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Anti-Semitism: the Big Lie

Does God Bless America?

Slavery

How to Win the Lottery

Invade the Isle of Man

What rights do Italian-Americans have that Jewish-Americans don't have? None, surely. How could it possibly be right for somebody to have more rights in a democratic multi­cultural society just because they have a particular genetic heritage? And yet some genetic heritages do seem to come with extra rights. Why does individualistic America recognize collective ownership and collective rights among its native people?

For many people in America having mixed blood went from being a matter of shame, a reason to be bullied and abused into something you could cash in on. People who had absolutely no desire to live as hunter-gatherers or in a tribal community sharing resources in a communist manner suddenly woke up to the possibility of getting rich by exercising an identity that they had scorned all their lives. If being a member of a tribe meant you owned something bring it on, if that gave you the right to operate almost as a sovereign nation in your own enclave within a rich country happy days. Here was a share in an offshore tax haven that you didn't even need a boat to visit.

There is no easier way to make money than to run a tax haven within the area that a mighty and prosperous nation is duty bound to protect. You buy in products that somebody else makes and advertises, you sell them on for a large mark-up that is lower than the tax your rich neighbour charges. Somebody else has given you, on a plate, a way to make money for doing virtually nothing. Another economy generates the wealth that you tap. That other economy deserves to be able to tax that economic activity that it enables, but it allows you to do it instead, legally, and people thank you for allowing them the opportunity to avoid paying the taxes they vote for, to spend on the services they have decided they need. Instead that money goes to the private accounts of people who have opted in to tribal membership for the benefits it offers while shirking any hint of responsibility or duty.

Perhaps even easier than selling a product is running a casino. Somebody else has handed you a local monopoly in a lucrative business on a plate. You can tap the wealth of a wide area, wealth you have done nothing to contribute to. There is no competition nearby so you don't even need to be especially good at what you do. It is almost impossible to fail to make large sums of money if you can run a casino without competition within a reasonable drive of a large prosperous city that forbids gambling. If you can't do it yourself you can hire in experts to do it for you. Teams of shyster lawyers will be touting for your business if you have a licence to make money. And if they're crooks? They will probably screw you less than the legitimate agencies because they don't want any attention.

© 1999 - 2008 by Martin Willett.

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