The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Death of the Republic

By Charleston Voice on
Posted on April 24, 2015 by Ellen Brown

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.    — Article IV, Section 4, US Constitution

A republican form of government is one in which power resides in elected officials representing the citizens, and government leaders exercise power according to the rule of law. In The Federalist Papers, James Madison defined a republic as “a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people . . . .”

On April 22, 2015, the Senate Finance Committee approved a bill to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive trade agreement that would override our republican form of government and hand judicial and legislative authority to a foreign three-person panel of corporate lawyers.

The secretive TPP is an agreement with Mexico, Canada, Japan, Singapore and seven other countries that affects 40% of global markets. Fast-track authority could now go to the full Senate for a vote as early as next week. Fast-track means Congress will be prohibited from amending the trade deal, which will be put to a simple up or down majority vote. Negotiating the TPP in secret and fast-tracking it through Congress is considered necessary to secure its passage, since if the public had time to review its onerous provisions, opposition would mount and defeat it.

Abdicating the Judicial Function to Corporate Lawyers

James Madison wrote in The Federalist Papers:

The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, . . . may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. . . . “Were the power of judging joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control, for the judge would then be the legislator. . . .”

And that, from what we now know of the TPP’s secret provisions, will be its dire effect.

The most controversial provision of the TPP is the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) section, which strengthens existing ISDS  procedures. ISDS first appeared in a bilateral trade agreement in 1959. According to The Economist, ISDS gives foreign firms a special right to apply to a secretive tribunal of highly paid corporate lawyers for compensation whenever the government passes a law to do things that hurt corporate profits — such things as discouraging smoking, protecting the environment or preventing a nuclear catastrophe.

Arbitrators are paid $600-700 an hour, giving them little incentive to dismiss cases; and the secretive nature of the arbitration process and the lack of any requirement to consider precedent gives wide scope for creative judgments.

To date, the highest ISDS award has been for $2.3 billion to Occidental Oil Company against the government of Ecuador over its termination of an oil-concession contract, this although the termination was apparently legal. Still in arbitration is a demand by Vattenfall, a Swedish utility that operates two nuclear plants in Germany, for compensation of €3.7 billion ($4.7 billion) under the ISDS clause of a treaty on energy investments, after the German government decided to shut down its nuclear power industry following the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011.

Under the TPP, however, even larger judgments can be anticipated, since the sort of “investment” it protects includes not just “the commitment of capital or other resources” but “the expectation of gain or profit.” That means the rights of corporations in other countries extend not just to their factories and other “capital” but to the profits they expect to receive there.

In an article posted by Yves Smith, Joe Firestone poses some interesting hypotheticals:

Under the TPP, could the US government be sued and be held liable if it decided to stop issuing Treasury debt and financed deficit spending in some other way (perhaps by quantitative easing or by issuing trillion dollar coins)? Why not, since some private companies would lose profits as a result?

Under the TPP or the TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership under negotiation with the European Union), would the Federal Reserve be sued if it failed to bail out banks that were too big to fail?

Firestone notes that under the Netherlands-Czech trade agreement, the Czech Republic was sued in an investor-state dispute for failing to bail out an insolvent bank in which the complainant had an interest. The investor company was awarded $236 million in the dispute settlement. What might the damages be, asks Firestone, if the Fed decided to let the Bank of America fail, and a Saudi-based investment company decided to sue?

Abdicating the Legislative Function to Multinational Corporations

Just the threat of this sort of massive damage award could be enough to block prospective legislation. But the TPP goes further and takes on the legislative function directly, by forbidding specific forms of regulation.

Public Citizen observes that the TPP would provide big banks with a backdoor means of watering down efforts to re-regulate Wall Street, after deregulation triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression:

The TPP would forbid countries from banning particularly risky financial products, such as the toxic derivatives that led to the $183 billion government bailout of AIG. It would prohibit policies to prevent banks from becoming “too big to fail,” and threaten the use of “firewalls” to prevent banks that keep our savings accounts from taking hedge-fund-style bets.

The TPP would also restrict capital controls, an essential policy tool to counter destabilizing flows of speculative money. . . . And the deal would prohibit taxes on Wall Street speculation, such as the proposed Robin Hood Tax that would generate billions of dollars’ worth of revenue for social, health, or environmental causes.

Clauses on dispute settlement in earlier free trade agreements have been invoked to challenge efforts to regulate big business. The fossil fuel industry is seeking to overturn Quebec’s ban on the ecologically destructive practice of fracking. Veolia, the French behemoth known for building a tram network to serve Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, is contesting increases in Egypt’s minimum wage. The tobacco maker Philip Morris is suing against anti-smoking initiatives in Uruguay and Australia.

The TPP would empower not just foreign manufacturers but foreign financial firms to attack financial policies in foreign tribunals, demanding taxpayer compensation for regulations that they claim frustrate their expectations and inhibit their profits.

Preempting Government Sovereignty

What is the justification for this encroachment on the sovereign rights of government? Allegedly, ISDS is necessary in order to increase foreign investment. But as noted in The Economist, investors can protect themselves by purchasing political-risk insurance. Moreover, Brazil continues to receive sizable foreign investment despite its long-standing refusal to sign any treaty with an ISDS mechanism. Other countries are beginning to follow Brazil’s lead.

