A Self-Study Curriculum for Conversing with a Canadian Anti-Monopoly / Private Equity Policy Advocate
Subject: What They Know That You Don't (Yet)
21 chapters
1. Behind the Glossy Corporate Stage
[Verse 1]
Behind the boardroom doors they smile and shake hands
Promising growth and strategic expansion plans
But strip away the polish and the corporate speak
The playbook's darker than the profits that they seek
They leverage up your company with mountains of debt
Extract the value while the workers break a sweat
[Chorus]
Load it up, strip it down, that's the PE way
Borrow against tomorrow for the cash today
Management fees and dividends, they take their share
While pension funds and jobs just disappear
It's financial engineering, not what it seems
Behind the glossy corporate stage, they're breaking dreams
[Verse 2]
They buy you out with borrowed money, not their own
Your assets become collateral for loans
Sale-leaseback deals on buildings that you used to own
Now paying rent on property in your comfort zone
The debt-to-equity ratio climbs up to the sky
While quarterly performance pressure makes you cry
[Chorus]
Load it up, strip it down, that's the PE way
Borrow against tomorrow for the cash today
Management fees and dividends, they take their share
While pension funds and jobs just disappear
It's financial engineering, not what it seems
Behind the glossy corporate stage, they're breaking dreams
[Bridge]
Operational improvements, they say with pride
But cost-cutting measures leave quality aside
Exit strategy planning from the very start
They're selling off the pieces, tearing you apart
Portfolio optimization sounds so clean and bright
But communities are crumbling in the fading light
[Verse 3]
Five to seven years and then they flip the switch
Another buyer waiting for this profitable pitch
The debt stays with the company when they walk away
Golden parachutes for those who know the game to play
The founders' legacy dissolves in shareholder returns
While Main Street pays the price and slowly burns
[Chorus]
Load it up, strip it down, that's the PE way
Borrow against tomorrow for the cash today
Management fees and dividends, they take their share
While pension funds and jobs just disappear
It's financial engineering, not what it seems
Behind the glossy corporate stage, they're breaking dreams
[Outro]
Now you know the mechanics of their master plan
The wealth extraction blueprint spanning every land
Behind the glossy corporate stage, the truth appears
They're harvesting the future for their shareholders
2. Make the Target Pay
[Verse 1]
They walk in with a plan that's sly and clean
Borrow sixty to ninety percent of what they need
But here's the twist that makes it all obscene
They load that debt on you, now you're gonna bleed
Your own cash flow pays for your own sale
While they sit back and never face the bail
[Chorus]
LBO, make the target pay
Sale-leaseback takes your building away
Roll-up small deals, regulators can't see
Dividend recap, more debt for free
Then they flip you to the next PE
This is what they know that we don't see
[Verse 2]
Fragmented markets are their hunting ground
Vet clinics, dental, funeral, daycare too
They buy one shop, then sweep the whole town
Each deal's too small for review to come through
Below the threshold where watchdogs can shine
Stay under radar and the field is mine
[Chorus]
LBO, make the target pay
Sale-leaseback takes your building away
Roll-up small deals, regulators can't see
Dividend recap, more debt for free
Then they flip you to the next PE
This is what they know that we don't see
[Bridge]
First they take your building, make you pay the rent
Then they load more debt for dividends they collect
Three to seven years and then you're getting sent
To another private equity architect
[Verse 3]
Secondary buyouts keep the cycle turning
Each new owner repeats the same old game
While your company keeps crashing and burning
They're counting profits, you're taking the blame
The flip, the strip, the leverage, and the load
Welcome to their money-making code
[Final Chorus]
LBO, make the target pay
Sale-leaseback takes your building away
Roll-up small deals flying under the radar
Dividend recap leaves another scar
Then they flip you down the PE road
Now you've cracked their secret code
[Outro]
What they know that you don't yet
Is how to win without the sweat
Load the debt and take the cash
While your business turns to ash
3. The Playbook They Hide
[Verse 1]
There's a playbook they don't want you to see
Hidden strategies of private equity
CAMP report from twenty-twenty-four
Shows the methods they've been using more and more
Appelbaum and Batt laid the foundation
Academic truth about wealth concentration
[Chorus]
Four essential books to read today
To learn their secrets, know their way
Private equity's hidden game
Plunder, pillage, shift the blame
Read the playbook, know their moves
