I'm joined today by John Perkins he's
the author up good winks and also
Confessions of an economic hit man
he describes himself as an axe economic
hit man and also claims to have played a
role in the
process over economic colonization up
third
world countries John it's really a
pleasure to speak with you I find your
background so interesting why don't we
just to give the audience who may not
yet be familiar with you a little bit a
sensory background
give us your background as an economic
hit man and what that means
alright david thank you yaa at my
official title is chief economist at a
major consulting firm at a Boston I had
a several dozen employees working for me
I job is really to identify
countries that have resources are
corporations have it like oil
in a range huge loans that countries in
the world bank or its just organizations
but the money never actually went to the
country instead he went to our own
corporations to build infrastructure
projects in that country
meant a great deal profit on that also
some other well clear people
have benefited from these projects
things like electric systems
industrial parks highways things that
benefit very wealthy families but don't
have a majority the people who are too
poor to buy electricity
in BK jobs industrial park there how
many people
yet the country would be like holy a
huge debt he couldn't repay
and so at some point we go back and say
hey you know since you can't pay your
debts
so you're resource oil whenever very
cheap to our country truck companies
without any environmental restrictions
on social regulations
or privatizing public sector businesses
sell them real cheap your
utility companies your water and sewage
system your schools your jails of to our
corporations
and that way we really created the
world's first truly global empire
primarily without the use of the
military so you're really talking about
so many you at you were directly exposed
in other words to so many of the issues
we talk about on this program in the
corporate media often ignores Witcher
corporate control over the Commons the
privatization above
public goods in resources and so many of
these other things
but at a certain point did you have some
kind over
realization that what you were helping
two ish
achieve was a negative being her how did
you transition
out of that world well it's a very
interesting system david because in fact
in business school I was tough but
that's exactly what you should do
you want to help a developing country
current economy you invest billions of
dollars in infrastructure
and suggesting we we can show that works
economy increases
but it and as I get deeper and deeper
into this and perhaps because I had been
a Peace Corps volunteer before this
living with very poor people in Ecuador
I i cant understand that the perky were
not benefiting
that the statistics reflects the very
wealthy
which is true in this country to we know
that eighty-five people
control more resources than half the
world's population
our statistics and very very skewed to
those rich people so I very quickly
and began to relations a very good now
been a time but I guess carpet
and discovered that you know i i mission
at helping the poor
the poor was not working we were doing
exactly the opposite we're helping the
wealthiest to the wellesley
so how did you what would you do you
quit your job
certainly but how what activist role did
you take
when I first has started to write a book
which began may eventually become
concessions and I contacted other
economic hit man and jackals jackals the
people
goin' if economic hit men fail and
assassinate or overthrow presidents
I'd seen this happen with two of my
clients democratically elected president
of Ecuador hiring role does in the
president at paramount rehearsed
they did not buy the system they didn't
listen to me and they were both
assassinated
so I quit my job I I started writing
in contacting the people and I
immediately get serious threat on my
life
both my own daughter's life same time I
was offered
a job thing going to dinner by the
chairman of the board of stone and
Webster another major began so Bieber
he said hey you got a great resume again
I've been chief economist at his rival
he said we'd like to use your resume in
our proposal is you won't have to do any
work for us and we'd like to pay your
half million dollar consultant retainer
I just don't write the book so here
yeah I know that that's it said and now
we're kinda transitioning into the other
thing I want to talk about I want to be
very clear I highly recommend everybody
read your book
Confessions of an economic hit man they
can also read hoodwink but really we're
talking about a lot of the stuff from
confessions
not everything you said it has been has
avoided scrutiny in controversy and I
would love to get your reactions to some
of the claims
that are made by by state department
releases which say that
hearts love your book not insignificant
part sir quote total fabrications
that your allegations about for example
the NSA's involvement
in economic policy is just completely
made up you know that you've been
scrutinized significantly now the
obvious the easy way
to counter this would be for you to say
well of course they're going to say that
because they don't want the truth
getting out and to me
I hope we can move past that kinda
obvious rebuttal
and really get your thoughts about what
the reaction has been from the state
department too much much what you've
written
let me first address and at the new york
times that a major front page of the
financial
section a ascended Sunday Times that on
on the book and they they did it very
very strongly and came to the conclusion
that it was
it was truthful on the state department
I found a
