Corruption. Lies. Power. Infecting the Empire to such an overwhelming degree that the People have given up, surrendered and started rationalizing that it’s just “the way of the ‘verse.” I know the people are tired. You’re tired, but a change is coming. We can extricate the dishonest and the selfish to create a government that’s truly for the people, we just need to stand up and say that this corruption is not the way of our universe. The greatest weapon to chase away these distorted politicians of self-interest?

The truth.

My name’s Parker Terrell. Welcome to PLAIN TRUTH.

The puppet show of Senator Rachel Lester and her Senate hearings into Imperial outsourcing policies has finally come to a close and the major newsOrgs have been happily regurgitating all the official Imperial talking points about proving the government’s willingness to investigate itself and extolling the transparency of the sessions. Sure, they’ve implicated a handful of politicians and business owners in the collusion to make the public feel like something’s really been accomplished.

But we know what’s really going on here. The politicians that they’ve ‘arrested’ are just another part of the show. They’re patsies. Fall guys. Probably crossed some blueblood and this was their punishment or, more likely, offered themselves up as sacrificial lambs for future considerations.

Now, I could keep flailing about the ridiculousness of this process, but here’s what I’m wondering: is there a deeper, much more insidious plot that’s happening in front of our eyes? While the masses fixate on this sad, ineffectual parody of justice, we’re going to look at the real issue here.

Lester’s hearings have been about government outsourcing policies …

The government relinquishing control …

My question for the day: has the UEE taken its first steps into becoming a corporatocracy?

My guest has written for Free Sign, Organize Now, the Individualist and a host of other prominent underground political publications. He is the author of seventeen books investigating various aspects of the UEE and society at large. I’m very proud to present, my dear friend, Laurence Jito.

Laurence Jito: Hello, Parker, and hello to all you brave thinkers out there.

Now, the theory that the UEE is shifting into a corporatocracy is not a new one. You’ve been predicting this for some time.

Laurence Jito: That’s correct. My fourth book, We Are All for Sale, examined a theoretical treatise written by a think-tank in the late 29th century that explored the advantages and disadvantages of a government body controlled by a collective of corporate entities.

Now that treatise’s ultimate conclusions were that such a structure would not work.

Laurence Jito: Yes, at the time. But have they continued to explore the concept? Refine the approach? I think the one thing we can all agree upon is that when a government gets their mind set on something, they won’t stop until they achieve it.

Look at the Synthworld.

Laurence Jito: A fabrication of propaganda. It doesn’t even exist.

Come on, Laurence. We’ve been through that one. The Synthworld exists, it’s just a waste —

Laurence Jito: You can believe that web of lies if you want.

We’re getting sidetracked. With the government’s current plan to relieve departmental budget strain by shifting to private contractors, the UEE is effectively handing over autonomy to corporate interests. In a really basic illustration of this point, if MegaCorp A ends up handling the Empire’s waste disposal, any time the UEE creates policies regarding waste, they will need to accommodate MegaCorp A’s contract at best or bend to their wishes at worst.

Laurence Jito: It’s a recipe for destruction. That’s why I say let it burn.

I’m sorry?

Laurence Jito: You’ve become a sentimentalist, my boy. History has no time for sentimentalists. It’s time to accept that this whole government is a lost cause and move on.

Laurence, it’s the People’s duty to stand up and take control of the government that exists to protect and serve them, not sit back and let it disappear. We’ve come too far for that.

Laurence Jito: The Corporate Cabal that’s been manipulating the system has finally begun to reveal itself. I firmly believe that the only responsible stance an activist can take is to stand aside and let the whole corrupt system collapse. Wipe away the scum that has polluted Human history for centuries. As I mentioned in my book, Fighting Decay —

Okay, Laurence.

Laurence Jito: I wasn’t finished.

Yeah, you are. We’re going to some messages from our independent advertisers.

Laurence Jito: Ah, I see. More like Corporate Truth.

Arlo, get him out of here. When we come back, I’ll open up the comms, hear what’s on your mind.

This is Plain Truth. Stay vigilant.