Autumn 2017
"Good riddance to such a rat..."
"Holy hell, Hurricane Irma..."
"With the Paradise Papers, it's a reminder why we elected President Sanders..."
Summer changed to fall yet despite this, plenty of action remained happening. The economic relief that came with the relieving of medical debt and concerns over payments meant people were willing to spend more on other things. This began aligning some of the more pragmatic economists and politicians to Sanders' side, especially as he noted that by doing the same with student debt. Of course, while this was happening, various other factors and events were moving in the world. Late in the fall, the International Court of Justice would find Ratko Mladić, a Bosnian Serb former military commander and convicted war criminal who led the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Yugoslav Wars, guilty of genocide committed in Srebrenica during the 1990s Bosnian War. It would be viewed as the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II. He would be sentenced to life in prison. Sanders' response applauded the justice done along with the need to ensure such atrocities do not happen again. Many people, especially young people, would be learning more about the horrors of the Yugoslavic wars and it would reach the zeitgeist for a while, reminding people that the 90s were also a decade of transition and filled with its own strifes. However, Sanders would then segway into a surprising move in which he would call out for the genocide the Ottoman Empire carried out on the Armenians and other minorities, such as the Assyrians. This would cause a growing wedge between the Sanders and Erdogan administrations and signalling how much was changing.
Ratko Mladić, former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, at his trial judgement at the ICTY.
Of course, back in the United States, other trials awaited Bernie Sanders and that was dealing with Hurricane Irma. An extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record and at the time, it was considered as the most powerful hurricane on record in the open Atlantic region, outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. While it was predicted and the news sent out thanks to the groundwork laid by the Gore administration, it was still a colossal load of damage done to the Caribbean and the US states. Unsurprisingly, the Sanders administration began working for billions of dollars done just for Hurricane Irma, with Sanders working to try and get at least 50 billion dollars for the preparations done although more would be needed. Furthermore, he called upon the American public to assistance with the aftermath of the colossal storm. However, nowhere else was this seen more than using the storm as an opportunity to open relations back with Cuba. While a somewhat controversial move, Sanders' response was in regards to the unity of humanity along with collaboration. The next several months would see the Sanders administration and assistance working across with various nations in the Caribbean to help rebuild after Hurricane Irma, most notably Cuba, Puerto Rico and both nations on Hispanola. Out of all of them, Puerto Rico perhaps became the most notable if in part due to the upcoming elections for Puerto Rico statehood. THe referendum was scheduled in the summer, but postponed for next spring. Meanwhile, Cuba began cautiously resuming agreements with the United states and thus began the "Cuban Thaw", though some noted back when President McCain removed Cuba from the State sponsored terroism list back in 2015 around the end of the Chavisism in Venezuela, noting that it wasn't really accurate. Ultimately, despite the disaster of Irma, it provided opportunity for people to come together and try and rebuild.
Hurricane Irma approaching Leeward Islands at peak intensity
Of course, the Sanders administration still had to deal with the issues of such rapid usage of funds, even for rebuilding against the skeptical members of Congress alongside other special interest groups who were denied their potential profitable opportunities. However, the Sanders Administration would receive an extensive gift of fortune courtesy of German reporters Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer who worked for
Süddeutsche Zeitung. The newspaper shared the ifnormation with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and a network of more than 380 journalistsFollowing up on the infamous Panama Papers from just the previous year came the so-called "Paradise Papers". A further treasue trove of confidential electronic documents relating to
offshore investments, it was a bitter reminder of how the super-wealthy would avoid their fairshare of taxes by hiding them and yet another reminder into the American zeitgeist over the growing suspicion and hostilty toward the extensively well-off. In fact, economist Gabriel Zucman and his colleagues estimated that 63% of foreign profits made by American multinational corporations are stored in subsidiaries and offshore accounts, depriving the country of about $70 billion in tax revenue each year. This definitely sent some larger shockwaves, given how much that tax revenue cold've helped, especially since those were low ball estimates, as in prior to the planned tax reforms of the Sanders Administration. Sanders used it to help reinforce a Damocles sword over the wavering Congress. He reminded the American public that 2018 was an electoral year. One where they could vote for the best candidates, especially in the primaries. Sanders' victory unleashed a tidal wave of young blood and growing support group of progressives and reformists, many of whom eager to unseat various establishment figures who they saw as a roadblock or threat to the change needed. Other nations responded with similar plans, especially given how past Prime Ministers of Canada were named (which Jack Layton could not help but indulge a little to help boost the NDP's popularity along with the Greens), over in Mexico to try and help with reforms. Even the United Kingdom began being caught by this infectious desire for reforms and bolstering support for the Corbyn adminsitration, especially since the papers show that the
Duchy of Lancaster, a private estate of
Queen Elizabeth II, held investments in two
offshore financial centres, the
Cayman Islands and
Bermuda. Overall, the year would end with fresh fuel for the fires of reform and against the extensively well-off.
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists image on Paradise papers