Home of the Brave, Inc.

Well, frumps, it’s now official.  We are no longer American citizens we are, rather, shareholders in America, Inc.  Unfortunately, that means that our “vote” has been somewhat devalued.  As any small-time, working-class stockholder knows the clout of individual stockholders in a corporation is commensurate to the number of shares (i.e., the number of dollars invested).  So, if one person owns fifty shares of, say, Boeing and another person owns 500,000 shares, the guy with the mega portfolio has a lot more influence over what Boeing does.  Under this (perfectly legal) scheme “money talks;” it’s about as far away as one can get from “one person, one vote.”

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And the Supreme Court of the United States, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that this is the way it’s going to be from here on out.  In a 5-4 decision this week, SCOTUS has ruled that corporations campaign donations cannot be limited – and the “Deep Pockets Democracy” has arrived.  I’ll bet the US Chamber of Commerce is partying like it’s 1999.  Actually, it’s more like 1899 because this decision sets aside about one hundred years of legal precedents curbing the influence of big money in our democratic processes.

Remember the Justice Sotomayor confirmation hearings?  At that time we heard more than an earful of the Right’s utter contempt for “judicial activism.”  Members of Congress trembled and warned over the danger of seating an activist on the Supreme Court.  Of course, that was racial/ethnic activism that was such a terrifying specter.  Well they must have reconsidered that stance because this most recent 5-4 decision coming out of the conservative Roberts court is about as activist as the judiciary gets.

[ Maybe, if we’re going to move in this direction anyway, voting power ought to be based on tax dollars paid.  At least that might get some of these dead-beat, tax cheat companies to pay if they want to play.  That approach would also give a little more balance to the ordinary citizen who pays a far higher percentage of federal tax than most corporations ].

So What Kind of Corporation Shall We Be?

Since it has so recently been mandated that corporations will now be choosing and endorsing political candidates wholesale and thus shaping government policy, it makes sense to take a look at the most powerful, pervasive industry in America now, or ever – the Defense industry – to get a feel for America’s future.

Over the past year, I sense, that a lot of us have been waking up to how militaristic and imperialistic America has become in that vague half-dreamy state between propaganda and reality.  A series of recent blows to the American psyche have, perhaps, jolted us out of our usual John Doe busy-ness into a more questioning, less complacent obedience to the “powers that be.”

Concurrent with that generalized disgruntlement, I’ve noticed a fairly pervasive resurrection of Dwight D. Eisenhower (of all people) because it was the mild-mannered General “Ike” Eisenhower who first warned us to beware that we might be creating a monster.  Here are a few samplings of what Ike had to say “back in the day (1961):”

This bears highlighting:

“Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.”

Sound worrying?  Sorry, too late . . .

Without the Long War, expeditionary incursions and global counterinsurgency duty, our goose is cooked; so we might as well settle back and get used to being a Warrior Nation – our failing economy depends on it.  We’re actually lucky that the War on Terror came along when it did otherwise the end of the Cold War could have led to a long lingering economic stagnation.

So.  Ike – a military insider – an old soldier, warned us what to watch out for and, lo and behold, it has come to pass.  Here are some sobering facts from my favorite “go to” on the American defense culture, Brian Bogart.  Bogart was the University of Oregon’s first graduate student in the trans-disciplinary field of Peace Studies; he has a great way of reducing incomprehensible Defense jargon and statistics into something we can all understand (and, in some cases, laugh at).  Here goes:

“Judging by DoD’s own stats, we’re way past that point. More than 1,100 colleges and universities have had prime contracts with the Department of Defense in the last six years. Around 950 of those are in the United States, with the rest spread across 33 countries.”

“Although the number of DoD general assistance contracts to schools remained relatively constant between 2000 and 2006, the 900% increase in defense-applied research contracts and total dollar amounts awarded to schools during that period would’ve made Ike toss his lunch on TV. The total number of defense-applied research contracts to schools rose from 5,887 in 2000 to 52,667 in 2006. Total dollars to schools rose from $4.4 billion in 2000 to $46.7 billion in 2006.

“DoD contract trends with companies are at all-time highs, with more than 300,000 prime contractors in the United States alone; a 6,000 companies-per-state average. Between 2001 and 2006, the total amount of defense dollars to companies in most states doubled. For fiscal year 2001, companies in Texas received $9.5 billion. For fiscal year 2006, the total was $27 billion.”

“Between the end of World War II and December 2006, US armed forces served abroad in 159 instances. These military operations increased in frequency each decade, with 6 in the 1950s, 8 in the 1960s, 11 in the 70s, 22 in the 80s, 66 in the 90s, and 44 so far this decade.”

So where does all of this land us?  I couldn’t say it any better than Bogart did in 2007 and his words have certainly been borne out by events of the past year:

“It doesn’t take a bright citizen to make the case that peace is a healthy idea. But then there are politicians. With a bad policy, presidential candidates who don’t promise to increase defense spending have no legitimate chance in any party, thanks to big media’s industrial role. Money runs campaigns on strong defense for a reason: reelection. Defense is by far the largest job creator and money spender in all fifty states, and the dispersal of contracts to an ever-increasing variety of companies in all states and beyond is what motivates state representatives to approve every proposed defense spending increase.”

“The problem is bad policy excessively gives businesses our taxes to invest in their own financial growth, helps representatives, and leaves us out of the money loop. We pay defense, defense showers that money on schools and companies, and top executives buy yachts and build stadiums. State and local leaders then raise taxes to cover what taxes should cover: the people’s health and prosperity.”

“Good folks put their faith, families, careers, and lives on the line for what they’re told by government. They don’t have time to investigate. Every September 11 our leadership bows its collective head before reminding us to keep shopping in “the wealthiest nation” while its infrastructure crumbles.”

If bipartisanship is what President Obama is after one sure way to get it is by increasing defense spending.  With Iraq winding down, we should be looking for some equally precarious state to chase Al Qaeda into so that we can open a new theater, and beat the bushes with expensive 21st century gizmos, looking for bin Laden for another ten years.

I heartily encourage anyone who found this interesting/informative to take yourself off and read a few of Brian Bogart’s full-length papers – long, but worth it.  I’m hoping that this young man, who makes a lot of sense, can reach a wider and wider audience.

Here are a few titles to get you started:

Sins of Statecraft: The War on Terror Exposed :: Theories on Militarism and Prospects for Transformation (Friday, July 21, 2006)

America Programmed for War: Cause and Solution By Brian Bogart (2005)

Technorati Tags: Brian Bogart, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, military-industrial-complex, Cold War, War on Terrorism, SCOTUS, Defense Department

Tagged as: Brian Bogart, Cold War, Defense Department, military-industrial-complex, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, SCOTUS, War on Terrorism