Cartoon 689: Desecration

Over the last decade the public trust residing in government was desecrated. The bankruptcy laws were modified to greatly reduce what they were intended to do, create a financial restart for the individual. This change was lobbied through the banking and credit card industries. The pension funding laws were changed. Businesses were allowed to hold less in reserve to meet pension obligations. The result is the Federal insurer of pensions, the Pension Guarantee Fund, is out of funds due to business and industry defaults. Environmental, safety and financial regulations, with the consent of the Federal Government, were not enforced or circumvented. Public land, mineral and water resources were either sold to private individuals or leased on unimaginable favorable terms. Tax breaks for business, industry and the wealthy abound, funded by the public.

There are many other examples of the “rape and pillage” of the Public Trust.