Category Archives: Corruption & Finance

Corruption concentrates wealth in the hands of a few at the expense of the 99% below, and this trend has accelerated the past decades. Corrupt leaders and industries are less likely to ration food and oil as it declines, accelerating collapse. I predict that the higher the level of corruption (see corruption perceptions index at transparency.org) will make collapse faster and harsher than in less corrupt nations.  I hope future historians look at this as a factor in how nations fell during the energy crisis. Though I expect that smaller towns everywhere will do better than large cities, and where local governments are uncorrupted

The staggering level of corruption & kleptocracy in the world

Preface.  This is a book review of Frank Vogl’s 2021 book “The Enablers: How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption – Endangering Our Democracy” (well, mostly kindle notes).  They couldn’t get away with it if there weren’t so many places … Continue reading

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Venezuela – when will it collapse?

Preface. This is a book review of Newman’s 2022 “Things are never so bad that they can’t get worse”. He lived in Venezuela from 2012 to 2016 as a correspondent for The New York Times.  Venezuela and Canada have the … Continue reading

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The Vory. Russia’s Super Mafia

Preface. After reading this book about the history of organized crime in Russia, I thought surely Russia must be the most corrupt nation in the world.  But amazingly there are 47 countries that are ranked even lower of the 180 … Continue reading

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Peak Oil is Here! World oil production peaked in 2018

Preface. Peak oil is here! Well, OK, we need to officially wait 5 years. But it’s been true for four years, as you can see from the U.S. Energy Information Administration in late 2018 (EIA 2022). It is also likely … Continue reading

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Book review of “Halfway Home”. What happens after jail

Preface.  This book is about what happens to released prisoners. Many of the homeless you see on the street were prisoners who are on the street because landlords won’t rent to them, and their family won’t let them move in … Continue reading

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How corporations used conservative religion to gain wealth & power & undo the New Deal

Source: Republican Jesus Preface. This is a book review of One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America by Kevin Kruse (2016), followed by excerpts from the book.  Much of this introduction is my take on what this … Continue reading

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A Relentless Growth of Disparity in Wealth

Preface.  I write a lot about why electric vehicles won’t be widely adopted. One reason is that the bottom 95% can’t afford them.  This tremendous unfairness will likely make peak oil decline more violent and chaotic than it would have … Continue reading

Posted in Distribution of Wealth | 3 Comments

Kurt Andersen: “Evil Geniuses” & wealth

Preface.  This is a well-written book with original insights into the economic, cultural, and politics behind how we got to a right-wing wannabe fascist incredibly unfair distribution of wealth.  But Andersen is unaware that energy, not money, is the basis … Continue reading

Posted in Distribution of Wealth, Poverty | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Maddow’s “Blowout”, Russian peak oil, corruption, fake news

Preface.  Since this blog focuses on peak resources, I drastically rearranged my notes from this book in the order I found most interesting. I’m also interested in corruption, Putin, fake news, and more, as you’ll see below.  Since the book … Continue reading

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The rich live longer than the poor. At least 14% of wealth is hidden in tax havens

Preface. No surprises here. With peak oil close at hand, I can’t see universal healthcare and other safety nets enacted, just more and more taken away.  It is so shameful the U.S. doesn’t take care of its people, it is … Continue reading

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