I'm scratching my head about the hard line the U.S. Department of Justice is taking with FIFA officials who were arrested for racketeering conspiracy and corruption. Given the DoJ's inaction on the multi-TRILLION dollar credit default swaps industry, the FIFA bribes and kickbacks look like such small potatoes that the DoJ should have punted (to mix "football" metaphors with "football" metaphors):
The US justice department said 14 individuals were under investigation worldwide for allegedly accepting bribes and kickbacks estimated at more than $150m (£97m) over a 24-year period.
I often joke that one should never steal unless it's enough money that the thief can scarper off to Paraguay and never look back. Hell, the asshole who was arrested for killing his employer in a $40,000 ransom scheme could have made more money honestly than he got illegally. The FIFA guys didn't get enough money in bribes and kickbacks to buy off the right people, so they were nabbed.
Contrast FIFA with the NFL, which sucks up billions in taxpayer dollars, while the owners walk free. The FIFA fools should have stolen more money, and used some of it to buy some congresscritters. Meanwhile, how much of the American taxpayers' money is going to be used to prosecute these foreigners whose crimes have absolutely no impact on the American public?
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4 comments:
FIFA is the 500 pound gorilla of world sport. Given the US's broad international reach, it is one of the few countries in the world who could hope to address the corruption in the organization. And while the banks and large financial institutions that caused the mortgage crisis need to be aggressively charged and prosecuted, so too should the organization all too happy to sit on a mound of bribe money and ignore the 1200 migrant workers who have already died building the facilities in Qatar for the 2022 world cup.
Given the DoJ's inaction on the multi-TRILLION dollar credit default swaps industry
Covington and Burling protects Wall Street crooks, not soccer officials.
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I'd make two points. First, many people in America were pretty pissed that the 2018 Cup went to Russia and the 2022 cup went to Qatar. Much of the corruption charges revolve around that process, and there is some attempt to 'claw back' the 2022 award and give it to the US, especially in light of Qatar's support for ISIS and other Sunni Salafist extremist groups.
Second, the whole theory that the NFL receives billions in taxpayer money is kind of true, but grossly misleading. Very few taxpayers are included in those numbers - you're not, and I'm not. It is almost all county and muni tax breaks and bonds for stadium construction - a stupid and unnecessary use of public resources, but narrow in scope. The whole idea that corporations can deduct stadium naming and suite expentitures should be considered a subsidy to the NFL and not to the corporations is absurd. Finally the NFL as an entity is small potatoes - it is the operational arm that runs the business of football for the owners - it is a non profit because after it pays its bills all the profits flow to the owners, who are all 1%ers and not non-profits. You can argue that they don't pay enough taxes on their earnings - corporate and football generated - and I'd agree with you, but that has to do with the way the legislature writes the tax code rather than having anything to do with the NFL. The key is to remember the league is NOT the owners, and the owners get to keep all the money...
And while the banks and large financial institutions that caused the mortgage crisis need to be aggressively charged and prosecuted, so too should the organization all too happy to sit on a mound of bribe money and ignore the 1200 migrant workers who have already died building the facilities in Qatar for the 2022 world cup.
Meanwhile, nothing is being done about mistreatment of workers at the NYU campus in Abu Dhabi.
Covington and Burling protects Wall Street crooks, not soccer officials.
Like I said, they didn't steal enough!
Second, the whole theory that the NFL receives billions in taxpayer money is kind of true, but grossly misleading. Very few taxpayers are included in those numbers - you're not, and I'm not. It is almost all county and muni tax breaks and bonds for stadium construction - a stupid and unnecessary use of public resources, but narrow in scope.
Meanwhile, the roads don't get repaved and the libraries languish. It's yet another "trickle up", regressive tax scheme.
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