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From the article: "Did you know, for example, that there was a time when being called a "war profiteer" was a bad thing? But now our war zones are dominated by private contractors and mercenaries who work for corporations. There are more private contractors in Iraq than American troops, and we pay them generous salaries to do jobs the troops used to do for themselves -- like laundry. War is not supposed to turn a profit, but our wars have become boondoggles for weapons manufacturers and connected civilian contractors."
I agree with a lot of the article. However, with respect to the military, I must say this. What did everyone think would happen when the word 'soldier' became synonymous with 'baby-killer?' Did they really think that people would continue to enlist? No. They probably didn't think about it at all. However, we need a military. The armed forces had to become competitive in order to attract people. No one was going to enlist and risk public ostracizing and being spit upon in order to do laundry, peel potatoes, and clean toilets. The budget cuts meant that the military had to become more reliant on technology which meant they needed more educated people to join. Who wants to get a degree and endure basic training to do laundry? No one. Those tasks had to be done, so, in order to save money, the military had to outsource the care and feeding of our military to private companies.
I had a class with a guy who was operations manager for a military base in Iraq. He worked for a mulitnational and was responsible for the approximately 550 people required to operate that base. He was also responsible for the purchasing necessary to keep it running. Outsourcing base operations relieves the military of the day to day details and costs required. We the taxpayers didn't pay those salaries, fringes, and bonuses directly, the MNE did. It's no different from any other company that chooses to outsource part of their operations in order to save money, time, and resources.
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"In the days before volcanoes were invented, lava had to be hand carried down from the mountains and poured on the sleeping villagers.
This took a great deal of time."
----- Original Message -----
From: Aggo Akyea <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, July 31, 2009 12:41 am
Subject: Did Making a Profit Become the Only Reason to Do Anything?
To: [log in to unmask]
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> Bill Maher: When Did Making a Profit Become the Only Reason to Do Anything?
>
> By Bill Maher
> Huffington Pos
> Posted on July 27, 2009, Printed on July 30, 2009
> http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/http://www.huffingtonpost.com//141577/
>
> How about this for a New Rule: Not everything in America has to make a
> profit. It used to be that there were some services and institutions
> so vital to our nation that they were exempt from market pressures.
> Some things we just didn't do for money. The United States always
> defined capitalism, but it didn't used to define us. But now it's
> becoming all that we are.
>
> Did you know, for example, that there was a time when being called a
> "war profiteer" was a bad thing? But now our war zones are dominated
> by private contractors and mercenaries who work for corporations.
> There are more private contractors in Iraq than American troops, and
> we pay them generous salaries to do jobs the troops used to do for
> themselves -- like laundry. War is not supposed to turn a profit, but
> our wars have become boondoggles for weapons manufacturers and
> connected civilian contractors.
>
> Prisons used to be a non-profit business, too. And for good reason --
> who the hell wants to own a prison? By definition you're going to have
> trouble with the tenants. But now prisons are big business. A company
> called the Corrections Corporation of America is on the New York Stock
> Exchange, which is convenient since that's where all the real crime is
> happening anyway. The CCA and similar corporations actually lobby
> Congress for stiffer sentencing laws so they can lock more people up
> and make more money. That's why America has the world;s largest prison
> population -- because actually rehabilitating people would have a
> negative impact on the bottom line.
>
> Television news is another area that used to be roped off from the
> profit motive. When Walter Cronkite died, it was odd to see news
> anchor after news anchor talking about how much better the news
> coverage was back in Cronkite's day. I thought, "Gee, if only you were
> in a position to do something about it."
>
> But maybe they aren't. Because unlike in Cronkite's day, today's news
> has to make a profit like all the other divisions in a media
> conglomerate. That's why it wasn't surprising to see the CBS Evening
> News broadcast live from the Staples Center for two nights this month,
> just in case Michael Jackson came back to life and sold Iran nuclear
> weapons. In Uncle Walter's time, the news division was a loss leader.
> Making money was the job of The Beverly Hillbillies. And now that we
> have reporters moving to Alaska to hang out with the Palin family, the
> news is The Beverly Hillbillies.
>
> And finally, there's health care. It wasn't that long ago that when a
> kid broke his leg playing stickball, his parents took him to the local
> Catholic hospital, the nun put a thermometer in his mouth, the doctor
> slapped some plaster on his ankle and you were done. The bill was
> $1.50, plus you got to keep the thermometer.
>
> If conservatives get to call universal health care "socialized
> medicine," I get to call private health care "soulless vampires making
> money off human pain." The problem with President Obama's health care
> plan isn't socialism, it's capitalism.
>
> And if medicine is for profit, and war, and the news, and the penal
> system, my question is: what's wrong with firemen? Why don't they
> charge? They must be commies. Oh my God! That explains the red trucks!
>
> But like everything else that's good and noble in life, some Wall
> Street wizard decided that hospitals could be big business, so now
> they're run by some bean counters in a corporate plaza in Charlotte .
> In the U.S. today, three giant for-profit conglomerates own close to
> 600 hospitals and other health care facilities. They're not hospitals
> anymore; they're Jiffy Lubes with bedpans. America 's largest hospital
> chain, HCA, was founded by the family of Bill Frist, who perfectly
> represents the Republican attitude toward health care: it's not a
> right, it's a racket. The more people who get sick and need medicine,
> the higher their profit margins. Which is why they're always pushing
> the Jell-O.
>
> Because medicine is now for-profit we have things like "recision,"
> where insurance companies hire people to figure out ways to deny you
> coverage when you get sick, even though you've been paying into your
> plan for years.
>
> When did the profit motive become the only reason to do anything? When
> did that become the new patriotism? Ask not what you could do for your
> country; ask what's in it for Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
>
> Bill Maher hosts "Real Time with Bill Maher."
> © 2009 Huffington Post All rights reserved.
> View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/http://www.huffingtonpost.com//141577/
>
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