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao as directors, bolstering the board’s government experience.

Uribe and Chao will replace Andrew Knight and John Thornton, who plan to step down as directors following the annual meeting, News Corp. said today in a statement.

The changes presage a broader shakeup in News Corp.’s organization over the next year. Murdoch announced a plan in June to break up News Corp.’s publishing and entertainment divisions into separate companies. Murdoch will remain chairman of both businesses and CEO of the entertainment division.

Chao served as labor secretary under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. After that, she became a distinguished fellow of the Heritage Foundation in Washington. The Harvard-educated Uribe was president of Colombia from 2002 to 2010 and more recently served on an advisory council for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), News Corp. said.


Guilty by association? Well, birds of a feather and all that.

Daboub, A. J., Rasheed, A. M., Priem, R. L., & Gray, D. A. (1995). Top management team characteristics and corporate illegal activity. Academy of Management Review, 20(1), 138-170.

Homogeneity in Top Management Team (TMT) Characteristics

Social psychology research shows that similarity among group members is a major determinant of
interpersonal attraction (Heider, 1958; Newcomb, 1956). This is true, not only of attitude similarity
(Byrne, 1961; Newcomb, 1961) but also of similarity of personality (Griffitt, 1966) and economic
similarity (Byrne, Clore, & Worchel, 1966).

~snip~

{Differential association theory} This sociological theory of crime was developed by Sutherland (1939,
1947) and later modified slightly by Sutherland and Cressey (1978). According to this theory,
"crime" is defined as such by society. Some individuals live in accordance with these definitions;
others do not. Those who do not are seen as "criminal" in that their definitions of acceptable
behavior are deviant. An example of differential association would be a group of executives who have
defined a regulatory agency, e.g., the EPA, as antibusiness and a hindrance to U.S. industrial
competitiveness. Violation of EPA rules could then be viewed by them as patriotic and supportive of
free enterprise.

~snip~

Members of age and/or tenure cohorts are likely to share experiences and have similar outlooks and
values (Pfeffer, 1983; Wagner et al., 1984), facilitating groupthink and differential association. Useem
and Karabel (1986) found that educational and social class backgrounds facilitate advancement
to the top levels of management. They conjecture that this relationship results from the need for trust
at the top levels of management: "one of the simplest ways for organizations to entrust decisions to
the 'trustworthy' is for the already powerful to promote people most similar to themselves
educationally and socially" (1986: 198).


Then there's HSBC Bank:

Clinton Foundation Received Up To $81m From Clients Of Controversial HSBC Bank - Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/10/hillary-clinton-foundation-donors-hsbc-swiss-bank

~snip~

The charitable foundation run by Hillary Clinton and her family has received as much as $81m from wealthy international donors who were clients of HSBC’s controversial Swiss bank. Leaked files from HSBC’s Swiss banking division reveal the identities of seven donors to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation with accounts in Geneva.

They include Frank Giustra, a Canadian mining magnate and one of the foundation’s biggest financial backers, and Richard Caring, the British retail magnate who, the bank’s internal records show, used his tax-free Geneva account to transfer $1m into the New York-based foundation.

~snip~

Caring was legitimately permitted to keep his assets offshore by a hereditary quirk of UK tax law, under which he is registered as “non-domiciled”, courtesy of his Italian-American father. The HSBC records suggest Caring’s $1m donation was paid in return for former president Bill Clinton’s attendance at a lavish costume charity ball organised by Caring in St Petersburg, Russia.

Another Clinton foundation donor who had a HSBC account in the tax haven is Jeffrey Epstein, the hedge fund manager and convicted sex offender who once flew the former president on his private jet for charity events in Africa. The identities of Clinton supporters who banked with HSBC in Geneva are contained in internal bank data leaked by a HSBC computer expert turned whistleblower, Hervé Falciani.


HSBC. How bad is it really?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026263884

The HSBC scandal continues to grow. Proof of their criminal activities grows each time you turn over another rock. How bad is HSBC?
For those who haven’t been following, the ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists) uncovered and reported on HSBC’s enabling of criminal behavior by arms dealers, smugglers, drug lords and the just plain cheap who don’t want to pay taxes.

HSBC, headquartered in London, when informed about the global investigation, first insisted that the ICIJ destroy its data.
It was only after the ICIJ refused and people found out what was going on that their chairman Stuart Gulliver issued the apology for HSBC’s culpability in tax avoidance.