In an April 22nd report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, gains from multilateral trade liberalization were shown to be very small, equal to only about 0.014% of consumption, or about $.43 per person per month. And that assumes that any benefits are distributed uniformly across the economic spectrum. In fact, transnational corporations get the bulk of the benefits, at the expense of most of the world’s population.

Something else besides attracting investment money and encouraging foreign trade seems to be going on. The TPP would destroy our republican form of government under the rule of law, by elevating the rights of investors – also called the rights of “capital” – above the rights of the citizens.

That means that TPP is blatantly unconstitutional. But as Joe Firestone observes, neo-liberalism and corporate contributions seem to have blinded the deal’s proponents so much that they cannot see they are selling out the sovereignty of the United States to foreign and multinational corporations.

For more information and to get involved, visit:

Flush the TPP

The Citizens Trade Campaign

Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch

Eyes on Trade

__________________

Ellen Brown is an attorney, founder of the Public Banking Institute, and author of twelve books including the best-selling Web of Debt. Her latest book, The Public Bank Solution, explores successful public banking models historically and globally. Her 300+ blog articles are at EllenBrown.com.

Filed under: Ellen Brown Articles/Commentary, fast-track, ISDS, TPP Tagged: | , , ,

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22 Responses

  1. roundelswgs, on April 24, 2015 at 6:47 am said:

    Where is the public outcry ?…we are doomed, and no rep responds in proper fashion as expected of course.

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  2. therooster, on April 24, 2015 at 6:55 am said:

    Considering the line ” Negotiating the TPP in secret and fast-tracking it through Congress is considered necessary to secure its passage, since if the public had time to review its onerous provisions, opposition would mount and defeat it.

    Defeat it ? That makes it sound as if we already know what’s in it ! Presumptuous !

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  3. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (#TPP) and the Death of the Republic by Ellen Brown | Dandelion Salad, on April 24, 2015 at 8:07 am said:

    […] Ellen Brown Writer, Dandelion Salad The Web of Debt Blog April 24, […]

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  4. The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Death of the Republic | RevolutionRadio.org, on April 24, 2015 at 8:37 am said:

    […] Ellen Brown EllenBrown.com April 24, […]

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  5. janamurray, on April 24, 2015 at 9:22 am said:

    Reblogged this on Jana Murray.

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  6. Brad, on April 24, 2015 at 10:30 am said:

    it doesn’t get much plainer than this piece by Ms Brown that the experiment in American democracy ended some time ago and the fast tracking of the TPP is just the finishing up of nailing the coffin closed.

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  7. Tom Welsh, on April 24, 2015 at 10:45 am said:

    Benjamin Franklin said that the new constitution implemented “a republic, if you can keep it”. Well, 225 years or so wasn’t a bad run – even if the republic was mostly smoke and mirrors for the last 100 years.

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  8. Fast Track the TPP, on April 24, 2015 at 11:08 am said:

    […] Ellen Brown Web of Debt […]

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  9. Grim Reaper, on April 24, 2015 at 1:46 pm said:

    It’s all good, Ellen. Bad news is good news because it takes us closer to a crisis that will flush this system. Good news is good news, well because good news is good news. 🙂 There is no way any of the actions of politicians are going to stick long term. Kings rule by decree and eventually the outcomes of their violence lead to eating cake, guillotines and the like.

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  11. Jerry “Peacemaker”, on April 24, 2015 at 4:44 pm said:

    David Korten, who wrote the book “When Corporations Rule the World” years ago, may not have realized how prophetic he was.

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  12. Leanne Marie, on April 24, 2015 at 5:56 pm said:

    To truly understand how and why the TPP is being fast tracked, here is some required reading for every American – please read this and pass it on to everyone you know: http://scannedretina.com/2015/03/19/before-things-get-out-of-hand-judge-anna-von-reitz/

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  13. Senate Finance Committee Approves Bill To Fast-Track TPP, on April 25, 2015 at 6:44 am said:

    […] Source Web Of Debt  April […]

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  14. joe bongiovanni, on April 25, 2015 at 1:58 pm said:

    Thanks, Ellen.
    Excellent reporting here.

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  15. Tony Barry, on April 26, 2015 at 3:34 am said:

    So the Buccaneers have stolen the high moral ground from Sea Sheperd and are flying the Jolly Roger throughout the sea of Soverign Countries, plundering where they see fit and dragging any opposition into a corrupt and untouchable International jurisdiction , which the Corporate thuggish lawyers have set up, where they can charge our Governments, State and Federal for their loss of profits, determined by ‘them’. Ned Kelly had the decency to wear a mask and he was one of the good guys.

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  16. Recent Blog Posts at Progressive Activists Voice | PROGRESSIVE ACTIVISTS VOICE, on April 26, 2015 at 7:45 pm said:

    […] Ellen Brown Writer, Dandelion Salad The Web of Debt Blog April 24, […]

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  17. The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Death of the Republic | limitless life, on April 26, 2015 at 8:14 pm said:

    […] April 26, 2015 | Authors: Ellen Brown | Ellen Brown | […]

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  19. John Jamieson, on April 27, 2015 at 6:02 am said:

    Reblogged this on Perpetual Wealth Systems.

