Confessions of an economic HitmanBy

John Perkins

“Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillion of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank. US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other foreign aid organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.

I should know: I was an EHM.”

John Perkins2004

PrologueWhat does an EHM Do?“We build a global empire. We utilize international financial organizations to foment conditions that make other nations subservient to the corporatocracy running our biggest corporations, our governments, and our banks. Like our counterparts in the Mafia, EHMs provide favors. These take the forms of loans to develop infrastructure – electric generating plants, highways, ports, airports, or industrial parks. A condition for such loans is that the engineering and construction companies from our own country must build all projects. In essence most of the money never leaves the United States; it is simply transferred from banking offices in Washington to engineering offices in New York, Houston or San Francisco.

Despite the fact that the money is returned almost immediately to corporations that are members of the corporatocracy the recipient country is required to pay it all back, principal plus interest. If an EHM is completely successful, the loans are so large that the debtor is forced to default on its payments after a few years. When this happens, then like the Mafia we demand our pound of flesh. This often includes one or more of the following: control over UN votes, the installation of military bases, or access to precious resources such as oil or for example, the Panama Canal. Of course the debtor still owes us the money – another country is added to our global empire.”

Example of victim – Ecuador

Beginning 1968 it was loaned billion of dollars so it could hire US engineering and construction firms to build projects that would help its richest families.

Today Ecuador is virtually bankrupt.

After 3 decades – official poverty level grew from 50% to 70%. - unemployment increased from 15% to 70% - public debt increased from USD240 million to USD16 billion - share of national resources for poor declined from 20% to 6%

Today Ecuador must devote 50% of its annual budget simply to paying off its debts

Instead of helping the millions of its citizens who are officially classified as dangerously impoverished.

Success of EHMs

Third world debt = USD2.5 trillion

Cost of servicing it = USD375 billion (2004)

Higher than all Third world spending on health and education

20 times what developing countries received in foreign aid

½ the world population survive on less than USD 2 per day

I% of third world rich, accounts for 70-90% of wealth and real estate in their country.