The State captured by an economic minority (March 3 2013)
Roberto Guillermo Pizarro Hofer the 68 year old Chilean economist , academic, socialist and former Minister of State has published an article in the America Economia titled ‘The 1% has enough 99%’ referring to the Occupy Wall Street Movement. In a Worldcrunch translation of the article, Pizarro is quoted as stating “…difference in incomes is the consequence of an elevated concentration of property and wealth in a few hands. The most powerful economic groups have multiplied their actions in the last 20 years in a rhythm that simply excludes the rest of Chile. They accumulated with the dictatorship and kept going when it ended and the coalition governments were formed. …In the last decade, the wealth of the five most powerful economic groups has expanded in an unprecedented way, from $5.6 million in 2002 to $48.3 million in 2010. In addition, the Chilean tax regime has been extremely generous to large corporations and wealthy sectors of the population, while, on the other hand, the unprecedented expansion of the credit system through high rises and supermarkets has provided huge profits to these groups. Finally,the expansion of trade and financial openness of the Chilean economy, through the Free Trade Agreement (TLC), the central component of the country’s foreign policy, has allowed a global scale reproduction of Chilean investors abroad. Consequently, it is no exaggeration to say that the State has been captured by an economic minority who use it in their favor. Instead of using it as a tool to compensate for the inequalities of the market economy, it has become an instrument for economic expansion of a few. Under such conditions, the nation’s sense of community has weakened by the presence of a fragile State, serving a minority considered an ideological nuisance.”
Inspired by Roberto Pizarro, America Economia ow.ly/hMJRH Image source elperiodista ow.ly/hMJOq
