Everybody seems so astonished at the corruption of this administration - but not me, not anymore. Take a look at where they all got their start.
Condi: she's switched giant firms more times than Van Halen switched lead singers.
Dick Cheney: this guy helmed Halliburton, a company that's not exactly known for their charitable nature.
And, of course, Dubya: Texas oil man through and through.
And when they're elected into office guess what they do. Surprise! They protect their interests at our expense. The only thing that's startling is why anyone thought they'd take care of us in the first place.
The trend has been to pluck people out of the business world and install them in positions of immense power. To paraphrase an old addage - you can take the man out of the business but you can't take the business out of the man.
These people probably started out their lives as good, decent folk, but they have been corporatized. I can't help but think about how bloodless they had to be in order to achieve their status. So when they strike out as public servants it's no wonder they treat government like a business.
That's how we get cronyism, no bid contracts and a complete lack of accountability. This is how a corporation functions, not a government. It's all about the bottom line, if someone or something is a casualty to profits lay them off. This can be said of the homeless whose numbers are rising and are politically worthless.
Accountability (or the absence thereof) seems to be the biggest carry-over from corporate life. Nobody at the top of the power ladder bows to any man. We have no say as to who will be the next CEO of Exxon Mobile or if Wal-mart will bust up another union. This, in theory, is the antithesis of government. Government exists solely to be accountable to the people, we're supposed to be the overseers, the fourth branch of government, and place our leaders' feet to the fire. How can that happen when the most important decisions made on our behalf happen in secret?
The obvious, yet softly-uttered, solution to this problem is to develop an adversarial relationship between government and business. I've said this once and I'll say it again, this is attainable by sending members of the lower classes to Washington. Do you really think the upper classes can offer better leaders than the middle and lower classes? If so, take a look at President Bush and just think of all the people you pass in a single day who're smarter than the most powerful man in the world.
Condi: she's switched giant firms more times than Van Halen switched lead singers.
Dick Cheney: this guy helmed Halliburton, a company that's not exactly known for their charitable nature.
And, of course, Dubya: Texas oil man through and through.
And when they're elected into office guess what they do. Surprise! They protect their interests at our expense. The only thing that's startling is why anyone thought they'd take care of us in the first place.
The trend has been to pluck people out of the business world and install them in positions of immense power. To paraphrase an old addage - you can take the man out of the business but you can't take the business out of the man.
These people probably started out their lives as good, decent folk, but they have been corporatized. I can't help but think about how bloodless they had to be in order to achieve their status. So when they strike out as public servants it's no wonder they treat government like a business.
That's how we get cronyism, no bid contracts and a complete lack of accountability. This is how a corporation functions, not a government. It's all about the bottom line, if someone or something is a casualty to profits lay them off. This can be said of the homeless whose numbers are rising and are politically worthless.
Accountability (or the absence thereof) seems to be the biggest carry-over from corporate life. Nobody at the top of the power ladder bows to any man. We have no say as to who will be the next CEO of Exxon Mobile or if Wal-mart will bust up another union. This, in theory, is the antithesis of government. Government exists solely to be accountable to the people, we're supposed to be the overseers, the fourth branch of government, and place our leaders' feet to the fire. How can that happen when the most important decisions made on our behalf happen in secret?
The obvious, yet softly-uttered, solution to this problem is to develop an adversarial relationship between government and business. I've said this once and I'll say it again, this is attainable by sending members of the lower classes to Washington. Do you really think the upper classes can offer better leaders than the middle and lower classes? If so, take a look at President Bush and just think of all the people you pass in a single day who're smarter than the most powerful man in the world.
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