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  21. ISDS: The Big Bad Wolf of the Trade and Investment Agreements | The World The People, on April 27, 2015 at 8:41 am said:

    […] articles: The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Death of the Republic – The Web of Debt […]

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  22. Corovian, on April 27, 2015 at 9:20 am said:

    Excellent, very through analysis of how the TPP will work to overturn the kind of government envisioned by Madison. Less clear is why Obama is so obsessed with ramming the agreement through Congress. You could argue that he is simply feathering his own nest, looking forward to a lucrative retirement – and that could also explain why his Republican allies are so he’ll-bent on abandoning their usual obstructionism. This, in fact, is the only conclusion that can be drawn, based on Obama’s flimsy and vague justifications for the secret deal. The “what’s he hiding” argument is simple and sells well to a public that has long since lost faith in the president.

    But I suspect that he – and his allies – are also motivated by fear of rising Chinese power. The TPP will bind key nations on China’s periphery to US interests, at a time when they (Japan, Viet Nam, and the Phillipines) are already alarmed by aggressive moves by China into the South China Sea. From the Marshall Plan onward, such agreements and outright aid have been used to contain the ambitions of Russia and China. Recently, China and Russia have become much closer, and Beijing has proposed a new international banking system to counter the US-dominated IMF and World Bank, and such a system could easily draw in weak neighbors like Viet Nam , the Phillipines, Malaysia – not to mention Iran.

    Or to sum it all up more simply, no nation can run a massive empire and retain a republic at home.

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    700. Dec. 9, interview, Air Cascadia show, KBOO radio, Portland, 10 am PST

    699. Dec. 5, interview, WHDT World News TV, 2 pm PST

    698. Dec. 4, interview with David Swanson, talknationradio, 7pm PST

    697. Dec. 4, interview with Rob Kall, The Rob Kall Bottom-Up Radio Show, 1360 AM, 7:30 pm EST

    696. Dec. 3, interview with Kim Greenhouse, It’s Rainmaking Time, listen here.

    695. Dec. 2, interview with Val Muchowski, Women’s Voices, KZYX, 7 p.m. PST

    694. Nov. 29, interview with Gregg Hunter, USAWatchdog.com, 11:30 PST

    693. Nov. 16, interview This is Hell! radio show, WNUR 89.3 fm, thisishell.com/live, 11.20 a.m. EST. Listen to archive here

    692. Nov. 15, interview with George Berry, The Financial News Network Show, truthfrequencyradio.com, 1 pm PST

    691. Nov. 14, interview with Stanley Montieth, The Doctor Stan Show, Radio Liberty, 4 pm PSTf

    690. Nov. 14, interview with Neil Foster, Reality Bytes show, Awake Radio (UK), Shazziz Radio (US), 8 pm UK time.

    689. Nov. 13, interview with Bonnie Faulkner, KPFA, Los Angeles. Listen to archive here.

    688. Nov. 12, interview with Tom Kiely, INN World Report, 4:30 PST

    687. Nov. 11, interview, Between the Lines News Magazine, WPKN radio, Bridgeport, CT, 9 p.m. ET. Listen to archive here

    686. Nov. 10, skype participant, forum at the Putrajaya International Islamic Arts and Cultural Festival, “Global Economic and Monetary Crisis: What Needs to be Done?” Putrajaya, Malaysia, 11 a.m. MYT, 7 pm, Nov. 9 PST

    685. Nov. 3, interview with Stephen Lendman, The Progressive Newshour, 10 a.m. PST

    684. Oct. 31, interview with Voice of Russia radio, American edition, 2:30 pm, CET (Central Europe Time.) Listen to archive here.

    683. Oct. 23, interview with Daniel Estulin on RT tv

    682. Oct. 16, interview with Per Fereng, KBOO radio, Portland, 11 am PST

    681. Oct. 15, presentation, “The Public Banking Forum in Ireland,” 7-9 PM, Hudson Bay Hotel, Athlone, Ireland.

    680. Oct. 14, presentation, Cork, Ireland

    679. Oct. 12, presentation, “The Public Banking Forum in Ireland,” 2-4 PM, Springfield Hotel in Leixlip, County Kildare, Ireland. Information on these three events here.

    678. October 4, interview with Bill Deller, 3CR radio, Melbourne, Australia, 2:30 pm, PST

    677. Oct. 3, interview with Joyce Riley, the Power Hour. Listen to archive here.

    676. Oct. 1, interview with Tom Kiely, INN World Report 7:30 EST

    675. Sept. 29, interview with Stephen Lendman, The Progressive Newshour, 10 a.m. PST

    674. Sept. 27, interviw with Kevin Barrett, AmericanFreedomRadio.com, NoLiesRadio.org:
    http://TruthJihadRadio.blogspot.com, 2 pm PST

    673. Sept. 19, interview, The Gary Null Show, 9:30 a.m. Pacific

    672. Sept. 19, Interview on the Global Research News Hour with Michael Welch–check site for time and archive.

    671. Sept. 18, interview with David Sierralupe, Occupy Radio, KWVA, 88.1 FM, Eugene

    670. Sept. 15, interview with Niall Bradley, Sott Talk Radio, sott.net, 2 p.m. EST

    669. Sept. 14, interview FDLBookSalon, firedoglake.com, 5pm EST

    668. Sept. 10, “Turning Hard Times into Good Times” with Jay Taylor, VoiceAmerica, 12:30 pm PST. Listen to archive here.

    667. Sept. 9, interview with Ken MacDermotRoe and Del LaPietro, In Context Report, 9 am PST. Listen to archive here.

    666. Sept 7, interview with Valerie Kirkgaard, WakingUpInAmerica.com, 6 am, PST. Listen here.

    665. Sept. 6, Interview with Al Korelin, The Korelin Economics Report, 12:30 pm PST

    664. Sept. 5, discussion of how to bring public banking to Colorado on “It’s the Economy, Stupid,” KGNU, Boulder, 5 p.m. PST

    663. Sept. 5, interview with Patrick Timpone, oneradionetwork.com, 8 a.m. PST

    662. Sept. 3, interview (along with Elliott Spitzer?), “Turning Hard Times into Good Times” with Jay Taylor, VoiceAmerica, 1 pm PST Listen to archive here.