What is HSBC hiding?
In 2006, the Swiss Branch managed tens of millions of dollars for Saudi Arabian businessmen suspected since 2001 of donating money to Muslim terrorist Osama Bin Laden,

The bank also opened accounts for a crystal meth gang in the US and a drug dealer who was sentenced to seven years in prison
HSBC was aiding clients involved in Drug and Human Trafficking, arms dealing and Arms dealing according to Tages Anzeiger.

"HSBC profited from doing business with arms dealers who channelled mortar bombs to child soldiers in Africa, bag men for Third World dictators, traffickers in blood diamonds…”

Names include Frantz Merceron, an associate of former Haitian president Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, Former Egyptian trade minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid, who fled Cairo during the 2011 uprising, and people officially sanctioned by the United States Government, like Turkish businessman Selim Alguadis.

Currently, there are 10 separate investigations on 4 continents against the bank in nine countries: Asia: India, Europe: Belgium, Switzerland, France and Denmark, North and South America: Mexico, US, Argentina and Brazil (2 separate)

Asia: India. According to the Times of India, the Tax Office is expected launch criminal proceedings against the bank shortly.
The Indian Express reports that 1,195 Indian names are on the list at the tune of over $4bn. The Supreme Court has created a Special Investigative Team.

Several top businessmen on the list include Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Anand Chand Burman, and Shravan Gupta.
Also on the list are diamond traders, some of whom have left India and moved to other countries.
Also included are prominent politicians including former UPA minister Preneet Kaur, former Congress MP Annu Tandon and family members of former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane.
India is going to pay the whistleblower from HSBC for more information; possibly as much as 10% of whatever they collect

Europe:
France. France appears to be preparing to go to trial. But a separate investigation into HSBC's parent company is ongoing

Denmark. 300 Danes are on the list the amount $370mn in accounts. Benny Engelbrecht the Tax Minister wants to know why, with information available, did his predecessors not act.

Belgium. HSBC faces criminal charges. HSBC initially refused to cooperate until Magistrate Ine Van Wymersch, announced that the investigating judge was issuing arrest warrants for past and current directors. Then HSBC decided they would cooperate.
*** See throw 'em in jail. They roll
***The judge was not identified by name in any article I perused

North America
Mexico: The government is investigating 2,642 names linked to $2.2bn

U.S.: The Justice Department is considering criminal charges against the bank and its clients. 4,183 names 13bn+ dollars

In Brazil 11 accounts held over 110 million dollars and is tied to the state-owned Oil Company, Petrobras
The Brazilian government is also looking into 6600 other undeclared accounts with HSBC's Swiss private bank affiliated in Brazil

In Argentina, the states Tax Office wants 3bn dollars held by 4,000 people in HSBC banks linked to Argentinians and Argentine businesses returned to Argentina. This, after Argentine authorities raided HSBC offices in Buenos Aires and are preparing criminal prosecution.

As of June, 2007, except for the Vatican, there doesn’t appear to be any country without a client on the list, though 15 of the countries do not appear to have any client hiding money to avoid taxes. The list of the ‘nulls’ include Laos, Burkina Faso, Tonga, Swaziland, Trinidad, etc.

There are 23 countries with the number of derelicts in their country in the thousands (UK 8,844; US 4,183; Saudi Arabia 1,504; Lebanon 2,988, Israel 6,554, Canada 1,859, France 9,187...). Their hidings are over 139bn.

on note: Even though they had the information available, the Cameron government gave the former HSBC chair Stephen Green a Tory peerage and appointed him trade minister “several months after the government was given information from the French government in May 2010”.

sourced through:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/09/4542851_belgian-judge-threatens-hsbc-directors.html?rh=1
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/09/us-hsbc-belgium-moneylaundering-idUSKBN0LD1HO20150209
http://www.thelocal.dk/20150209/denmark-ignored-information-on-hidden-swiss-fortunes
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-others/hsbc-sheltered-murky-cash-linked-to-dictators-arms-dealers/
http://www.thelocal.ch/20150208/hsbc-swiss-bank-helped-terrorists-and-criminals
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/feb/22/swiss-account-secret-of-hsbc-chief-stuart-gulliver-revealed
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/feb/18/hsbc-swiss-bank-searched-as-officials-launch-money-laundering-inquiry

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251578022

[leeroysphitz]

38. Hillary is the most progressivist. Sit down and shut up. n/t

[cali]

39. I'm not terribly good at that

[Hoyt]

43. As usual, you did not dig deep enough to find the context. Even your link to Snopes

should have tipped you off that you are misrepresenting facts in a very sad and complex situations l. Not a big surprise though.

