Why Is The U.S. Following Failed Policies Of The IMF Instead Of The U.S. Constitution?

Lets begin with the very interesting story of Argentina which is also a member of the IMF.

President Peron ruled Argentina in its golden years. He invested heavily in public works, and gave rights to the working class such as the right to organize for better working conditions. As a result Argentina prospered and had the largest middle class in South America. It was an upcoming economic success to match Canada and other Capitalistic countries. Argentina was a rich Country made poor.

In the 1990’s President Carlos Menem also transformed Argentina by following the policies of the IMF. He implemented every “business friendly policy” in it all at one time…downsizing, corporate handouts, and selling off of public assets, and Washington approved. (Note The following was taken from the IMF website: “The IMF was conceived in July 1944, when representatives of 45 governments meeting in the town of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in the northeastern United States, agreed on a framework for international economic cooperation. They believed that such a framework was necessary to avoid a repetition of the disastrous economic policies that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s. “http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/exrp/what.htm ). The policy turned into a disaster.

When workers protested for better working conditions the factory owners simply closed the doors and moved to countries offering a cheaper more compliant labor force. They left behind gutted empty factories, and the jobless.

While people where without work, money was free to travel. Argentinean currency started to faultier. So national banks moved forty billion dollars out of the Country, and froze all bank accounts in the dead of night with the support of judges, politicians and the police force. The rich were able to travel to obtain money, but the average citizen was robbed of their life savings in that one night. IMF policies destroyed the Argentinean middle class. Once they ate in fancy restraints. Now they rummaged their dumpsters for food. The IMF policies are not limited to Argentina. They are global stretching from Seattle Washington to South Africa. But the beauty of the Argentinean people began to rise from the ashes of that disaster.

A group of women from a closed garment manufacturing company were the first to take action. They showed up for work anyway, and ran the company themselves. Under the women the company was a bigger success than ever before. The reasons they gave: “we do not have excessive pay to anyone (CEOs), everyone is treated equally, and we do not send profits out of the Country.” They were surprised to find out how easy it actually was to run the factory they had worked in. But their efforts were not without resistance. Factory owners hearing of their success wanted their factories back. The original owners felt those factories belonged to them as it was their investment that made it all possible.

Others followed the example of the women. Even closed schools were opened this way by parents and teachers uniting.

Argentina went through five presidents in three weeks. Menem had exited the country, but returned for elections. He promised change, and the return of prosperity. He promised to put the people back to work. Some refused to vote complaining that all of their presidential choices where only men that had caused the problem in the first place. Sound familiar? Menem won the election by a small margin.

As soon as he took office he began to reward those who had financed his campaign. Factories were taken from the control of the people, and returned to the original factory owners. The first one to go was the women’s garment factory.

One can learn much more form the documentary called “The Take.”
http://www.thetake.org/
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0218-31.htm