    661. Sept. 3, interview with Jeanette LaFeve, The People Speak, 6 pm PST

    660. Aug. 25, Stephen Lendman, Progressive Radio News Hour, 10 am, PDT

    659. Aug. 22, interview with Christopher Greene, AMTV Radio, simulcast in audio/video over GoogleHangouts and American Freedom Radio, 1 p.m. PST

    658. Aug. 22, interview, TheAndyCaldwellShow.com,
    CalChronicle.com, 3 pm PST

    657. Aug. 21, interview with Merry and Burl Hall, blogtalkradio.com/envision-this, 5 pm PST

    656. Aug. 21, interview with Lori Lundin, America’s Radio News Network, 10:30 a.m. ET.

    655. Aug. 16, interview with Sinclair Noe, Moneyradio.com, 4 pm PST

    654. Aug. 15, interview with Justine Underhill, Prime Interest, Russia Today TV, 1:30 pm PST

    653. Aug 14, interview with Jim Goddard, This Week in Money, 4 pm, PST. Listen to archive here, starting at minute 32.

    652. Aug. 14, interview with Mary Glenney, WMNF 88.5, 10 a.m. PST

    651. Aug. 14, interview with Chuck Morse, irnusaradio.com, 8 am, PST

    650. Aug. 13, interview with Thomas Taplin, Dukascopy TV, Switzerland, 9 am PST

    649. Aug 7-11, Madison Democracy conference, https://democracyconvention.org/

    648. Aug. 6, radio interview, INN World Report with Tom Kiely, http://feeds.feedburner.com/INNWorldReportRadio 4:30 PST

    647. Aug 5, interview with Arnie Arnesen, 94.7 fm, Concord, NH, 9 am PST

    646. Aug 3, interview with Diane Horn, Mind Over Matter show, KEXP radio, 90.3 FM, Seattle, 7:00 a.m. PST

    645. July 31, interview with Mike Beevers, KFCF Fresno, 4:30 pm PST

    644. July 28, Stephen Lendman, Progressive Radio News Hour, 10 am, PDT

    643. July 2, interview with Charlie McGrath, Wide Awake News, 6-7 pm PDT.

    642. July 2, interview with Arnie Arnesen, 94.7 fm, Concord, NH, 12:30 EST.

    641. June 30, interview with Stephen Lendman, Progressive Radio News Hour, 10 am, PDT. Listen to archive here.

    640. June 24, interview on RT tv re student debt, 10:30 am PST

    639. June 17, interview on The Andy Caldwell Show, 3:30 pm PST

    638. June 16, interview with Jason Erb, 5 pm Pacific

    637. June 13, interview with Paul Sanford, “Time 4 Hemp-LIVE,” http://www.AmericanFreedomRadio.com, 10 am, PST

    636. June 6 presentation with Jamie Brown at the Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center in Walnut Creek. Info at Favors.org, 7 to 9 pm

    635. June 1, interview with Kris Welch, KPFA Los Angeles, 10 am PST

    634. May 28, interview with Malihe Razazan, “Your Call” radio, KALW, San Francisco, 10 am PST.

    633. May 26, interview with Stephen Lendman, Progressive Radio News Hour, 10 am, PDT

    632. May 23 interview with Simit Patel, InformedTrades.com (youtube) 3:30 pm PST

    631. May 22, Thousand Oaks, 3 expert panel, “A Parachute For the Fiscal Cliff,” University Village 2-4 pm

    630. May 22, interview with Jack Rasmus, 11 am PST. Enjoy the interview here.

    629. May 22, Guns and Butter show, KPFA, http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/91790

    628. May 14, interview with Charlie McGrath, Wide Awake News, 6-7 pm PDT.

    627. May 13, live appearance on RTTV, 3 pm PST Watch it here.

    626. May 8, interview with Valli Sharpe-Geisler, Silicon Valley Voice, KKUP, 3 pm PST

    625. May 8, interview, the Meria Heller Show, 11 am PST

    624. May 4, interview, Latin Waves with Sylvia Richardson, 10 am PST

    623. April 30, Jay Taylor, VoiceAmerica, 1 pm PST

    622. April 29, interview with Rob Kall, Bottom Up Radio, 9 am Pacific
    Listen to archive here.

    621. April 28, interview with Stephen Lendman, Progressive Radio News Hour, 10 am, PDT

    620. April 25, interview, the the Dr. Katherine Albrecht Show, 5 pm EDT

    619. April 17, interview with Mike Harris, rense.com, 1 pm PDT

    618. April 16th, speaker, Valley Democrats United (Democratic Party of San Fernando Valley), Van Nuys, Ca. 7-9pm

    617. April 13, interview with Darren Weeks, Govern America, noon Eastern, listen here

    616. April 9, interview with Charlie McGrath, Wide Awake News, 6-7 pm PDT.

    615. April 6, phone conference, Justice Party, http://www.justicepartyusa.org/public_banking_conference_call, 9 a.m.

    614. April 5, interview, Butler on Business, 11 a.m. EDT

    613. April 3, interview with Michael Welch, Global Research News Hour, 8:30 a.m. PDT

    612. April 2, interview with Jay Taylor, VoiceAmerica, 12:30 PDT. Listen here.

    611. April 1, interview with Brannon Howse, http://www.worldviewradio.com, 11 a.m. PDT

    610. April 1, interview with Scott Harris, Counterpoint,
    WPKN Radio, 8:30 pm, ET Listen to archive here.

    609. April 1, interview with Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese. Watch and listen to archive here, starting at minute 50. Articles based on the interview are at Truthout.org.