Knowledge is the power that improves
[Verse 2]
Ballou wrote "Plunder" in twenty-three
Accessible stories for you and me
How they plan to strip America bare
Taking profits while pretending they care
Morgenson, Rosner joined the fight
"These Are the Plunderers" brought truth to light
[Chorus]
Four essential books to read today
To learn their secrets, know their way
Private equity's hidden game
Plunder, pillage, shift the blame
Read the playbook, know their moves
Knowledge is the power that improves
[Bridge]
Academic foundation first
Then the narrative that's well-rehearsed
Latest research shows their hand
Now you'll finally understand
Why the wealthy keep getting more
While communities hit the floor
[Verse 3]
Leverage buyouts, debt loading schemes
Crushing worker pension dreams
Extract value, cut the cost
Count the jobs and lives they've lost
But now you have the reading list
To see through their capitalist mist
[Chorus]
Four essential books to read today
To learn their secrets, know their way
Private equity's hidden game
Plunder, pillage, shift the blame
Read the playbook, know their moves
Knowledge is the power that improves
[Outro]
CAMP, Appelbaum, Ballou too
Morgenson's research calling you
Essential reading starts today
Don't let them take your wealth away
4. Cut to the Bone
[Verse 1]
When private equity comes to town
They promise growth but cut things down
Healthcare systems feel the squeeze
Staff reductions by degrees
The spreadsheet shows the savings clear
But what about the risks we fear
[Chorus]
Cut to the bone, cut to the bone
When profit margins stand alone
Controls collapse and failures grow
Cut to the bone, what don't they know
The compliance debt will come to call
Cut to the bone, they risk it all
[Verse 2]
IT budgets slashed in half tonight
Security patches out of sight
The audit team of twelve now three
SOC Two compliance running free
Deferred investments pile up high
While quarterly returns look fly
[Chorus]
Cut to the bone, cut to the bone
When profit margins stand alone
Controls collapse and failures grow
Cut to the bone, what don't they know
The compliance debt will come to call
Cut to the bone, they risk it all
[Bridge]
Extraction economics win today
But hidden costs will make you pay
The framework cracks begin to show
When oversight has room to grow
Patient data starts to leak
The fines are more than mountains steep
[Verse 3]
They thought compliance was just cost
But now they see what they have lost
The penalties exceed the gain
The reputation bears the stain
What looked like fat was muscle strong
The math was right but thesis wrong
[Chorus]
Cut to the bone, cut to the bone
When profit margins stand alone
Controls collapse and failures grow
Cut to the bone, what don't they know
The compliance debt will come to call
Cut to the bone, they risk it all
[Outro]
Sometimes the bone is what you need
To stand up straight and not concede
The tension pulls both ways tonight
Between the margins and what's right
5. Dancing Numbers, Hidden Games
[Verse 1]
They said private equity brings the highest gains
Promised double digits, breaking all the chains
But when the smartest scholars took a deeper look
Found the numbers dancing, cooking up the book
[Pre-Chorus]
What they know that you don't yet
There's more beneath the surface bet
[Chorus]
PE returns aren't all that great
When you adjust for risk and wait
Survivorship bias hides the pain
Selection bias skews the game
Learn to read between the lines
Question every claim you find
[Verse 2]
Academic papers started to reveal
The gap between the hype and what is real
Kaplan Schoar showed the median truth
Lower than the market, there's the proof
[Pre-Chorus]
What they know that you don't yet
Public data tells a different threat
[Chorus]
PE returns aren't all that great
When you adjust for risk and wait
Survivorship bias hides the pain
Selection bias skews the game
Learn to read between the lines
Question every claim you find
[Bridge]
Failed funds disappear from sight
Only winners shine their light
Illiquidity's hidden cost
True performance often lost
[Verse 3]
Harris Jenkinson Kaplan too
Showed the alpha was taboo
When you factor timing in
Net returns grow paper thin
[Final Chorus]
PE returns aren't all that great
When you control for risk and wait
Survivorship bias tells the tale
Selection makes the data stale
Now you know what they have learned
Question everything you've heard
[Outro]
The smartest minds have shown the way
Don't believe what marketers say
Dig deeper in the research game
That's how you'll never be the same
6. Mathematical Theatre of Beautiful Lies
[Verse 1]
They paint a picture with numbers that shine
IRR calculations looking so fine
But every dollar they claim to reinvest
At twenty-six percent? Put it to test
If that first fund from seventy-six grew
Two point six trillion would be coming due
The math breaks down when you scale it high
Welcome to the theater of beautiful lies
