It’s not uncommon for governments to use indecipherable language as a means of diversion and concealment. The irony is that while government publishes information for the public—information critical to public safety and interests–the documents are often shrouded in jargon or legalese.

The result (perhaps an intended result) is that many people just avoid reading or questioning government-published info. Unfortunately, this comes at a potentially steep cost, as disastrous legislation can be made to appear tame and harmless.

Governments have pre-authorized banks to confiscate your funds in times of crisis.

Here’s an example. Have you heard about the “Adequacy of Loss-Absorbing Capacity of Global Systemically Important Banks in Resolution” agreement? This is a G20 decision that approves a Cyprus-style bail-in plan across the board.

First, what exactly is a “bail-in”? It means that governments are pre-authorizing banks to confiscate the assets of bondholders, shareholders, pensioners, and creditors. In other words, taxpayers no longer “bail-out” too-big-to-fail banks. Instead, banks will just bail-in—i.e. confiscate—funds to save themselves. Does this sound like a favorable solution? Not so fast. Look at the last term on the list: “creditors.”

This term conceals a detail that most people wouldn’t easily notice:

CREDITORS = BANK DEPOSITORS, and

BANK DEPOSITORS = YOU

SNIP