    608. March 31, interview with Jason Erb, Exposing Faux Capitalism, Oracle Broadcasting, 11 a.m. Pacific

    607. March 31, interview with Stephen Lendman, Progressive Radio News Hour, 10 am, PDT Listen to the archive here.

    606. March 29, interview, The Gary Null Show, 9:30 a.m. Pacific

    605. March 28, interview with Stan Monteith, radioliberty.com, 9 pm PDT

    604. March 28, radio interview, INN World Report with Tom Kiely, http://feeds.feedburner.com/INNWorldReportRadio 4:30 PDT

    603. March 27, interview with Charlie McGrath, Wide Awake News, 6-7 pm PdT.

    602. March 27, interview with Jack Rasmus on PRN, 11 a.m. PDT

    601. March 25, interview on the Richard Kaffenberger show, KTOX, Needles, CA. 3:15 PDT

    600. March 22, newly available archived radio interview, Mandelman Matters. Listen here.

    599. March 22, interview with James Fetzer, The People Speak Radio, 5-7 pm PDT

    598. March 22, interview , Our Times With Craig Barnes, KSFR radio, Santa Fe, 10 a.m. MST

    597. March 12, interview, Crisis of Reality with Doug Newberry, oraclebroadcasting.com, 1pm EST.

    596. March 11, interview with Stephen Lendman, Progressive Radio News Hour, 10 am, PST

    595. March 9, Interview with Sylvia Richardson, Latin Waves, CJSF 90.1FM, 9:30 am PST

    594. March 6, interview with Charlie McGrath, wideawakenews.com, 6pm PST. Watch and listen here.

    593. March 3, interview with Lateef Kareem Bey, Fix Your Mortgage Mess, 4 pm PST

    592. March 2, Interview with Stuart Richardson, Latin Waves, CJSF 90.1FM, 11 am PST

    591. Feb. 27, interview with Jim Banks, KGNU, Boulder, 12 pm PST

    590. Feb 27, interview with Sinclair Noe, Financial Review, 10 am PST

    589. Feb. 25, interview, Crisis of Reality with Doug Newberry, oraclebroadcasting.com, 1pm EST.

    588. Feb. 6, Interview with Phil Mackesy, This Week in Money, TalkDigitalNetwork.com, 11 am PST. Listen to the archive here: http://talkdigitalnetwork.com/2013/02/this-week-in-money-70/

    587. Feb. 4, interview with Ken Rose, What Now radio show, KOWS RADIO OCCIDENTAL 107.3 FM, 11 am PST.

    586. Jan. 31, interview with Tom Kiely, INN World Radio Report, 5:00 pm PST

    585. Jan. 27, interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio
    network, 10 am PST

    584. Jan. 23, interview on KPFK, 8pm PST

    583. Jan. 22, interview, Crisis of Reality with Doug Newberry, oraclebroadcasting.com, 1pm EST.

    582. Jan. 3, interview with Mary Glenney, WMNF 88.5, Tampa, 3 pm EST

    581. Jan. 2, interview, The Bev Smith Show, thebevsmithshow.net, 5 pm PST

    — 2012 —

    580. Dec. 27, video interview with Charlie McGrath, Wide Awake News, listen and watch here.

    579. Dec. 24, October talk at First Unitarian Church in Portland aired on KBOO radio, http://kboo.fm/, 8:00 am PST

    578. Dec. 24, interview with Ron Daniels, the WWRL Morning Show with Mark Riley, wwrl1600.com, 5:05 am PST

    577. Dec. 21, interview with Andy Caldwell, TheAndyCaldwellShow.com, KZSB AM1290 Santa Barbara / Ventura and KUHL AM1440 Santa Maria / San Luis Obispo, 3:30 pm PST

    576. Dec. 20, interview with Fred Smart, aunetwork.tv, 9 pm EST

    575. Dec. 19, interview, Crisis of Reality with Doug Newberry, oraclebroadcasting.com, 1pm EST. Listen here.

    574. Dec. 19, interview with Dr. Jack Rasmus, Alternative Visions, Progressive Radio Network, 2 pm EST

    573. Dec. 17, The Bev Smith Show, thebevsmithshow.net, 4 pm PST

    572. Dec. 15, interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio network, 10 am PST. Listen here.

    571. Dec. 14, interview with Craig Barnes, Our Times With Craig Barnes, KSFR radio, 9 am PST Listen to the archive here.

    570. December 9th, speaker, Mayo Arts Center (10 Mayo Street) in Portland, ME
    http://mayostreetarts.org/about-us/where-we-are 7:30-9pm

