We watched Why We Fight for Social Consciousness Movie Night. Powerful and insightful.
Here are some stats. In 1994 CEOs made 142 times more than the average worker. By 2004 that ratio had increased to 431 time. Source.
Amazing numbers? How about these:
"CEOs of corporations with extensive defense contracts are getting paid about double what they made before Sept. 11, 2001" (ABC News). Over the same time period, other large corporation CEOs had a mere 6% increase. 100% vs. 6%. Nice.
Yes, the military-industrial complex is quite profitable.
In other news, get your Red Cross threads here.
4 comments:
There are good points in your article. I would like to supplement them with some information:
I am a 2 tour Vietnam Veteran who recently retired after 36 years of working in the Defense Industrial Complex on many of the weapons systems being used by our forces as we speak.
If you are interested in a view of the inside of the Pentagon procurement process from Vietnam to Iraq please check the posting at my blog entitled, “Odyssey of Armements”
http://www.rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com
The Pentagon is a giant,incredibly complex establishment,budgeted in excess of $500B per year. The Rumsfelds, the Adminisitrations and the Congressmen come and go but the real machinery of policy and procurement keeps grinding away, presenting the politicos who arrive with detail and alternatives slanted to perpetuate itself.
How can any newcomer, be he a President, a Congressman or even the Sec. Def. to be - Mr. Gates- understand such complexity, particulary if heretofore he has not had the clearance to get the full details?
Answer- he can’t. Therefor he accepts the alternatives provided by the career establishment that never goes away and he hopes he makes the right choices. Or he is influenced by a lobbyist or two representing companies in his district or special interest groups.
From a practical standpoint, policy and war decisions are made far below the levels of the talking heads who take the heat or the credit for the results.
This situation is unfortunate but it is ablsolute fact. Take it from one who has been to war and worked in the establishment.
This giant policy making and war machine will eventually come apart and have to be put back together to operate smaller, leaner and on less fuel. But that won’t happen unitil it hits a brick wall at high speed.
We will then have to run a Volkswagon instead of a Caddy and get along somehow. We better start practicing now and get off our high horse. Our golden aura in the world is beginning to dull from arrogance.
Wow! Nice comment and good insight.
Remember don't watch too many documenteries in one week. I watched Why We Fight, An Inconvenient Truth, and Loose Change 911 all in one weekend and wanted to shoot myself because I was so depressed about the current status of our country.
But, I learned a lot. And, sometimes learning the truth (or maybe the other side of the coin) is painful.
ok Jeff. You have to check this place out: http://www.desktop-it.blogspot.com/
love it.
Thanks a lot, Rose-covered Glasses. I appreciate the insight. It's amazing to me. I know I can only understand it at the most basic level. You have had a very different education on the beast.
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