Bill Black: Obama’s Latest Betrayal in Favor of the Big Banks: TISA

Yves here. I’ve taken the liberty of editing down Bill Black’s post slightly to bring readers more quickly to his correctly outraged discussion of the latest Wikileaks expose on a trade deal that has managed to go completely under the radar: the Trade in Services Agreement, otherwise known as TISA. We wrote about this troubling news when the story broke. Astonishingly, the mainstream media has taken no notice of this release. Black’s discussion is accessible to lay readers, and I hope you’ll circulate it in the interest of raising awareness of how the Administration intends to sell out the US to banks, Big Pharma, and other multinationals.





Three TISA Paradoxes

Financial Deregulation is Criminogenic

















The Paradox of Secrecy and “Prudential” Regulation


Article X.17: Prudential Measures





The Paradox of Withstanding a “Notwithstanding” Clause












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  1. trish

    “it will be obvious to you that no one is representing the public.” That’s Hope and Change Man essentially since his first day in office. He’s hasn’t represented the public, ever.
    He’s represented these banking thieves and all other assorted corporate kleptocrats since day one. Representation of the public is, has been as illusory as the TISA prudential regulatory allowances that aren’t. Prudential means only wish list protection.


    Wow. Where’s our watchdog press? I still think this when I read something so utterly egregious like this even though I know better. TISA is “classified” so that those who might blow the whistle may be prosecuted. No cops on the beat except for those who point out the criminality. This trend toward criminalizing all dissent is very very frightening!!!

    And (essentially) not a peep from the MSM. Aiding and abetting the the bankers and those revolving-door government officials involved trying (effectively, at this point) to hide something they know would outrage the public. Criminals, all.

    1. Banger

      We have to assume that everything on the MSM is a lie or misleading–the more we spread that idea the better. Not that true stories and great reporting doesn’t happen–it does happen but we have to be suspicious of anything we read, watch or hear in the mainstream particularly when it comes to significant stories.

      1. trish

        yes, good reporting does come out, but the exception not the rule and that says a lot.
        I see occasional pieces when scanning the NYT and I’m sure good stuff occasionally on NPR (but I can’t stand listening to the Dina-Temple-Raston-type-hack pieces interspersed with the it’s-all-about-us, feel-good pieces and so many liberal friends I know wear their NPR listening like scout badges, I can’t listen to it anymore), and other MSM.

        I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that it took me until well into middle age to become a more critical reader and hence more aware of what was going on (a gradual evolution, a maturity long time coming?), thanks to sites like counterpunch, truthdig, to greenwald (pre-Omidyar), a group of pando writers, here… many good ones…but at least my practically-adult kids are aware now, as they’re growing up into this world.

        Yes, one needs to be a critical reader of everything (non-fiction), read w/ a degree of skepticism, a discerning eye, expect evidence when necessary…but it’s nice to have some sources one can trust, plain good journalism. Wish they were mainstream. We’d be a whole lot better off.

    2. jgordon

      You see, I thought this was a big deal in the media because I have completely stopped paying attention to the MSM and only get my info from alternative media anymore. Nice to see that my lack of faith in the credibility of the corporate/government media has been rewarded yet again. It’s sad to say that Alex Jones runs a journalism outfit superior to all the MSM combined–and that’s not meant as compliment to Jones.

    3. mellon

      The MSM seems to have a media quarantine on all the FTAs in the US. What little coverage they have is exceedingly vague and wildly pro-FTA.

      Here is how Congresspeople can say they have not read it and get away with it.
      This just tells it all.. People need to read this:

      “In the US, there is a reading room arrangement where members of the US Congress (no staff permitted) have to leave empty-handed.”

      There are two new, I think TTIP/TISA documents- linked from this page. The EU services offer. Unfortunately, the US offer is secret. But it talks about it a bit in the EU one. For example the US is pushing hard for postal services “liberalization”.

  2. cnchal


    That’s easy. The criminals are writing the laws, which are secret from the victims. What? You didn’t know the criminals passed a law making locks illegal. Well, now you know, and you better get rid of those locks. We wouldn’t want to make the criminal’s heist any harder than dragging a giant sack of money.

  3. ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©

    All this from a guy who ran against NAFTA…and then secretly resumed negotiations on ‘NAFTA on steroids’ less than a year after he was sworn in.

    Neither the GOP nor right-wing Dems in Congress made Obama do that. It’s a straight up sellout of his voters.

    1. Daikon

      No, Obama didn’t run against NAFTA. One of his aides told the Canadians O secretly supported NAFTA, and this leak was widely reported. Yet many progressives refused to look at reality and voted for O. They bear part of the responsibility for the sellout.

  4. Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

    The reason President Obama does not “learn” from experience is, very simply, he has been paid not to “learn.”

    Like most politicians, the President has been bribed via campaign contributions and promises of lucrative employment later. Then there is that Obama library which will require massive investment from the wealthy. Watch for billionaire Penny Pritzker, who already has received her reward from Obama, to lead the collections for a Chicago Obama Library.