    569. Dec. 7, Vermont’s New Economy conference, Vermont College of the Find Arts, Montpelier, VT, 9 am to 4 pm and reception at 4:30. $25
    http://www.global-community.org/neweconomy to register

    568. Dec. 5, speaker, Pennsylvania Public Bank Project’s Forum on Public Banking, at the David Library of the American Revolution, Washington Crossing, PA, 7pm

    567. Nov. 26-27, 3rd Annual World Conference on Riba, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    566. Nov. 22, presentation before Royal Scottish Academy — “A Public Bank for Scotland” (here), Riddle’s Court, 322 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PG Scotland, 6 pm

    565. Nov 8, Healthy Money Summit, speaking with Hazel Henderson at 1-2 pm PST, information here.

    564. Sunday, Oct. 28, Keynote Speaker; The Buck Starts Here, 2:00pm, sponsored by the Kairos Occasional Speakers Series & OFOR, Kairos Milwaukie UCC, Milwaukie, OR.

    563. Saturday, Oct. 27, Keynote Speaker; OFOR Saturday Symposium: The Buck Starts Here, 10am – 3pm, Molalla, OR

    562. Friday-Sunday, Oct. 26-28, Keynote Speaker; Oregon Fellowship of Reconciliation Fall Retreat – The Buck Starts Here, Camp Adams, Molalla, OR, Friday, 5pm- Sunday 12 noon

    561. Friday, October 26, Invited Commentator; screening of “HEIST” (new documentary about the roots of the American economic crisis), sponsored by First Unitarian Church of Portland’s Economic Justice Action Groups, Alliance for Democracy, KBOO, Move to Amend, 7:00pm, First Unitarian Church, Portland, OR

    560. (Oct. 25-28, Bioneers Conference, Portland, OR)
    Oct. 25, Keynote Speaker; sponsored by Portland Fellowship of Reconciliation (PFOR) and the First Unitarian Church of Portland’s Economic Justice and Peace Action Groups, 7:00-8:30pm, First Unitarian Church, Portland, OR

    559. Oct. 24, interview with Per Fagereng, KBOO radio, Portland, 9 am PST

    558. Oct. 24, KPFA “Guns and Butter” interview. Listen to archived show here.

    557. Oct. 21, speaker at BBQed Oysters and Beer Fundraiser Party for PBI, San Rafael, CA, 4 pm PST

    556. Oct. 14, Live Gaiam tv interview appearance. Watch it here free at 7pm EST.

    555. Oct. 12, interview with Matt Rothschild of The Progressive, 10 a.m. Central time

    554. October 11-14, speaker, Economic Democracy Collaborative, Madison, Wisconsin

    553. Oct. 11, radio interview with Norm Stockwell, WORT, 12 pm CST

    552. Oct. 9, interview with Kevin Barrett, No Lies Radio, listen to archive here.

    551. Oct. 8, interview, “Mountain Hours Revolution Radio” with Wayne Walton, on RBN, 12-1 pm PST

    550. Oct. 7, interview with Lloyd D’Aguilar, “Looking Back Looking Forward”, http://lookingbacklookingforward.com/, 2 pm EST

    549. Sept. 26, interview with Douglas Newberry, markettoolbox.tv, 1pm EST. Listen here.

    548. Sept. 25, interview with Dr. Stanley Montieth, radioliberty.com, 3pm PST

    547. Sept. 24, interview with Charlie McGrath, Wide Awake News, 6-7 pm PST.

    546. Sept. 22, interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio network, 10 am PST

    545. Sept. 17 interview along with Hazel Henderson, National Teach In for Occupy Wall Street, http://www.livestream.com/owshdtv 5pm EST

    544. Sept. 10, interview with Thomas Taplin, Dukascopy TV (Switzerland), 7 am PST Watch and listen here

    543. Sept. 7, interview with Mike Harris, republicbroadcasting.org, 6 am PST

    542. Sept. 6, interview with Douglas Newberry, markettoolbox.tv, 1pm EST. Listen here.

    541. Aug 28, interview, the Meria Heller Show, 11 am PST. Listen to archive here. And listen to excellent Meria Heller show here.

    540. Aug 26, interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio network, listen to archive here.

    539. August 21, interview with Charlie McGrath, wideawakenews.com. Listen to archive here.

    538. Aug 20, interview with Kim Greenhouse, It’s Rainmaking Time, listen here.

    537. Aug 16, interview with Mike Harris, republicbroadcasting.org, 6 am PST

    536. Aug. 14, interview, TheAndyCaldwellshow.com, 4:30pm PST

    535. August 13, interview with American Free Press, 1 pm PST

    534. July 24, interview along with Victoria Grant, The People Speak, 6pm, PST

    533. July 24, interview with Kevin Barrett, NoLiesRadio.org, 9 am PST

    532. July 23, interview with Charlie McGrath, wideawakenews.com, 6 pm PST

    531. July 22, interview with Dave Hodges, The Common Sense Show, 7 pm PST

    530. July 22, interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio network, 10 am PST. Listen to archive here.

    529. July 19, interview with Mike Beevers, KFCF Fresno, 4:30 pm PST

    528. July 10-12, Speaker, Conference on Social Transformation, Faculty of Economics, Split University, Split Croatia

    527. July 10, video interview with Max Keiser, the Keiser Report, on the ESM. Watch it here.

    526. July 7, Interview with Phil Mackesy, This Week in Money, TalkDigitalNetwork.com, 3 pm PST

    525. July 6, video interview with Dr. Mercola, see it here.

    524. June 23, Interview with Al Korelin, The Korelin Economics Report, 1 pm PST. Listen to archive here.

    523. June 21, interview with Tom Kiely, INN World Radio Report, 4:30 pm PST

    522. June 21, interview on the Gary Null Show, 9:20 am PST

    521. June 18, interview with Ken Rose, What Now radio show, KOWS RADIO OCCIDENTAL 107.3 FM, 1 pm PST. Listen to archive here.

