RANDOM THOTS

EVA PERON

Juan and Eva Peron of Argentina were as corrupt as corrupt can be. They enriched themselves by boldly taking the people’s money and destroyed a great nation in doing so. A good friend of mine, the daughter of an important diplomat, was close with Eva Peron. At the time, nothing happened in Argentina without Eva’s approval. When a corporation or foreign nation needed government approval they, on occasion, inquired of my friend to know what Eva would like as an advance token of appreciation for her support.

Eva, or Evita (little Eva) as she was affectionately known, was beloved by the countrymen from whom she stole. It was many years ago. I was naive and disinterested in politics at the time, but nevertheless fascinated by the phenomenon that the more she stole the more they loved her. How did she get away with it, year in and year out? My friend explained, Eva takes from the people in ways the people do not understand and returns small portions with a great flourish in ways the people do understand. Simple.

The following is excerpted (and edited) from a post in Power Line today.

A reader wrote,

“In response to the notion that Obama has generated $20B from BP for US taxpayers, I’d like to offer some admittedly sloppy calculations.

First, you said yesterday US citizens own 40% of BP. Looking at my Schwab account right now (I own BP stock myself), I see their market capitalization presently stands at $99B.

If their stock price has fallen by 40%, that means the market cap was around $165B before all this started — the price of the stock has fallen by $66B. 40% of that loss, or around $26 billion was sustained by Americans if we hold 40% of the stock.

So the net cost of this drama to the taxpayers is $6B and counting. And that is assuming the $20B is distributed fairly.”

Power Line’s John Hinderaker added this comment, (emphasis added)

Modern politics consists largely of promoting the interests of those who are aware they are getting money, in opposition to those who don’t realize they are paying it. Here, I am not sure how the 40% was calculated, but it is likely that most of those who have a stake in BP don’t even know it, because it is part of a mutual fund or pension fund. So the administration can take credit for “creating” the $20 billion fund without worrying about which Americans contributed to it.

The concept of steal with complexity and return with simplicity belongs in Alinsky’s list of rules. But it is not there. Alinsky was not interested in self enrichment. He was a true believer, the ultimate ideologue. He lived for the battle, not for the success he thought it would bring.

Bob B