What better way to kick off 2014 than with the first (and most certainly not last) egregious example of USA banana republic revolving door crony capitalism. In this case, the crony in question is former head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Julius Genachowski, who was earlier today named Managing Director and partner in the U.S. Buyout team for private equity giant Carlyle Group. Carlyle is so giddy about its latest example of regulatory capture, they issued a glowing press release on the matter. Here are some excerpts:
Tech & Media Business Executive and Former Head of U.S. Federal Communications Commission Will Focus on Global Technology, Media and Telecom Investments
Will Help Carlyle Further Capitalize on Internet and Mobile Revolution
Washington, DC – Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today named Julius Genachowski a Managing Director and partner in the U.S. Buyout team. He will focus on investments in global technology, media and telecom, including Internet and mobile. Mr. Genachowski is returning to the private sector after serving as Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for four years, departing last May. He is an accomplished leader and expert in technology, media and telecom and brings to Carlyle almost 20 years of experience in the space. Mr. Genachowski joins Carlyle today and will be based in Washington, DC.
Since leaving the FCC, Mr. Genachowski has taught a joint class at Harvard’s Business and Law Schools, and served as a Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute, the non-partisan education and policy organization. Over the course of his career, he has been a Special Adviser at General Atlantic, a board member and advisor to several public and private companies, and a law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice David Souter.
Since inception, Carlyle has deployed on a global basis more than $18 billion in equity in investments in the technology, media and telecom sectors. Investments include Syniverse Technologies, Nielsen, Dex Media, AMC Entertainment, Insight Communications, CommScope and SS&C Technologies.
Congrats Mr. Genachowski, this is your big payday. There is no quicker route to success in the USSA than to go into “public service” regulating a massive industry and then flip back over to engage in M&A in the exact industry you were in charge of regulating. Congrats on the several months in which you pretended to be a professor.
In the past couple of years I have highlighted several instances of revolving door cronyism including:
In Journalism.
In Defense.
In Law Enforcement.
In Finance here,here, here and here.
Thanks for playing serfs.
Full press release here.
In Liberty,
Mike
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The Last Gasp of American Democracy
The political philosopher Sheldon Wolin, in his essential book “Democracy Incorporated,” calls our system of corporate governance “inverted totalitarianism,” which represents “the political coming of age of corporate power and the political demobilization of the citizenry.” It differs from classical forms of totalitarianism, which revolve around a demagogue or charismatic leader; it finds its expression in the anonymity of the corporate state. The corporate forces behind inverted totalitarianism do not, as classical totalitarian movements do, replace decaying structures with new structures. They instead purport to honor electoral politics, freedom of expression and the press, the right to privacy and the guarantees of law. But they so corrupt and manipulate electoral politics, the courts, the press and the essential levers of power as to make genuine democratic participation by the masses impossible. The U.S. Constitution has not been rewritten, but steadily emasculated through radical judicial and legislative interpretation. We have been left with a fictitious shell of democracy and a totalitarian core. And the anchor of this corporate totalitarianism is the unchecked power of our systems of internal security.
Our corporate totalitarian rulers deceive themselves as often as they deceive the public.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/the_last_gasp_of_american_democracy_20140105
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0NJdeChE3U
The World Government “NWO”