Forum Post: US corporations under guise of US govt must stop profiting from absolutely useless wars
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 12, 2011, 11:09 a.m. EST by wallstreetrevolt
(16)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
There is a long list of US military expeditions and intelligence operations that have overthrown regimes and plundered peoples in the name of 'nation building' or spreading democracy, when in fact it's only to profit the top US corporations who at one time were represented by the US government and now basically control it. If you would like to see a compendium of most of these expeditions and operations read William Blum's "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower". You can also view the documentary "Zeitgeist Addendum" -- http://vimeo.com/13770061 -- online which explains economic hit men and the US's use of the World Bank and the IMF as well as showing the insidious enslavement of everyone by our Federal Reserve System... It's all quite incredible but most Americans go through life blind to all this and are thus easily manipulated and exploited.
To understand why corporations are properly understood as extensions of government power and why nationalizing the defense industry is a good idea, see Corporations and the Public Purpose: Restoring the Balance, available at: http://www.corporatepolicy.org/issues/corppurpose.pdf
Absolutely agree with this post.
Not only are the wars useless, but they are immoral, evil, and based on complete lies.
They always say if we don't act the sheriff of the world then who will? We're not the Sheriff we're the bandit. The sheriff's dead.
They always say if we don't act the sheriff of the world then who will? We're not the Sheriff we're the bandit. The sheriff's dead.
Ripe for the exploitation, you got that right. But, when people need work to live, they are forced to deal with what is in front of them. This empowers the monied interests, and allows them to play one country's workers off another, with "free trade" agreements, that allow international capital to shift production at will. making it very difficult to organize against it, unless protest assumes international dimensions as well. http://sibob.org/wordpress/
right reply: By reining in the corporations and going to a model that is not just about short term profit, but about long term well being for both the workers and the investors it's possible to restrain the inequality of playing off one set of laborers against another. This has to be done through legislation, but over the past two decades, starting with the Reagan era, corporations have minimized unions and the recourse of judicial restraint. What has been dismantled in the name of unbridled capitalism must be regained in the name of humanity and compassion. If profit rules all we're doomed.
The problem is getting the politicians to see our problems. This Wall Street Occupation is a great start. You are right, Reagan started the pendulum to swing in the current direction, and his firing of the air traffic controllers sent a message that is still heard today. Another big problem in the United States is that in private industry, there is less and less to organize, as more and more manufacturing shuts down, seemingly to never return.
But if the Tea Partiers could sway the Republican party like it did, why can't the OWS pressure the Democrats. What is really needed in this country is a third party that bypasses the other two which have been completely hijacked and controlled by the corporations. Cheney/Bush was the regime of the military and oil corporations and the Obama admin is there for the bankers and drug companies among others. It's just a changing of the guard. Maybe the Trilateral Commission just agreed on this among themselves and manipulated America to that effect. Sell 'em on "change'; they'll like that as they need it. And we've just been continuing to get more of the same...
True that !
I think the 8 OWS Proposed Demands on this site in the forum are a very good start to say the least. If even half, let alone all 8, got passed we would start taking back the country from the corporations that have looted and hijacked for long enough.
Also: It would be fantastic to see a curb on America as an empire. We have just spent over two trillion $ of borrowed money on two unnecessary wars that really only benefit defense contractors --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_united_states_defense_contractors -- such as general electric that made $14 billion profit last year and paid no taxes at all... Since 9/11 the gov has installed intelligence agencies that have over a million employees - a third of which have top secret clearance - and many of them are redundant to boot as they duplicate each other’s work as they're all so secret they can't communicate with each other, not to mention the public can't know the agencies, what they do nor what they cost even though the taxpayers pay over a $180 billion per year for them ! Instead of such useless and insidious expenditure what about using it to rebuild our education system, our infrastructure, and have a health system that includes everyone like every other developed first world country except for us ! This must be considered and has not been because of the climate of fear promulgated and milked by 9/11. Home Security spends over $200 billion per year on terrorism when two years ago 78 americans died of an official terrorist act, whereas the government spent $4 billion dollars that year on heart disease research when 60,000 americans died of it. Where should taxpayers put their hard earned dollars. the former benefits all the corporate defense/intelligence contractors and the latter benefits the people !
What solutions tdo you propose? Do the makers of Zeitgeist have some solutions? (I saw many episodes of the movie but not all).
Woops, posted to wrong reply before this: I think the 8 OWS Proposed Demands on this site in the forum are a very good start to say the least. If even half, let alone all 8, got passed we would start taking back the country from the corporations that have looted and hijacked for long enough. Also: It would be fantastic to see a curb on America as an empire. We have just spent over two trillion $ of borrowed money on two unnecessary wars that really only benefit defense contractors --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_united_states_defense_contractors -- such as general electric that made $14 billion profit last year and paid no taxes at all... Since 9/11 the gov has installed intelligence agencies that have over a million employees - a third of which have top secret clearance - and many of them are redundant to boot as they duplicate each other’s work as they're all so secret they can't communicate with each other, not to mention the public can't know the agencies, what they do nor what they cost even though the taxpayers pay over a $180 billion per year for them ! Instead of such useless and insidious expenditure what about using it to rebuild our education system, our infrastructure, and have a health system that includes everyone like every other developed first world country except for us ! This must be considered and has not been because of the climate of fear promulgated and milked by 9/11. Home Security spends over $200 billion per year on terrorism when two years ago 78 americans died of an official terrorist act, whereas the government spent $4 billion dollars that year on heart disease research when 60,000 americans died of it. Where should taxpayers put their hard earned dollars. the former benefits all the corporate defense/intelligence contractors and the latter benefits the people !
I'm in agreement in general ; what I meant was, what would be a specific demand to help towards achieving the goal of demilitarization and what action would help get that demand answered/ At the moment, I'm just thinking about breaking the long-term goals or overall goals of the movement into achievable STEPS. And yes, I agree people's energies would be better spent trying to save the planet and figure out a way of living in harmony with nature and each other, but how do we really start building alternative communities, work forces etc. I have also posted to the list of demands--but there are a few out there. I think I posted to "10 demands" not sure I've seen the 8. So, to cut reduncancy I'll sign off here.
One of the prime means of stopping useless wars and militarization to profit corporations is to eliminate through legislation the insidious lobbying, as well as the hiring of officials after their terms, by these very same defense contractors. We basically have in place now a military that serves the corporations. We must, above all, not only regarding the military, but also banking, medicine and so on, get corporate cronies and lackeys out of the government all the way from the congressional to the executive and judicial branches, and restore government so its by the people and for the people as the constitution states.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-please-help-editadd-so-th/
PROPOSED LIST OF DEMANDS (please help edit/add so this can be submitted for consideration to those maintaining the official list) (User Submitted) Posted Sept. 28, 2011, 6:54 p.m. EST (13 days ago) by GandhiKingMindset