    It’s the same reason why Obama has wanted to cut Social Security (in his “Grand Bargain’): He has been paid to widen the gap between the rich and the rest.

    Bottom line: The rich do not care about dollar income or wealth per se. They care about the GAP, for it is the gap that makes them rich. A man with a billion dollars would not be rich if everyone else had a billion dollars. But a man with a hundred dollars would be rich, if everyone else had but one dollar.

    The wealthy bribe politicians to widen the gap. Thus, politicians pretend the federal government can run short of dollars, so spending (which mostly benefits the middle and lower income/power groups) must be reduced. It is the gap that “required” FICA to be increased, and Social Security benefits to be decreased.

    All the mystery about government economic “ignorance,” can be explained by the gap. See: THE GAP

    [Additionally, the euro exists because of the gap — but that is another story.]

    1. hunkerdown

      Biden’s kid’s the corporate lawyer for a Ukrainian fracking concern which currently holds leases in the disputed territories. Somehow I don’t think these are the sort of people who put their nominal pretexts (i.e. constituents, i.e. us) ahead of their actual interests.

    2. christine

      6 years into an 8-year presidential stunt, most of the ills have already been committed and institutionalized. “I” would come way too late, unless accompanied by 1) a rewrite of our constitution, 2) a repeal of every presidential order signed since he came into power and 3) a dissolution of Congress and elections of new reps and senators.

      Anything short of that is mere huffing and puffing.

    3. Nathanael

      No, the time for the “I” word was back in 2002.

      We’re getting near the time to discuss the “R” word. I’m not happy about that.

  5. agkaiser

    The system will die of concentration of wealth. Many economic/political abuses, such as trade deals like TISA, will play a role. The fundamental intellectual flaw that dooms us, though, is the failure to understand that money is just marks on a ledger, paper or underutilized metal resources, without real wealth for it to represent and to give it value.

    TISA appears to exacerbate the general misunderstanding of the nature of money and accelerate our decline towards total cultural collapse and extinction. Environmental degradation, war and finance are all destructive forces that endanger us. Combined they’re the greatest threat the Human Race has ever faced.

  6. Chauncey Gardiner

    TISA, TTIP and TIP are all part of a continuing broad, coordinated, secretive attack ceding rights and powers under the Constitution and sovereignty to large transnational corporations and banks.

    The secrecy in which these negotiations and documents have been cloaked from public view and congressional oversight are the tell. That they are being negotiated behind closed doors and won’t be made available for viewing until many years after they are concluded and the politicians responsible have left office to their revolving door rewards is sufficient reason alone to oppose them.

    1. Banger

      Just another reason to resist I nay way possible the current system–I guess it needs to break before it can be fixed–we need to speed up the process.

      1. Vatch

        No, if the system breaks, things will probably get much worse, as described in The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. Resistance, yes. Real change, yes. But don’t destroy the system. Instead, endeavor to fix it.

        1. Banger

          Theoretically, I agree with you–but how can it be “fixed”? Certainly not on the level of the federal government–do you really know how far gone the system is? For example, if you had dramatic and draconian changes to the Civil Service, you might be able to trust the federal government to manage reforms on the off chance that Congress and therefore the way we elect them would be even slightly interested in reform. Look, from a nuts and bolts perspective there isn’t any chance of reform without major breakdowns because all branches of gov’t particularly the fifth estate are totally intertwined with the corporate oligarchs. Now if the power elites could agree that reforms should happen then, yes, reform could happen within the system with time–but how likely is that? Not just because the elites are selfish a-holes but because they have major rivalries within their ranks which is the main reason Washington seems to be so divided and confused (except for a part of the TP, the issues aren’t ideological).

          1. Vatch

            It probably can’t be fixed, since most Americans are too sheep-like. Perhaps if more people would write to their Congress-critters demanding a restoration of the Glass Steagall banking laws, we would get some action. People should also write to Congress or to newspapers complaining about the lack of banker prosecutions over the past several years. I’ve done all of these, so my conscience is clear. I’ve even nagged friends and relatives to do the same, but with little success. Too many people either don’t care, or are convinced that their letters will be ignored. This is a self fulfilling prophecy: if most people don’t write, then the letters of the few who do write will be ignored.

            Whenever there is a Third Party political candidate, people should vote for that person. Again, friends and relatives are reluctant to do this, and so we get the same servants of oligarchy in office, year after year. People should vote Green or Libertarian — I prefer Green, but I will be also delighted if the Libertarians can increase their vote totals.