why they created a a a block or rather
at that time a website
call the misinformation website and my
book was the only thing on
in and it was puzzling to me because
it's its old ally copies of the book for
me
and they did they made the allegation
that yeah I claim that I've been
recruited by the National Security
Agency which I was
and that was ridiculous is a national
security on agency only does
cryptography
encoding and decoding messages well even
back then in 2005 your cell
we all knew the net NSA did more than
that and now especially we certainly
know that they that they do more than
that what were the circumstances have
this republic room in attempt
at well first of all I was married to a
woman whose father was very high up in
the department of the Navy in washington
won his best friend is higher than the
national security agency
I was looking for a job that would keep
me out a vietnam and so he arranged for
me to be interviewed by the NSA that
would do it
and they put me through extensive
testing days and
have psychological testing including
lie-detector tests
and concluded that I would make a good
economic hit man
whatever I'm interested in is what other
kinda psychological tests that they put
you through
whether written test the interviews
their lie detector tests
and I'm that's about it you know I mean
what not you know
I've ever is that as a No you know room
by myself with what
yes right you writing this thing with
books around me
I i'm sure their cameras watching me you
know the whole
the whole routine okay so so that that
once I did that the other thing and I'll
just ask you directly
the state department claims that you
believe that the government was
complicit
in the assassinations of JFK Robert F
Kennedy
Martin Luther King John Lennon and
unnamed US senators who have died in
plane crashes
is that something you allege no it not
for
I've never allege that i i'd I'd
probably open the question as to whether
at that might have been bad way when I
have alleged no
is that we were involving assassination
at time n roll those in Ecuador and Omar
Torrijos the pan American's I was there
I know with admitted that we were we
took out a and a in Chile
henry kissinger's admitted that he and
and
Arbenz I want them Allah and the Mumbai
handy and
and most attacking Iran we've admitted
two men in many of these things
and I also wanted to go back to a David
for just a moment to to the State
Department
leaving I always wondered why they did
that website
writers and its whole lotta books for me
and I found out later through through it
and add a good friend who is also host
to the major show in Athens we did a
show on May and was called into the
Athens Greece US Embassy called on the
carpet for doing that show in the
ambassador said it puts me in a very
embarrassing position because people
come in asking
is Perkins book real is a is what is our
shit what is your official position on
me said I don't have what I don't know
what to say
well I believe that a lot of diplomats
around the world were asked their
questions at the state department felt
that it had to come out
with an official statement that negated
the book and that's why they did what
they did
and the 88 get there the diplomats off
the hook they just say hey the official
position as I
is on our website don't ask me anymore
about it and it sold a lot of books from
a huge
very quickly just in the last minute we
have left you I would love to just get
your opinion on when you look at the
united states right now and the
influence that big corporations in big
banks have over
every everybody everyday lives in terms
of the political system the economic
system resources et cetera
what's your biggest concern in other
words in which
area do you think we're closest to the
tipping point for things really taking a
turn for the worst
well I think what we know is we created
a death economy one that's based on
killing people militarization
and ravaging the earth we need to move
into a life economy is based on cleaning
up pollution feeding starving people
developing new technologies for
transportation communications energy
acceptor a
sheesh and we've been moving more and
more in a very bad direction
we've created an economy and global
economy that's an addict failure
less than five percent of us live in the
united states. we consume almost thirty
percent of the world's resources will
have to roll starving
that's not a model can't be repeated by
China even though they're trying
it just puts the world and we're skin
condition when when other countries try
to repeat tomorrow
we must come up with the new model and I
and i think that corporations that
they had the corporations that are
really smart our understanding that I
recently was invited to be the leadoff
keynote speaker at a conference in 2000
business executives in Istanbul
I get those invitations fairly
frequently I think business is beginning
to get it I think consumers are
beginning to get it
I think we're truly into consciousness
revolution a huge revolution where
people are waking up
to the fact that we're living in a very
fragile space station
that has no shuttles we're gonna have to
take care this place and big business is
going to have to play a major role
in waking up and taking care that
serving a public interest
not the one percent but the 99 percent
serving the air
essence and and we all need to get out
there and make sure that happens
we've been speaking with John Perkins
the books are hoodwinked
and Confessions of an economic hit man
really great to have you on I do
appreciate it
thank you David and I'd like to
encourage people to go to john perkins
died or and
organ sign up for my newsletter and see
we're going to be speaking so I can make
them personally
