John Loeffler: April 12, 2016

A mountain of documents known as the Panama Papers have been leaked exposing shell companies, offshore accounts, and tax havens of hundreds of influential people around the world. In this week’s extended boralogue, John links these papers with next week’s tax deadline here in the U.S., explaining patterns found throughout history in taxation and the economy, showing the bumpy road America and those in the West are travelling down. The FBI’s battle with Apple ended when the Feds cracked the cell phone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists. Columnist and political analyst Liz Peek (www.lizpeek.com) examines Apple’s decision to ignore the government and stand for customers’ privacy as well as the legalities of the FBI’s initial request to break into the phone. Puerto Rico, an American territory, is teetering on the brink of insolvency. Charles Tatelbaum (www.trippscott.com), a bankruptcy attorney at Tripp Scott Law Firm in Florida, discusses whether the island government will be eligible to file for bankruptcy, and how residents there and on the mainland are being affected, Donald Trump is all over the news, leading the 2016 GOP race for the president. Rejoining the program this week is Pat Wood (www.technocracy.news), Founder of the August Corporation, who looks at Trump’s technocratic nature and what is to come for America, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office next year. Technocracy is opposed to capitalism and free enterprise, but many on the campaign trail support it. Be careful what you wish for in needing someone to fix Washington – you may not get what you’re expecting. John’s quote of the week: “There is a complexity in the United States tax code, which no one can really know or understand, except for a few arcane people and those skilled in the dark arts!” As always, join us online for our Section 6 intelligence briefing featuring analysis by John on important stories highlighting emerging geopolitical trends around the world.