[cali]

45. Oh do link to a non-hill partisan source.

And scopes clearly damns her for her role.

[cali]

46. And Bullfuckingshit, hoyty. YOU are the one.with nothing. No link. Zip.

[Hoyt]

50. Although it's probably a little deep for you, you should read this as well.

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/06/10/137064161/would-a-5-a-day-minimum-wage-make-life-better-in-haiti


I realize four letter words are more your speed, but try to comprehend the link above.

[Armstead]

57. I read that...despite some valid points it is basically an apologist argument for...

a US stance that sides with rotten behavior by US and transnational corporations to exploit workers.

I am sick of Democrats siding with fuckwad (seven-letter word) behavior and enabling wealthy immoral corporations to act inexcusably towards US and foreign workers simply to add a few points to the bottom line and allow top executives to add a few million more to their obscene salaries and bonuses.

[cali]

63. It's a full throated defense of disaster capitalism

[Hoyt]

64. I get you'd rather the jobs come here, leaving Haitians in squalor for another century.

If corporations are going to make more by going to poor countries, their profits should be taxed more -- some going to their country and some to poor countries. Having the corporations move elsewhere would not have helped Haitians.

[cali]

66. As usual, you get wrong.

[Armstead]

69. if they do leave the US they should not pay starvation wages abroad

This is a moral issue, and if we as voters, consumers and citizens don;t start demanding better behavior from these shitheads.....we're collectively going into the dumpster.

I know that is simplistic, "uncompromising" self-righteous and goes beyond the present primary. But it's also the bottom line. I have observed the slide in economic morality in my lifetime -- and at some point we have to stop accepting and enabling it.

(And I am not painting a rosy tinged view of the past. But things we accept as common business behavior today would have seemed shocking not too many decades ago.)

It does relate to the Democratic Party and election because the Clinton "centrist" mindset does not call them out on it. Instead they collude with robber barons like Goldman Sachs to have nice sounding little conferences and innocuous "social progress" initiatives on one hand, while fucking over vastly larger larger numbers of people with the otehr.

[cali]

62. Oh.dear. you actually think that is deep?

It is far from that. It is a repulsive defense of disaster capitalism. This alone discredits the entire repugnant piece, my corporate worshipping friend:



All this is to say: When a country is in the commodity T-shirt game, they are at the very lowest, least attractive rung on the ladder of industrialization. They are beggars, fighting with lots of other poor countries for whatever business they can get and the competition is over price. And Haiti has many barriers to offering a competitive price. Haiti has horrible infrastructure—among the worst ports, roads, electrical power grids, and water supplies in the world. Haiti is politically unstable, making large investments unattractive.

[choie]

44. I was in a cab in NYC just this past Friday

and the driver was Haitian. We had a heated, but friendly, discussion about the election and he is a Clinton supporter. He had no idea about her role in pushing a role back of the minimum wage. He was shocked.

[Jackie Wilson Said]

51. Disappointed in her again! Too bad we have NO choice but to vote for her if she is the nominee

Too bad that to not do so would be insane, irresponsible, and sick and stupid.

[cali]

53. I commend you. Seriously. You are the first du Hillary supporter I've met

that admits that about..... anything that she's done.

[Jackie Wilson Said]

55. I havent researched the info, dont know if it is true but wont be surprised if it is.

Not voting for her in November would be insane

[arcane1]

52. A similar story in Honduras as well.

Can you imagine her having command of the military? We'll continue to protect and defend markets instead of people.

[gollygee]

59. I don't understand why the US would get involved in other countries' minimum wage laws at all

We overstep our bounds so often it's ridiculous. I wonder how many of our problems in the world come from us getting involved places where we should stay out.

[dmosh42]

65. That's the big difference in this campaign, one side represents the corporations, while Bernie....

backs people. That's why Hillary backed the Iraq war, The oil industry thought they could gain control of their oil. Pure and simple. In 2008, I probably would have backed Hillary, except that she chose to join the Repukes and go to war in Iraq. For that reason, I backed Obama.

[Ferd Berfel]

68. In the Orwellian world of the NeoDem ideology

apparently love is hate.

[Matariki]

70. Ah, can't wait to read her supporters justification of this.

or more probably their outright denial of reality

[VulgarPoet]

71. "Bawwww right wing conspiracy theory" QnQ