[Chorus]
IRR assumes what cannot be true
Every dollar reinvested at rates just like you
Fifty-three to seventy-five percent in fees
While billionaires multiply with such ease
From three to twenty-two in seventeen years
Mathematical theater engineered
They know the tricks behind the show
What they know that you don't know
[Verse 2]
Oxford research from twenty-twenty
Shows PE returns aren't worth the plenty
Eleven percent like the public markets
But carry fees hit their targets
Two hundred thirty billion collected
For performance barely detected
The billionaire factory churns along
While pension funds sing their song
[Chorus]
IRR assumes what cannot be true
Every dollar reinvested at rates just like you
Fifty-three to seventy-five percent in fees
While billionaires multiply with such ease
From three to twenty-two in seventeen years
Mathematical theater engineered
They know the tricks behind the show
What they know that you don't know
[Bridge]
Canadian teachers fund the game
OTPP and CPP by name
Twelve to thirty-three percent allocated
While workers get eliminated
Fee drag pulls seven point nine away
Every single year they pay
Pension paradox in plain sight
Worker money funds the fight
[Verse 3]
Management fees and transaction costs
Monitoring fees, see what gets lost
The beautiful lies compound each year
While the math makes billionaires cheer
Private equity's golden crown
Built on returns that break down
When you peek behind the curtain's fold
The emperor's math leaves you cold
[Final Chorus]
IRR assumes what cannot be true
Every dollar reinvested at rates just like you
Fifty-three to seventy-five percent in fees
While billionaires multiply with such ease
The theater plays, the crowd believes
But math reveals what it achieves
Now you know what's in the show
Mathematical lies below
[Outro]
The beautiful lies are on display
In the mathematical theater's play
But armed with truth you see right through
What they know, now you know too
7. Behind the Curtain Blue
[Verse 1]
Behind the boardroom doors they smile and shake your hand
Promising returns that sound too good to understand
Twenty percent a year, they say with confidence
But Ludovic pulled back the curtain on their game of pretense
[Chorus]
IRR's a lie, don't let it fool your mind
Internal Rate of Return leaves the truth behind
PE firms get rich while pension funds go dry
Behind the curtain blue, they're selling you a lie
IRR's a lie, the numbers are designed
To make the bad deals look good over time
[Verse 2]
Private equity claims they beat the market every day
But when you strip away the fees, the alpha fades away
They leverage up the companies, extract what they can find
Then sell the story of success while leaving debt behind
[Chorus]
IRR's a lie, don't let it fool your mind
Internal Rate of Return leaves the truth behind
PE firms get rich while pension funds go dry
Behind the curtain blue, they're selling you a lie
IRR's a lie, the numbers are designed
To make the bad deals look good over time
[Bridge]
Phalippou laid it bare for all the world to see
The billionaire factory runs on our money
Management fees and carried interest too
They win on every deal, win or lose
[Verse 3]
The tyranny of IRR distorts what you believe
Makes early cash flows look like magic up their sleeve
But timing is everything, and they control the clock
While institutional investors take the market shock
[Chorus]
IRR's a lie, don't let it fool your mind
Internal Rate of Return leaves the truth behind
PE firms get rich while pension funds go dry
Behind the curtain blue, they're selling you a lie
IRR's a lie, the numbers are designed
To make the bad deals look good over time
[Outro]
So when they come calling with their polished pitch deck
Remember what Ludovic taught us to check
The curtain's been lifted, now we know what's true
Behind that curtain blue
8. House of Cards Metrics
[Verse 1]
They mark their own homework with numbers that shine
Internal Rate of Return looks perfectly fine
But just like a company cooking the books
Those metrics don't hold up to auditor looks
[Chorus]
What they know that you don't yet
IRR's a house of cards to bet
Like weak controls in audit land
The numbers crumble when examined by expert hands
Question the metrics, dig deeper still
The conversation angle reveals what's real
[Verse 2]
Private equity firms report stellar gains
But who's checking the math behind those claims
Same pattern we see in compliance reviews
Organizations resist what they know they'll lose
[Chorus]
What they know that you don't yet
IRR's a house of cards to bet
Like weak controls in audit land
The numbers crumble when examined by expert hands
Question the metrics, dig deeper still
The conversation angle reveals what's real
[Bridge]
SOC2 examination shows the cracks
When independent eyes review the facts
No more marking homework on their own
Time for standards carved in stone
