OpEdNews » Reviewing James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer's "Multinationals on Trial"

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Tag(s): Banks; Capitalism; Crisis; Empire; Government; Imperialism; People; Policy; Poverty; Privatization; (more...) Washington (less...)
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November 28, 2007 at 06:15:10

Reviewing James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer's "Multinationals on Trial"

by Stephen Lendman Page 7 of 8 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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-- FDI strips states of their ability to control "investment decisions, pricing, production and future growth;"

-- FDI results in long-term capital outflows repatriated to corporate coffers;

-- FDI results in "unbalanced and overly specialized production," especially in commodity areas;

-- Tax, subsidy and other concessions to FDI deprive developing states of needed revenues;

-- FDI most often only puts existing enterprises under new management; it seldom creates new ones;

-- FDI creates "enterprise enclaves," imports technology linked to "outside production and distribution networks," and doesn't help local economies;

-- FDI often controls local banking that lets it "shape state credit and interest policy" and decide what industry sectors to favor and at what cost; and

-- With investors attracted to extractive industries and freed from regulatory constraints, environmental devastation results.

In sum - FDI endangers "national independence, popular sovereignty, and severely compromis(es)" developing states' ability to control their destiny and represent all their people. It's a "risky, costly and limiting (one-way) strategy." Developing nations need to minimize it because of its harmful economic, social and political costs.

Chapter 8 - Anti-Imperialist Regime Dynamics

Contrary to Margaret Thatcher's TINA dictum (there is no alternative), many others are better and the authors list them:

-- Reinvestment of profits into local production to stimulate a "multiplier" effect and increase local consumption;

-- Control foreign trade to retain foreign exchange earnings;

-- Invest pension funds in productive activities;

-- Create development banks for overseas workers' remittances home so funds can be used productively;

-- Place a moratorium on debt payments to stop servicing the odious portion of it:

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I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.