First of all, sorry for the late reply
Secondly, please try to refrain from personal attacks. It really doesn’t help the conversation.
[quote]You have a significant gap in understanding how the world, economics, politics, and people work.[/quote] I would be perfectly right if I would tell you the same, but, for the sake of a civilized conversation, I won’t.
[quote]Poverty #1 cause is corruption.[/quote] I completely agree with that.
[quote]The common effective solution to corruption is government transparency and accountable with a free media.[/quote] Not a bad idea. But unfortunately, a free media is extremely hard to get. There are much better solutions to solve the corruption problem: participatory democracy and honest political parties and movements.
Without the people’s participation, transparency and free media are useless.
[quote]This usually cannot occur without an armed intervention and a great many people dying and at great expense.[/quote] This is complete nonsense. I come from Romania and my country changed a lot thanks to the pressure the EU put on my government to implement changes. Today Romania has the biggest fight against corruption in the whole world, and also in the history of humanity. Hundreds of corrupt politicians were sentenced in the recent years: mayors, members of the parliament, ministers and even prime ministers.
Also check the EU investigators to decide on Thai fishing industry ban over slave labour. - this is the kind of pressure that I’m talking about.
Also check the sanctions on Iran. Or the EU sanctions against Russia.
The West has an enormous power to pressure the rest of the world. Simply because the West is the bank of pretty much all the organized crime in the world. Also because it has a huge and stable trading power.
[quote]Have a look at the Panama Papers database if you want to get an understanding of some the tech that is involved.[/quote] I know about Panama Papers but that’s very far from enough. We must also know how much money have the corrupt politicians of the poor countries in the Australian banks and in real estate assets.
[quote]Freezing assets - this is where it gets difficult / risky. The world is not so black and white. You do to this to a few people that on a whim you decide are “bad” people and suddenly a lot of money and investment leaves your country and goes to another country. Your own citizens are poorer. Money is not stupid and assesses risk.Just because you get a vote passed by the government doesn’t actually mean you have any power or control anything.[/quote] Those corrupt politicians don’t care about investments. They make money by stealing from their own people. They are saving their money in the West in order to keep it safe.
The West can live very well without such dirty money. The Australian banks use those dirty money in order to further exploit the workers in the poor countries. If you don’t believe me, then I give you a hint: outsourcing.
Let the Australian people save their money in Australian banks, and then let the banks use the money in order to create jobs inside Australia. You might need a little bit of protectionism for that, but it works very well.
[quote]Reducing Trade - hurts everyone but the people you’re trying to hurt in the short term. Longer term it may lead to a bloody revolution with mass murder - this is actually the good outcome you’re aiming for,[/quote] It hurts them a lot, because they make a lot of their dirty money using the trade. The corrupt politicians of the poor countries create family companies that buy the products at dirt-cheap and then they sell those goods in the West.
On top of that, the population of those countries will get angry at their own politicians, and then they will pressure the politicians to implement the changes the West is asking for.
[quote]Asking them to do x, y , z…: ARE YOU MENTALLY RETARDED? Your complaining about mass murders and you have no leverage because you cut off ties and confiscated their property, and now you think you can wisely ask them for changes that will further degrade their wealth and security?[/quote] You freeze the property first.
If they refuse to implement the changes, only then you confiscate their assets. So they will listen to you and they will implement the changes, because they don’t want to lose their assets saved in Australia.
The changes won’t degrade their wealth - the changes will only force them to steal less money from their own people.
[quote]The rest of your improvement statements are delusional. Unless you have tanks and an airforce this wont happen. But go for it, print a manifesto im sure it will matter.[/quote] Sorry but I think your view on economic matters is very superficial. My manifesto is this thread, no need to print one.
[quote]Minimum wage - this is more complex than your saying, but aspects of what you’re saying is something that can be done… but I’m pretty sure you would not be happy with the outcome.[/quote] I would be very happy with the outcome. If their employers want to keep selling their products, they will have to consider reducing their astronomical monthly profits.
[quote]Your arguments then go into a lot of emotional clap trap about pride, dishonesty which are irrelevant. I dont think neither a person starving in Syria nor the Bio Fuel Executive deciding where to invest in $2bn of crops give a crap about your pride. They care about hard facts on the ground that enable both to make their lives better - which in the end is I think the point you’re trying to make.[/quote] This is not about pride. This is about morality. And shame.
I find it profoundly immoral and shameless to always find excuses to exploit the people in the poor countries and to help the people who are exploiting them (corrupt politicians and shameless businessmen).
On top of that, there are many other practical motivations, like for example this one: once a poor country gets out of poverty, it will contribute much more to the development of science, technology, arts and culture. And that’s beneficial for all the world, not only for those countries.
Sorry to disagree with you.