[Verse 3]
Your audit training gives you special sight
To see through numbers that don't add up right
Connect the dots from compliance fails
To PE returns and fairy tales
[Final Chorus]
Now you know what they hoped you wouldn't
IRR's just smoke and mirrors couldn't
Stand up to assurance scrutiny
Your conversation angle sets truth free
Question everything, trust but verify
The patterns match, now you know why
[Outro]
Mark your own homework
Get the grade you want
Independent audit
Shows what's real and what's not
9. Six Factors Instead of One
[Verse 1]
The Competition Act has changed its ways
New amendments lighting up the maze
Since nineteen eighty-six we've waited long
Now twenty twenty-three has made us strong
Consumer welfare was the only test
But now we're looking at what serves us best
Economic growth and innovation too
Public interest guides what we pursue
[Chorus]
C-R-E-A-T-E that's what you need to know
Consumer welfare, Rivalry, Economic growth will show
Adaptability, Trade, Environment's the way
Six factors now instead of one today
What they know that you don't yet
New policy goals you can't forget
[Verse 2]
Market concentration used to slide on by
Now structural presumptions help us try
When market share hits sixty percent or more
The burden shifts like never seen before
Dominant firms must prove their mergers clean
Instead of challengers making the scene
Evidence rules have been turned around
Making competition easier to be found
[Chorus]
C-R-E-A-T-E that's what you need to know
Consumer welfare, Rivalry, Economic growth will show
Adaptability, Trade, Environment's the way
Six factors now instead of one today
What they know that you don't yet
New policy goals you can't forget
[Bridge]
Labor markets now have protection strong
Wage-fixing agreements won't last long
Private actions get their day in court
Penalties climbing, no more last resort
From reactive to proactive stance
Competition Bureau gets its chance
[Verse 3]
Digital markets face a brand new test
Platform power can't suppress the rest
Behavioral remedies join the fight
Structural breakups shine their light
International coordination grows
As global competition ebbs and flows
[Chorus]
C-R-E-A-T-E that's what you need to know
Consumer welfare, Rivalry, Economic growth will show
Adaptability, Trade, Environment's the way
Six factors now instead of one today
What they know that you don't yet
New policy goals you can't forget
[Outro]
Reform is here, the game has changed
Competition law's been rearranged
Learn these rules, make them your own
In this new world you're not alone
10. Ninety-Three Million Dollar Watchdog
[Verse 1]
In Canada there's a watchdog with a mission to defend
Competition in the market, but their budget's at an end
Their funding's under pressure to police the corporate giants
While the firms they're meant to regulate have billions in compliance
[Chorus]
Budget constraints and threshold lines
Bill C-fifty-six and fifty-nine
Efficiencies defense is gone, private access now is on
Competition's getting strong, the changes have begun
[Verse 2]
For forty years the law stayed still while mergers rolled on through
Companies could buy their rivals if "efficiency" was true
They'd claim their deal would cut some costs, reduce the overlap
While consumers paid the price for this competitive gap
[Chorus]
Budget constraints and threshold lines
Bill C-fifty-six and fifty-nine
Efficiencies defense is gone, private access now is on
Competition's getting strong, the changes have begun
[Verse 3]
Private equity plays the game with purchases so small
Each deal stays under radar, no reporting call at all
They roll up entire sectors with a hundred tiny buys
While the Bureau never knows because it's under their watchful eyes
[Bridge]
Twenty twenty-three and four brought the biggest change we've seen
Competition Tribunal's door now opens to you and me
Market studies independent, agreements can't restrain
The Bureau's got new power and the playing field's changed
[Chorus]
Budget constraints and threshold lines
Bill C-fifty-six and fifty-nine
Efficiencies defense is gone, private access now is on
Competition's getting strong, the changes have begun
[Outro]
From underfunded watchdog to a system with more bite
Canada's competition future's looking much more bright
Remember these changes when you see the market shift
Limited resources, but reforms are quite a gift
11. Letters From the Shadow Game
[Verse 1]
There's a world of knowledge hiding in plain sight
CAMP publications shed monopoly light
Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project's the name
Fighting corporate power in the market game
Letters from CAMP arrive each month with news
Essential reading you cannot afford to lose
[Chorus]
Read the letters, know the code
C-fifty-six and fifty-nine on the legislative road
CAMP submissions tell the tale
How to make fair markets prevail
