The IMF Protection Racket

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-IMF-Protection-Racket-by-Dr-Stuart-Jeanne-B-110213-800.html

There seems to be strong consensus - at least outside of the US and Britain - that the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is a protection racket. Here is the Wikipedia definition of protection racket:

An extortion scheme whereby a criminal group or individual coerces other less powerful entities to pay money, allegedly for protection services against external threats (usually violence or property damage). Many racketeers will coerce potential clients into buying protection through property damage or other harassment. In some cases, the racketeers do little to protect the client from other predators, and their "protection" is little more than extortion.

Another way to think of it is an offer you can't refuse. Although I didn't realize it at the time, the Mafia and protection rackets were an integral part of my childhood in Milwaukee. Back then I thought it was normal for disk jockeys to get free meals at fancy Italian restaurants (someone with Mafia credentials was repaying my father for promoting an Italian accordion player on his show). I also assumed it was normal for Italians to bury their dead in lye in back alleys and abandoned warehouses.

This is how the IMF protection scam works:

More at the link --