8 chapters across the catalog
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen conducted a tour of Africa to advocate for the "evolution" of the World Bank and IMF. Yellen called for these institutions to move beyond traditional lending to sovereign nations and begin financing subnational entities like cities for "climate-smart" projects. She also criticized China's role as a major creditor in countries like Zambia, claiming Beijing's lack of participation in debt restructuring has become a global roadblock.
Nikimak and NIB, Securitization of Social Services
The NIA would operate through two arms: the National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) and "Nikimak" (NCMC), a capital management corporation. These entities would purchase municipal bonds and repackage them into new financial instruments, similar to the securitization seen in the 2008 housing crisis. Researcher Alison McDowell warns that this system will lead to "social impact bonds" where human behaviors and social outcomes are traded as debt.
Canada Joins Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Canada becomes the first North American country to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a Chinese-led institution competing with the World Bank. The bank, capitalized at $100 billion, funds energy and transportation projects along the "One Belt One Road" route. The hosts suggest that China is aggressively expanding its global footprint while the US media remains focused on Russia.
Banking Cyber Attacks, Distributed Denial of Service
General Keith Alexander's testimony regarding the vulnerability of the U.S. banking system to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks is analyzed. The hosts compare the current alarmism to the Y2K scenario, suggesting that the "catastrophic" costs cited by officials are intended to force private industry into government-led regulatory frameworks.
Listener Feedback and Global Infrastructure Outages
A series of global infrastructure outages occurred throughout June, affecting Facebook, Gmail, Amazon Web Services, and Twitter. A former IT engineer suggests these failures, along with the NatWest banking crisis, may be part of a coordinated test of institutional resilience. Listeners also provided feedback on "karma" experiences and technical suggestions for the show's newsletter.
American Jobs Act Infrastructure and Investment Grade Ratings
The American Jobs Act includes the creation of the American Infrastructure Financing Authority (AIFA), a government-backed investment bank. The legislation allows for projects with a "BBB minus" investment grade rating to receive federal financing, which is a lower standard than traditional high-grade investments. Loans for these projects feature 35-year repayment terms starting only after the substantial completion of construction.
Infrastructure Bank, High-Speed Rail, Obama Manufacturing Push
President Obama's proposal for an "Infrastructure Bank" (or I-Bank) is analyzed as a public-private partnership that may lead to increased toll roads. The hosts discuss the president's push for American manufacturing and his comments on Koreans driving American cars. They also touch on the legal challenges facing high-speed rail projects in the California peninsula.
Dylan Ratigan MSNBC Rant, Repatriated Offshore Dollars
The hosts play a viral clip of MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan "freaking out" about the extraction of wealth from the United States. They argue the rant was a staged effort to help the Obama administration sell the Infrastructure Bank concept. The discussion explains how the bank would be funded by allowing corporations to repatriate offshore dollars at a lower tax rate, citing Microsoft's purchase of Skype as an example of offshore cash usage.
