Once it's on the books in a "legitimate" institution, or invested in a "legitimate" enterprise, is there any reason to expect "dirty" money (talk about your relative terms under capitalism) to have any special characteristics that would allow it to be distinguished from "legitimate" capital? Why would "dirty" money have to be balanced by "dirty" money?
----Original Message Follows---- From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> Reply-To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com Subject: Re: "Dirty Money" Foundation of U.S. Growth and Empire Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 17:17:40 -0400
DMJ wrote:
>This is originally from La Jornada (http://www.jornada.unam.mx/), and
>translated in narconews (http://www.narconews.com). The claim here seems
>to be pretty sweeping -- any of you economists care to comment?
>
>-d
>
>-------------------
>"Dirty Money" Foundation of U.S. Growth and Empire
>
>>From La Jornada, May 19, 2001
>By James Petras
>
>Size and Scope of Dirty Money
>Laundering by Big U.S. Banks
>
>There is a consensus among U.S. Congressional Investigators, former
>bankers and international banking experts that U.S. and European banks
>launder between $500 billion and $1 trillion of dirty money annually, half
>of which is laundered by U.S. banks alone.
Coupla things. The numbers do seem very big - and since the official U.S. numbers on balance of payments and suchlike pretty much add up, it's hard to see where all this money's going. Maybe the inflow of dirty money more or less matches the outflow (capital inflows from bigtime narcotics merchants to offset the outflows of cocaine and heroin buyers?). Also, while most lefties would be skeptical about the claims of cops and bankers on many other matters, why this eagerness to believe them on this?
Doug
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