Don't just follow, understand the game
Essential reading lights the flame
[Verse 2]
Bill C-fifty-six came down from parliament hill
Competition changes, bend them to your will
C-fifty-nine follows close behind its track
CAMP's submissions help you get the facts
Line by line they break it down for you
Showing what the new laws really do
[Chorus]
Read the letters, know the code
C-fifty-six and fifty-nine on the legislative road
CAMP submissions tell the tale
How to make fair markets prevail
Don't just follow, understand the game
Essential reading lights the flame
[Bridge]
February twenty-twenty-five will bring
CAMP and Social Capital Partners offering
Joint submission to Ontario's SEC
Retail investor access to PE
Private equity shouldn't hide behind closed doors
Knowledge opens up forbidden shores
[Verse 3]
Don't just trade on tips or market hype
Dig deeper than the surface type
Publications hold the master key
To understanding what you cannot see
While others guess, you'll know the score
Essential reading opens every door
[Chorus]
Read the letters, know the code
C-fifty-six and fifty-nine on the legislative road
CAMP submissions tell the tale
How to make fair markets prevail
Don't just follow, understand the game
Essential reading lights the flame
[Outro]
What they know that you don't yet
Is written down, no need to fret
CAMP's wisdom waits for you to find
Essential reading feeds your mind
12. Dancing to Uncertainty
[Verse 1]
When frameworks change like shifting sand
You think your world's the only land
But across the globe they face the same
Evolving rules, a constant game
Your CMMC and their CPCSC
Both dancing to uncertainty
[Chorus]
What they know that you don't yet
Frameworks flow like safety nets
Cross the borders, see the thread
Common ground beneath your feet
Evolution never sleeps
What they know that you don't yet
[Verse 2]
Private equity flows like streams
Crossing borders, chasing dreams
While you're securing data gates
They're tracking capital that migrates
Same pattern, different view
Regulatory frameworks too
[Chorus]
What they know that you don't yet
Frameworks flow like safety nets
Cross the borders, see the thread
Common ground beneath your feet
Evolution never sleeps
What they know that you don't yet
[Bridge]
Threats evolve, so rules must bend
Economic extraction trends
Mirror cyber risks you know
Different field, but same tempo
Chinese standards, US rules
Different names, same basic tools
[Verse 3]
Your compliance work's a piece
Of puzzles spanning east to west
When you see the bigger frame
You'll play a much smarter game
Conversation starts today
With what they know along the way
[Chorus]
What they know that you don't yet
Frameworks flow like safety nets
Cross the borders, see the thread
Common ground beneath your feet
Evolution never sleeps
What they know that you don't yet
[Outro]
Find your angle in their view
What they know belongs to you
13. Markets Move Your Feet
[Verse 1]
They're throwing around that word again
"Neoliberal" like it's just pretend
But there's a framework underneath
Policies that shaped what we believe
Started in the seventies tide
When Keynesian consensus died
[Chorus]
Neo means new, liberal means free
Markets first, that's the key
Deregulate, privatize, compete
Let the market move your feet
Neo-liberal, not just a name
It's a policy-making game
[Verse 2]
Reagan, Thatcher led the way
"Government's the problem," they would say
Cut the taxes, slash the spending
Social safety nets need mending
Free trade deals across the globe
Competition is the robe
[Chorus]
Neo means new, liberal means free
Markets first, that's the key
Deregulate, privatize, compete
Let the market move your feet
Neo-liberal, not just a name
It's a policy-making game
[Bridge]
When they say "got us in this mess"
They mean forty years or less
Of trusting markets to provide
What government kept inside
Housing, healthcare, education
Subject to market creation
[Verse 3]
Both parties bought into the dream
That markets reign supreme
Clinton signed the banking bills
Deregulation gave us thrills
Until the crashes came to show
The limits of the status quo
[Chorus]
Neo means new, liberal means free
Markets first, that's the key
Deregulate, privatize, compete
Let the market move your feet
Neo-liberal, not just a name
It's a policy-making game
[Outro]
Now you know it's not just hate
It's critique of policy's fate
When they use that word with fire
They're naming what they want to tire
14. Money Flows While Productivity Falls
[Verse 1]
Back in eighty-two the winds began to change
Mulroney brought a plan to rearrange
Cut the corporate taxes, slash the red tape down
Free trade with the States would lift us off the ground
They said just set conditions then get out the way
Framework policy's gonna save the day
[Chorus]
But the framework let the money flow away
Productivity falling while the rich get paid
