SHORT LIVED MEDIA SENSATION: THE PANAMA PAPERS

According to the April 11/16 Waterloo Region Record apparently 8% of the world's wealth has been squirreled away in secret offshore banking accounts. The title of the story is "Hiding wealth makes the world go 'round". I'm not clear if this is primarily hiding one's wealth frompublic scrutiny or whether it's about hiding it from the tax collector. Apparently 100 news organizations managed to work together to expose millions of financial records related to thousands of companies and 14,153 clients of a Panamanian law firm. The company Mossack Fonseca represented at least 12 current world leaders among the 143 politicians, families and pals who have been hiding their money in these havens. The article also shows us the hypocrisy of many of these world leaders who cheerfully are cutting back welfare payments and minimum wage laws all the while taking care of number one. The author seems to feel that there is good news here. Essentially greed will prevent world leaders from doing anything just too radical that would imperil their own wealth and best interests. So if not blood, apparently money is thicker than water.