    520. June 17, interview with Bill Resnick, KBOO radio, 9 am PST

    519. June 16 interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio network, 10 am PST. Listen to archive here.

    518. June 9, interview with Sylvia Richardson, Latin Waves, 9:45 am PST. Listen to archive here.

    517. June 5, interview, Truth Quest With Melodee, KHEN radio, 7pm PST

    516. June 2, interview about Web of Debt, Our Common Ground,http://www.blogtalkradio.com/OCG, 7pm PST

    515. June 1, interview with Robert Stark, The Stark Truth listen here.

    514. Newly available video of interview on “Moral Politics” — see it here

    513. May 30, interview, The Tim Dahaney Show, ll am PST

    512. May 28, interview with Pedro Gatos, “Bringing Light into Darkness”, KOOP.ORG, 6 pm CST

    511. May 24, interview, Make It Plain With Mark Thompson, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, 2pm PST

    510. May 20, interview, Women’s View Radio, blogtalkradio.com, 10 am Central Time. Listen here.

    509. May 13, interview, http://www.Blogtalkradio.com/fixyourmortgagemess, 4:15 pm PST

    508. May 12, interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio network, 10 am PST Listen here.

    507. May 9, seminar, Re-imagining Money and Credit, Art bldg. rm 103, El Camino college, Torrance, Ca. 5-7:30 pm

    506. May 8, interview with Mike Harris, republicbroadcasting.org, 9 am EST

    505. May 7, radio discussion on “The Myth of Austerity”, Connect the Dots, KPFK Los Angeles, 7 am PST. Listen here.

    504. May 4, interview The Unsolicited Opinion, republicbroadcasting.org, 8 am PST

    503. April 27-28, speaker, Public Banking Institute Conference, Friends Center, Philadelphia. Listen here.

    502. April 25, speaker Global Teach-In (globalteachin.com), 12 noon EST

    501. April 17, Interview with Leo Steel, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lasteelshoworg, 8:30 pm EST. Listen here.. 31 minutes in.

    500. April 14, interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio network, 10 am PST

    499. April 14, interview with Al Korelin, The Korelin Economics Report

    498. April 10th-12th Speaker at Claremont Conference, “Creating Money in a Finite World” Claremont, CA . See video here.

    497. April 5, interview , This Week In Money with Phil Mackesy (howestreet.com) 12:30 PST. Listen to the archive here.

    496. April 3, speaker at COMER with Paul Hellyer, “Escape From the Web of Debt,” Toronto, 7:30 pm

    495. March 27, speaker on “Why are we so Broke? New ways to look at the Finances of our State and City,” League of Women Voters luncheon, San Diego, 12 noon

    494.5 March 24, radio interview, Mandelman Matters. Listen here.

    494. March 17, speaker via skype, SCADS conference, London

    493. March 15, interview with Per Fagereng, Fight the Empire, KBOO radio, 9:30 am PST

    492. March 15, speaker, San Rafael City Hall 6 pm

    491. March 13, speaker at Sergio Lub’s house, Walnut Creek, info at Favors.org, 6pm

    490. March 11, speaker, TedxNewWallStreet. See it here.

    489. March 10, interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio network, 10 am PST

    488. March 6, interview with Melinda Pillsbury-Foster, http://radio.rumormillnews.com/podcast/, 11 am PST

    487. Feb. 25, interview with Martin Andelman, http://www.mandelman.ml-implode.com, 9:30 am PST

    486. Feb. 25, interview, This Week In Money with Phil Mackesy (howestreet.com), 3 pm PST

    485. Feb. 25, interview on CIVL Radio, Latin Waves, How Greece Could Take Down Wall Street, 11:30am PST

    484. Feb 23, interview with Thomas Kiely, INN World Report Radio, 7:30 pm EST

    483. Feb. 17, featured speaker, Public Banking in America weekly call, 9 am PST

    482. Feb. 11, interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio network, 10 am PST

    481. Feb. 8, interview with Mike Beevers, KFCF Fresno, 4:30 pm PST

    480. Feb. 7, interview with Kevin Barrett, NoLiesRadio.org, 9 am PST; listen to archive here

    479. Feb. 6, participant, Occupiers and Wells Fargo Executives Gather to Discuss the American Foreclosure Crisis, The Center of Nonprofit Management at California Endowment Building 1000 N. Alameda, Los Angeles, meeting 3 pm and press conference 5:30 pm

