THE IMF…FRIEND, FOE, OR JUST A FACADE FOR THE ELITE?

In a nutshell: The IMF stands for the International Monetary Fund. Briefly,

• the IMF is comprised of 186 countries who give money to the IMF in order to create a pool of money that struggling countries can borrow from on a temporary basis.
• the IMF is an agency of the United Nations but has its own charter, government structure, and finances.
• "through its economic surveillance the IMF keeps track of its member countries".
• the IMF is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has a staff of 2,478.
• the current director for the U.S. is Tim Geithner. The alternate director is Ben Bernanke. They have a 20% voting right.

WHY WOULD YOU CARE?
Because they use your tax money! In May, the IMF asked for $750 billion dollars to assist developing countries. In June, Obama approved an additional $100 billion dollar credit line to the IMF. Obama also gave the green light for the sale of gold for the IMF. Both of these authorizations were put in the supplemental war bill passed by the House and Senate. Transparency? What transparency?
Land is owned/propertied by “elites” usually at a 50% rent by the oligarchies. The IMF picks the winners/losers. “Reginald McKenna, former British Chancellor of the exchequer said, ‘They who control the credit of the nation direct the policy of governments and hold in their hands the destiny of the people.’”’ Money is combined with the power of politics. “America’s financial leaders seamlessly move from Wall Street to Washington and back to Wall Street”.

Is what is good for Wall Street, good for America? Are they spending your money the way you want them to? In other words, if they asked you to vote to give money to a 3rd party that is not accountable to you, would you vote yes? Is there a concentration of too much power when Tim Geithner is the U.S. Director with voting rights? Some believe the IMF is only a facade for Wall Street commercial interests. Natural resources become “privatized”, meaning foreigners buy mines and oil fields at low prices, particularly when the countries default.

HOW IS DEBT HANDLED?
When loans go bad they are socialized. Entire populations have to pay them off (which includes you, the U.S. citizen.) There is an average of 111 “conditionality’s” to abide by in order to obtain a loan from the IMF. These include trade policies. When the IMF dictates who gets the loans and under what conditions, they are taking U.S. citizens taxpayer money, giving it to a third party, and deciding whether or not these countries are required to pay back the debt. So maybe country x needs money, but the people of the United States think, “no, we can’t give you the money because we are 2 trillion dollars in debt”…Obama gives it to the IMF under “social justice” directives, and the IMF then can “lend” it out, and erase its debt obligation.

Why are so many countries who borrow from the IMF under astounding debt instead of catapulted into prosperity as a result of the lending? Huge loans are given to countries under conditions; contracts are awarded to U.S. corporations. The countries are then unable to repay their debts…then, civilian consultancies, (such as Chas T. Main, based in Boston) go in and say, “Hey, since you can’t pay the loan back you need to give us your rainforest, which is filled with oil.” Unbelievable, but this is indeed the case.

THE BOTTOM LINE, WHAT TO THINK ABOUT:
Currently, the United States is no longer the chief source of capital. The world’s top 3 banks are now Chinese. America’s bank is down at Number 5. Why then does the US contribute the most to the IMF? Who really reaps the benefits from the IMF? One might come to the conclusion that the IMF is a system that under the guise of social justice is really a FACADE to benefit the oligarchies that end up with the resources; while the countries who borrow and the taxpayers who pay, end up losing. Why are we heavily indebting ourselves to China yet still borrowing more just to lend it out? Through the IMF, will China end up increasing and ultimately having the most influence on global economic policy? China’s economic and political power seems to rise each and every day the United States increases our debt obligation. Some say the United States government is no longer working for the people; instead it now works for itself.

Sources: encyclopedia.com, Vanity Fair, July 2009, Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winning economist, Professor Columbia University, IMF.org