"Dirty Money" Foundation of U.S. Growth and Empire

[Gregory Geboski]

<< 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 ...>>

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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