We're trapped in staples, can't break free
This ain't the capitalism we need
Pro-market, pro-growth, that's the way
But extraction's not creation, no way
[Verse 2]
Chrétien and Martin cut the deficit deep
Harper kept it rolling while the people weep
Deregulation opened up the door
For financial engineering, nothing more
Bank of Canada calls it emergency now
Forty years of policy, look where we are somehow
[Chorus]
But the framework let the money flow away
Productivity falling while the rich get paid
We're trapped in staples, can't break free
This ain't the capitalism we need
Pro-market, pro-growth, that's the way
But extraction's not creation, no way
[Bridge]
Harold Innis warned us long ago
Fur and timber, oil's the only show
We dig it up and ship it down south
While value creation goes out of mouth
Need rules to keep the markets fair
Competition dies when no one cares
[Verse 3]
They promised growth through tight monetary
Low inflation over jobs, that's scary
Privatize the assets, sell them cheap
While enforcement agencies fall asleep
This isn't left or right, it's wrong or right
Markets need some rules to keep the fight
[Final Chorus]
'Cause the framework let the money flow away
Productivity falling while the rich get paid
We're trapped in staples, can't break free
This ain't the capitalism we need
Pro-market, pro-growth, show the way
Create don't extract, starting today
[Outro]
Framework policy, productivity trap
Staples economy, time to adapt
Build the value, don't just take
Real capitalism's what we'll make
15. Books They Don't Want You Reading
[Verse 1]
There's a shelf they hope you'll never find
Books that open up your mind
Stanford wrote for everyone to see
Economics ain't no mystery
From up north came truths they try to hide
How the markets really work inside
[Chorus]
Stanford, Philippon, Stoller too
Canadian Dimension's telling you
The books they don't want you reading now
Show the game and tell you how
Deregulation, concentration
Built their wealth on our stagnation
[Verse 2]
Philippon traced the great reversal
How free markets became rehearsal
For monopolies to take control
Deregulation played its role
Less competition, higher prices
Corporate power never crisis
[Chorus]
Stanford, Philippon, Stoller too
Canadian Dimension's telling you
The books they don't want you reading now
Show the game and tell you how
Deregulation, concentration
Built their wealth on our stagnation
[Verse 3]
Canadian Dimension breaks it down
Neoliberalism came to town
Productivity for who and why
Workers' wages still don't fly
While profits soar to record heights
Someone's winning, guess who fights
[Bridge]
Goliath tells the story clear
Anti-monopoly disappeared
Stoller mapped the path we took
From competition to the corporate hook
History they don't teach in school
Shows how we became the fool
[Chorus]
Stanford, Philippon, Stoller too
Canadian Dimension's telling you
The books they don't want you reading now
Show the game and tell you how
Deregulation, concentration
Built their wealth on our stagnation
[Outro]
So find these books and read them all
Before the curtain starts to fall
The knowledge that they keep away
Might just save us all someday
16. Dots Across the Divide
[Verse 1]
I lived through the capture, watched it unfold
When power and wealth left the people out cold
Oligarchs rising with extractive schemes
While Western democracies chase different dreams
The methods may vary but patterns are clear
When consolidation brings the end drawing near
[Chorus]
What they know that you don't yet see
Same structure, different strategy
Extraction flows from many to few
The conversation angle for you
Connect the dots across the divide
Same game with rules they try to hide
[Verse 2]
From Kyiv to New York the playbook's the same
Concentrate power then change the whole game
Private equity buys what was once spread around
While oligarch networks keep wealth tightly bound
The mechanics differ but outcomes align
When few control many by corporate design
[Chorus]
What they know that you don't yet see
Same structure, different strategy
Extraction flows from many to few
The conversation angle for you
Connect the dots across the divide
Same game with rules they try to hide
[Bridge]
Post-Soviet capture meets Western finance
Both systems dancing the same deadly dance
Your front-row perspective can open their eyes
To patterns disguised in democratic lies
From Ukraine's harsh lessons to Wall Street's embrace
The extractive model shows its true face
[Verse 3]
When economies crumble the signs are the same
Consolidation masked as a legitimate game
Your story bridges what others can't see
How capture destroys what was meant to be free
The parallel drawn from your lived experience
Makes abstract concepts feel real and immense
[Final Chorus]
What they know that you don't yet see
Same structure, different strategy
Extraction flows from many to few
The conversation angle for you
