Millionaires are our downfall.

"First, I simply want to remind everyone of what we already know," Chomsky
said.
"These questions are not abstract. We're dealing with questions of life
and death, of pain and despair."

Chomsky proceeded to describe how world politics revolve around the lives
of the rich, leaving behind poor individuals and impoverished countries.
He then discussed the recent G­7 meetings,a series of international talks
between representatives of the seven richest economic countries in the
world.

"The rich and famous all come and flock there," Chomsky said. "You get
people like Robert Rubin, who might be called co-President of the United
States; after all, you have to give Alan Greenspan at least half the
credit."

Though joking at times, Chomsky maintained a serious line of thought as he
contrasted the vast press coverage of the G­7 meetings to the poor
coverage received by the G­15 meetings, a similar series including
powerful but less moneyed countries.

"These are not minor countries,"he said. "And you could read about them,
if you subscribe to the leading journal in Egypt. Elsewhere, the media
thinks it just isn't important enough to report on."

Chomsky then explained that what many have called an economic boom has
really been a boom for the rich and an economic failure for everyone else.
"It's a globalization of the Third World Model,"Chomsky said. "You get
societies with small groups of extremely wealthy people."

"Greenspan attributed this 'fairy-tale' economy to greater economic
insecurity: a system in which workers are afraid to ask for benefits and
the like for fear of losing their jobs. And that contributes to what they
call 'economic growth',"he said. "Some of it is just straight corporate
crime, which is especially strong when it is supported by a crooked state."

============

According to this years edition of the World Wealth Report conducted by
Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, the number of millionaires worldwide
increased by 600,000 to 8.3m in 2004. The report defines a millionaire as
an individual who has assets worth more than $1m excluding their primary
residence.

The combined wealth of all these high net worth individuals (HNWI's)
exceeds $30 trillion. At a regional level, Australia, India, Singapore,
and Hong Kong were the strongest performers - Australia added 47 new
millionaires a day throughout 2004, whilst India added almost 25 a day.

====

Lets tax 8.3 million people a 20% "1990s wind-fall for community
expenditure tax" and divide the resulting 6 trillion US$ by the 6 billion
people on earth. That's 1000 US$ for every Child, Woman and Man in terms
of schooling, fresh water, health care, pension and roof over the head!!
Would these millionaires care?

====

Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today's
jobs with yesterday's tools.

Noam Chomsky

====

Wealthy German citizens hold more than 800 billion Swiss francs (516
billion euros, $645 billion) in bank accounts in neighboring Switzerland
mainly to avoid taxation, a Swiss business weekly reported this week.

The magazine Cash said its figures were based on the latest banking data
released by the Swiss central bank.

New deposits during the third quarter amounted to 41.9 billion Swiss
francs at the country's largest bank, UBS, and 31 billion Swiss francs at
Credit Suisse. One-third of those amounts came from Germany, it added.

About one-quarter of the deposits managed by banks in Switzerland come
from German company sell-offs or management bonuses paid out in Germany,
Cash estimated.

Swiss banking preferred by rich Germans

The weekly publication cited data from German tax authorities which
indicated that small savers tend to prefer offshore banking in Austria or
Luxembourg, while wealthy Germans turned to Switzerland.

Since July last year, Switzerland -- which is not a member of the European
Union -- levies a withholding tax on interest earned by EU residents on
their Swiss accounts. The revenue is mainly paid back to EU governments.

The agreement between the EU, including Germany, and Switzerland was part
of a broader attempt to discourage tax evasion as capital flows more
freely between European nations.

Swiss banking secrecy laws forbid the release of transaction details to
authorities, unless it is part of a criminal investigation. Tax evasion is
not classified as a crime under Swiss law, but as a civil offence.

====

England does not join the EURO because it would have to shut down the
tax-evader-'havens' like the channel islands, cayman is. Etc. Social
parasite tax-evading countries include

Andorra, Anguilla, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands,
Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Delaware USA, Gibraltar, Guernsey,
Hong Kong, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jersey, Labuan,
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius,
Netherlands Antilles, Nevis, New Zealand, Panama, Samoa, Seychelles,
Singapore, Switzerland, Turks and Caicos, United Kingdom, Vanuatu.

=====