# @vicenews on YouTube

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://youtube.com/watch?v=O2lnIAUcO_E
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/30902035-vicenews-youtube
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/a7f17f595d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-05-22T16:00:15.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** VICE News (@vicenews) — https://gondola.cc/vicenews

## Caption

John Perkins was once an economic hitman — a chief economist helping powerful corporations and governments entrap resource-rich countries in massive debt. Loans disguised as development aid ended up enriching the elite, while ordinary people paid the price.

He shares the moment that made him question everything, the “death economy” fueled by short-term greed, and how China is now leading this global game with a new twist. This isn’t just history — it’s the story of how economic power shapes today’s world and what it means for our planet’s future.

#vicenews #News #ShaneSmithHasQuestions #ShaneSmith #SSHQ 

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Shane Smith Has Questions
SSHQ is a dynamic, apolitical podcast hosted by Shane Smith dedicated to getting to the
bottom of prominent instances of misinformation and disinformation while revealing the
fascinating fundamental truths (if there are any?) of the most interesting and convoluted social and political issues of our time. In Season 1, Shane discusses many of today’s most important topics such as Immigration, Covid, Immortality, Trump, Elections, Space, and more!

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============================= 

0:00 Welcome to Vice News
2:20 John Perkins: Author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman 
10:12 Peace Corps and Amazon Experience  
19:58 Convincing Indonesia to Take Huge Loans  
24:47 Expanding Work: Iran, Panama, and Latin America  
30:00 Connection to US Government Contracts  
31:41 Verifying Stories and The New York Times Investigation  
34:49 Crisis of Conscience with Omar Torrijos  
40:36 How Loans Lead to Control: IMF and Conditionalities  
43:24 Colonialistic Economic Policies and “Death Economy”  
43:40 China’s Economic Hitmen and Global Influence  
50:08 The Need for a New Economic System: Life Economy vs Death Economy  
55:34 Risks of Cold War and Geopolitical Future  

============================= 

My Life as an Economic Hitman with John Perkins | Shane Smith Has Questions | Vice News
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZaT_X_mc0BI-djXOlfhqWQ/

## Stats

- **Views:** 1,026,233
- **Likes:** 14,443
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 106

## Tags

vicenews, news, shanesmithhasquestions, sshq, shanesmith, ad, bruntpod

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