            Here’s an organization that might deserve support on the twisted issue of corporate personhood (thanks, Carla):



            1. Vatch

              That should be “I will also be delighted instead of “I will be also delighted”. Sometimes I type too fsat. :-)

            2. Lambert Strether

              Man, I hate that “sheeple” meme. It’s not only insulting, it’s disempowering, especially to activists. To be fair, it’s totally incomprehensible why people would think twice about following the liberals/”progressives”/left, given their track record since the mid-70s. Oh, wait…

          2. LucyLulu

            The problem with our system is that it isn’t in the best interest of the people who could fix the system to make the necessary changes. Politicians won’t pass campaign finance and lobby reform legislation when it means their income gets slashed to a meager $170K/yr. It would be karma and make for a nice fantasy if they could be paid minimum wage, and forbidden any other income, but that’s some really wild fantasy.

        2. Nathanael

          Oh, when the system breaks, it’ll be a bloody mess, obviously. But since the system can’t be fixed, why worry about that?

          Worry, rather, about how to build a new system as quickly as possible. Preferably *before* the collapse of the old system — a parallel set of institutions, which can serve as the basis of society after the old system collapses.

  7. F. Beard


    Then remove all government privileges, both explicit and implicit, from the banks leaving them 100% private with 100% voluntary depositors. That will require a massive bailout of the entire population with new fiat so all but 100% voluntary depositors can flee the soon-to-be-uninsured banking cartel for a Postal Savings Service that makes no loans (and pays no interest).

    YOUR banks, Mr. Black, are themselves thieves by virtue of their extensive privileges from the government. Thus, saving one parasite (the banks) from another parasite (their CEOs) sounds like a waste of your time.

  8. impermanence

    The sad thing is that the bankers are doing exactly what everybody else would be doing if they had the opportunity.

    1. F. Beard

      That’s grossly unjust and very presumptuous of you.

      You could not pay me to be a banker since it is against my religious beliefs and because I despise the banking cartel.

      Besides, some people ARE content to live modestly.

    2. hunkerdown

      So we shouldn’t take the opportunity away from the bankers, or spoil their ability to enjoy it tranquilly?

    3. trish

      what nonsense.
      There are indeed individual differences (continuum scales, perhaps) re empathy, sense of justice, moral compass, need for power, etc. (I’m not arguing nature vs nurture here-both important- just that there are indeed differences), and I think there are certain types attracted to roles like investment banker, politician, law, as well as (on the other end of the spectrum, just to throw out hastily as an example) the peace corp, w/ lots in between, around, beyond. The sciences, the arts…. And within these particular roles, as well (don’t mean to overly simplify, just making a point.
      Anecdotal, perhaps, but anyone with kids (more than one) or a few siblings can see this (I have three and one is hugely self-absorbed, one is highly sensitive and empathetic, and one, with autism, is an odd mix of utter self-absorbtion and great empathy for all living things as long as they’re not humans. none desire to be hedge fund mngrs, corporate ceos, business majors. nurturing plays a role).

    4. Mark Stevens

      Not everyone is a sociopath. I could never starve a million people to make a million dollars by manipulating the price of food. I simply need one house, food, and security for my family along with the happiness that comes with true friends and the love I give and receive. I work to achieve this. I do not crave fame or fortune. I care about the light of those less fortunate. I understand that we are all born with unique abilities and limitations. I am aware of the advantages of those born into wealth vs those living in poverty.

      1. ambrit

        Mr. Stevens;
        The flaw in your otherwise excellent comment is that the realm of “High Wealth” seems to select for sociopaths. Once involved in the “High Wealth” milieu, impressionable youths are acculturated to a sociopathic lifestyle. Nature and nurture conspire to select for sociopathy in that social niche. I speak from personal experience. Mz Smiths quote from “The Great Gatsby” opening her post about Mexico is an excellent example of the reality. Fitzgerald knew the rich too, and wasn’t complimentary about them.

  9. flora

    J.P. Morgan put together the steel monopoly U.S. Steel a hundred years ago by consolidating successful steel businesses. The current TBTF financial firms are failures by any meaningful definition. They are insolvent without continued Fed propping up. They drain the real economy. TISA would create an international monopoly of failed financial businesses. How is that capitalism?

    1. Nathanael

      No, they really aren’t. If they were learning from experience, they would be more like Earl Grey, designing programs to *appease* the 99%. Where is the bread? Where are the circuses?

  10. don

    Fraud and abuse were not the main causes of the last financial crisis – it was imbalance in international capital flows, ‘enabled’ by the Fed. Right now, the Fed is again taking risks that may prove as disastrous as allowing the housing bubble.
    That said, we need to do something about compensation of traders. They are again making big money by taking tremendous risks, the downside for which they cannot effectively be held accountable.

    1. LucyLulu

      >>“Fraud and abuse were not the main causes of the last financial crisis”

      You must be new here?

    2. Nathanael

      Fraud and abuse were definitely the cause of the last financial crisis. We’ve studied this extensively and most of the evidence is in Naked Capitalism’s archives.

  11. LucyLulu

    Speaking of fraud and deception, Scneiderman files civil suit against Barclay’s related to “dark pool” trading.


    Contrary to those promises, the complaint alleges that:



    -Falsely underrepresenting the concentration of aggressive high-frequency trading in its dark pool;

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