In his latest video, Ben Armstrong dives deep into the intersection of politics, finance, and power. The CoinSpeech team has collected the most important takeaways from his recent appearance. You can find Ben Armstrong’s new video below.
The Illusion of Democracy
We are often led to believe that in Western democracies, we have a say in our government and future. But as Armstrong notes, “it really doesn’t seem like that at all.” According to him, “the reality for everyday Americans has not changed much from Administration to Administration.” Both parties, despite their publicized disputes, have supported bad policies that benefit the elite, including unpopular wars, infamous bailouts, and corporate subsidies.
Money Talks: The Role of Lobbyists
The influence of lobbyists and special interest groups is staggering. “There’s so much money involved in being a lobbyist,” says Armstrong. Politicians speak about serving the people, but they are actually serving “the people that keep them in power and sign their paychecks,” primarily banks and corporations. He emphasizes, “They don’t work for you; they work for the banks and corporations that fund their campaigns.”
The Federal Reserve: The Fox Guarding the Hen House
The Federal Reserve, technically founded by the U.S. government, is actually controlled by a Board of Governors who are “deeply connected to the big banks.” This, as Armstrong points out, “seems more like the fox guarding the hen house.” The Federal Reserve’s setup is a glaring conflict of interest where bankers are in charge of the economy.
Regulatory Capture: The System Rigged
Regulatory capture, where industry regulators are under the control of the industry’s biggest players, is prevalent in the financial sector. Armstrong explains, “The regulators have been in the pocket of the banks from the very beginning.” He attributes this to a flawed incentive structure where SEC lawyers aim for jobs at high-paying law firms, thus ignoring issues like hedge funds to safeguard their futures. “They sell small investors down the river for their own career,” he concludes.
Global Strategy and Sanctions
Armstrong also discusses how the elite use government as a tool for global strategy. Sanctions, often portrayed as methods to force political change, only lead to more human suffering. “Sanctions are basically an act of war on a civilian population,” Armstrong says, citing estimates that sanctions on Iraq before 9/11 “took the lives of over a million people.”
Moreover, sanctions can backfire. European economies have suffered significantly from sanctions against Russia, which impacted their reliance on Russian resources. This reality underscores Armstrong’s argument for “a global and decentralized financial system.”