Your Ukraine lens reveals the truth
Behind the myths they sell our youth
[Outro]
From oligarchs to PE firms
Same poison, different terms
Your perspective breaks the code
Shows the path they never showed
17. Borrow Checker's Got Your Back
[Verse 1]
There's a language that's been rising since twenty-seventeen
Memory safe but blazing fast, the best you've ever seen
No garbage collector slowing down your code
But no segfaults crashing when your program's on the road
The borrow checker's got your back, it's checking every line
Making sure your pointers never step out of line
[Chorus]
Rust is trust, ownership and borrowing
Move semantics, lifetimes, zero cost abstraction
Rust is trust, memory safe and fast
Fearless concurrency, systems programming that will last
Learn the traits, learn the match
Error handling you can catch
Rust is trust, that's what they know
[Verse 2]
Every value has an owner, that's the golden rule
Move or borrow, never copy, it's a powerful tool
Ampersand for references when you want to peek
Mutable or immutable, the choice is yours to seek
Stack or heap, the compiler knows exactly where to place
Every bit of memory in its proper space
[Chorus]
Rust is trust, ownership and borrowing
Move semantics, lifetimes, zero cost abstraction
Rust is trust, memory safe and fast
Fearless concurrency, systems programming that will last
Learn the traits, learn the match
Error handling you can catch
Rust is trust, that's what they know
[Bridge]
Option Some or None instead of null pointer dread
Result Ok or Error, handle failure instead
Pattern matching makes it clear, exhaustive and complete
Cargo manages your crates, dependencies so neat
From embedded to web servers, blockchain to game dev
Rust is everywhere now, it's the future being led
[Chorus]
Rust is trust, ownership and borrowing
Move semantics, lifetimes, zero cost abstraction
Rust is trust, memory safe and fast
Fearless concurrency, systems programming that will last
Learn the traits, learn the match
Error handling you can catch
Rust is trust, that's what they know
[Outro]
Mozilla started the journey, community took flight
Systems programming revolution, the future burning bright
Rust is trust, now you know
18. Seven Voices in the Wilderness
[Verse 1]
There's a former chair who saw the giant's grip
Called out the marketplace monopoly trip
While a professor up at Columbia way
Coined the curse that's growing every day
The bigness that consumes and never shares
Breaking competition everywhere
[Chorus]
Seven voices in the wilderness calling
Warning us before the curtain's falling
They see the patterns, know the game
Speaking truth without the fame
Learn their wisdom, hear their call
Before the giants own it all
[Verse 2]
A newsletter writer tracks the power flow
Shows us what the monopolists don't want us to know
Two authors penned the capitalism myth
A co-founder leads the movement swift
Fighting concentration's deadly hold
Stories that need to be told
[Chorus]
Seven voices in the wilderness calling
Warning us before the curtain's falling
They see the patterns, know the game
Speaking truth without the fame
Learn their wisdom, hear their call
Before the giants own it all
[Verse 3]
Up north there's a movement standing strong
Never fifty-one percent, they sing their song
Social capital partners lead the way
Keeping concentration's grip at bay
While across the ocean research flows
Oxford data that exposes
[Bridge]
From FTC investigations deep
To private equity's promises they never keep
From Canadian sovereignty's protective stance
To empirical proof that breaks their trance
These seven see what others miss
Knowledge is our genesis
[Chorus]
Seven voices in the wilderness calling
Warning us before the curtain's falling
They see the patterns, know the game
Speaking truth without the fame
Learn their wisdom, hear their call
Before the giants own it all
[Outro]
When markets fail and power grows
These seven teach us what to know
Their research lights the darkened way
For democracy's brighter day
19. Think Tank Warriors
[Verse 1]
Up north there's CAMP, the Canadian crew
Anti-monopoly, they're breaking through
Think tank warriors with a mission clear
Fighting concentration year by year
[Verse 2]
Cross the border to the southern states
Economic Liberties Project waits
American counterpart standing strong
Fighting corporate power all along
[Chorus]
CAMP and AELP, fighting the fight
Open Markets with Barry's insight
Social Capital Partners in the game
Key organizations you should know by name
They know the secrets of the corporate maze
Understanding power in these modern days
[Verse 3]
Barry Lynn leads the Open Markets way
US think tank changing the display
Research and policy, breaking the chains
Challenging monopoly's endless gains
[Verse 4]
Social Capital Partners focused tight
On ownership concentration's might
Canadian voices raising the alarm