    478. Feb. 2, interview with Tom Kiely, INN World Report Radio, 7:30 pm EST

    477. Feb. 2, interview with Patrick Timpone, oneradionetwork.com, naturalnewsradio.com. Listen to archive here

    476. Jan. 31, interview, Liberty Coins and Precious Metals, 9 am PST

    475. Jan. 27, interview KPFA, Project Censored, 8:30 am PST

    474. Jan. 27, FILMS4CHANGE-INSIDEJOB, panel speaker, Edye Second Space, Santa Monica Performing Arts Center, 7:30 pm

    473. Jan 22, interview with Dave Hodges, The Common Sense Show, 7:30 pm PST. Listen live here.

    472. Jan. 20, interview with Mike Harris, The Republic Broadcasting Network, 7 am PST

    471. Jan. 16, interview with Rob Lorei, WMNF fm, Tampa, 2 pm PST

    470. Jan. 14, interview with Stephen Lendman, progressive radio network, 10 am PST

    469. Jan. 11, interview with Jeff Rense, rense.com, 8pm PST

  • Article Archives

    Article Archives

Arbitrators are paid $600-700 an hour, giving them little incentive to dismiss cases; and the secretive nature of the arbitration process and the lack of any requirement to consider precedent gives wide scope for creative judgments.

To date, the highest ISDS award has been for $2.3 billion to Occidental Oil Company against the government of Ecuador over its termination of an oil-concession contract, this although the termination was apparently legal. Still in arbitration is a demand by Vattenfall, a Swedish utility that operates two nuclear plants in Germany, for compensation of €3.7 billion ($4.7 billion) under the ISDS clause of a treaty on energy investments, after the German government decided to shut down its nuclear power industry following the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011.

Under the TPP, however, even larger judgments can be anticipated, since the sort of “investment” it protects includes not just “the commitment of capital or other resources” but “the expectation of gain or profit.” That means the rights of corporations in other countries extend not just to their factories and other “capital” but to the profits they expect to receive there.

In an article posted by Yves Smith, Joe Firestone poses some interesting hypotheticals:

Under the TPP, could the US government be sued and be held liable if it decided to stop issuing Treasury debt and financed deficit spending in some other way (perhaps by quantitative easing or by issuing trillion dollar coins)? Why not, since some private companies would lose profits as a result?

Under the TPP or the TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership under negotiation with the European Union), would the Federal Reserve be sued if it failed to bail out banks that were too big to fail?

Firestone notes that under the Netherlands-Czech trade agreement, the Czech Republic was sued in an investor-state dispute for failing to bail out an insolvent bank in which the complainant had an interest. The investor company was awarded $236 million in the dispute settlement. What might the damages be, asks Firestone, if the Fed decided to let the Bank of America fail, and a Saudi-based investment company decided to sue?

Abdicating the Legislative Function to Multinational Corporations

Just the threat of this sort of massive damage award could be enough to block prospective legislation. But the TPP goes further and takes on the legislative function directly, by forbidding specific forms of regulation.

Public Citizen observes that the TPP would provide big banks with a backdoor means of watering down efforts to re-regulate Wall Street, after deregulation triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression:

The TPP would forbid countries from banning particularly risky financial products, such as the toxic derivatives that led to the $183 billion government bailout of AIG. It would prohibit policies to prevent banks from becoming “too big to fail,” and threaten the use of “firewalls” to prevent banks that keep our savings accounts from taking hedge-fund-style bets.

The TPP would also restrict capital controls, an essential policy tool to counter destabilizing flows of speculative money. . . . And the deal would prohibit taxes on Wall Street speculation, such as the proposed Robin Hood Tax that would generate billions of dollars’ worth of revenue for social, health, or environmental causes.

Clauses on dispute settlement in earlier free trade agreements have been invoked to challenge efforts to regulate big business. The fossil fuel industry is seeking to overturn Quebec’s ban on the ecologically destructive practice of fracking. Veolia, the French behemoth known for building a tram network to serve Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, is contesting increases in Egypt’s minimum wage. The tobacco maker Philip Morris is suing against anti-smoking initiatives in Uruguay and Australia.

The TPP would empower not just foreign manufacturers but foreign financial firms to attack financial policies in foreign tribunals, demanding taxpayer compensation for regulations that they claim frustrate their expectations and inhibit their profits.

Preempting Government Sovereignty

What is the justification for this encroachment on the sovereign rights of government? Allegedly, ISDS is necessary in order to increase foreign investment. But as noted in The Economist, investors can protect themselves by purchasing political-risk insurance. Moreover, Brazil continues to receive sizable foreign investment despite its long-standing refusal to sign any treaty with an ISDS mechanism. Other countries are beginning to follow Brazil’s lead.

In an April 22nd report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, gains from multilateral trade liberalization were shown to be very small, equal to only about 0.014% of consumption, or about $.43 per person per month. And that assumes that any benefits are distributed uniformly across the economic spectrum. In fact, transnational corporations get the bulk of the benefits, at the expense of most of the world’s population.

Something else besides attracting investment money and encouraging foreign trade seems to be going on. The TPP would destroy our republican form of government under the rule of law, by elevating the rights of investors – also called the rights of “capital” – above the rights of the citizens.

That means that TPP is blatantly unconstitutional. But as Joe Firestone observes, neo-liberalism and corporate contributions seem to have blinded the deal’s proponents so much that they cannot see they are selling out the sovereignty of the United States to foreign and multinational corporations.

For more information and to get involved, visit:

Flush the TPP

The Citizens Trade Campaign

Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch

Eyes on Trade

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Ellen Brown is an attorney, founder of the Public Banking Institute, and author of twelve books including the best-selling Web of Debt. Her latest book, The Public Bank Solution, explores successful public banking models historically and globally. Her 300+ blog articles are at EllenBrown.com

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