About corporate power and its harm
[Chorus]
CAMP and AELP, fighting the fight
Open Markets with Barry's insight
Social Capital Partners in the game
Key organizations you should know by name
They know the secrets of the corporate maze
Understanding power in these modern days
[Bridge]
Four key players in the modern scene
Teaching us what corporate power means
From Toronto to DC they research and write
Bringing monopoly issues to light
[Chorus]
CAMP and AELP, fighting the fight
Open Markets with Barry's insight
Social Capital Partners in the game
Key organizations you should know by name
They know the secrets of the corporate maze
Understanding power in these modern days
[Outro]
Now you know the players in this space
Fighting for a more competitive race
These organizations lead the way
To understand the power games today
20. Dots and Cracks
[Verse 1]
In the halls of corporate power, two worlds stand apart
Compliance teams and antitrust lawyers, each protecting hearts
One watches information flow, the other market share
But when budgets get slashed by private equity, neither's prepared
[Chorus]
Find the dots and find the cracks
Where compliance meets the monopoly acts
Bridge the gap between the rules
They're both stakeholder protection tools
Dots and cracks, dots and cracks
Follow money, follow tracks
When PE cuts the budget slack
Find the dots and find the cracks
[Verse 2]
She sits in information security, watching data streams
While across the building, he tracks merger schemes
When cost cutting hits compliance hard, systems start to fray
And monopoly power grows stronger every single day
[Chorus]
Find the dots and find the cracks
Where compliance meets the monopoly acts
Bridge the gap between the rules
They're both stakeholder protection tools
Dots and cracks, dots and cracks
Follow money, follow tracks
When PE cuts the budget slack
Find the dots and find the cracks
[Bridge]
Same power, different lens
Same stakeholders to defend
When you connect what they don't see
You become the missing key
Information flows like water
Finding every gap and quarter
Link security to market might
Bring those separate worlds to light
[Verse 3]
Now she speaks their language fluently, translating breach to risk
Shows how cutting compliance corners helps monopolists
When both worlds share intelligence, the picture becomes clear
Power needs its guardrails, that's why both careers are here
[Final Chorus]
Found the dots and found the cracks
Where compliance meets the monopoly acts
Bridged the gap between the rules
Now you're using both the tools
Dots and cracks, dots and cracks
Money talks but you track back
When PE tries their budget hack
You see dots and you see cracks
[Outro]
Two worlds talking, stakeholders walking
Free from concentrated power's attack
21. Empty Shells in Every Town
[Verse 1]
Hudson's Bay was built to last
Canadian dreams, Canadian past
Nine thousand jobs, eighty stores
Now the vultures circle at our doors
NRDC swooped in to buy
Media says it's Amazon's lie
But the workers know what we can see
Private equity stripped it clean
[Chorus]
Empty shells in every town
What goes up must come back down
They buy it, strip it, sell the parts
Breaking Canadian business hearts
From sea to sea, the story's told
Our companies bought and sold
Empty shells in every town
Never fifty-one, don't let us down
[Verse 2]
VetStrategy started here at home
Canadian-owned, Canadian grown
Sold to Canadian private hands
Then shipped off to foreign lands
European buyers, American gold
The same old story gets retold
Our businesses climb the PE chain
Till nothing Canadian remains
[Chorus]
Empty shells in every town
What goes up must come back down
They buy it, strip it, sell the parts
Breaking Canadian business hearts
From sea to sea, the story's told
Our companies bought and sold
Empty shells in every town
Never fifty-one, don't let us down
[Bridge]
Six point six billion for defense
But who owns what? It makes no sense
If private equity holds the keys
To our security overseas
OSC wants retail in the game
Same broken metrics, same old shame
Misleading returns, sophisticated lies
While sovereignty slowly dies
[Verse 3]
Never fifty-one they cry
Don't let our independence die
Every buyout, every sale
Another piece of our own tale
Sold away for quarterly gain
While communities feel the pain
The extraction game's the same
Foreign profits, Canadian shame
[Chorus]
Empty shells in every town
What goes up must come back down
They buy it, strip it, sell the parts
Breaking Canadian business hearts
From sea to sea, the story's told
Our companies bought and sold
Empty shells in every town
Never fifty-one, don't let us down
[Outro]
Look around your hometown square
Count the shells that once were there
What they know that you don't yet
Every sale's a safer bet
For them, not us, the game's the same
Empty shells is PE's name
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