wannabehippie wrote:you may smell a liberal (Which by the way is not a dirty word. i am proud to be a liberal)
what i smell is cronyism, political favoratism.
to receive a no bid contract.
let me repeat that a NO BID CONTRACT.
i have no problem with companies getting a profit.
but when you give a company with conections in the white house a contract that lets the company charge whatever they want plus 2-5%, it stinks to high heaven.
under the terms of the contract they can charge what ever costs they see fit and receive the profit on top of that.
and they dont have to prove their costs. they just present them to the government and get them reimbursed with the added profit level.
snip< The goverment is running this war so that Haliburton stock go's up and makes Cheney some dough??>
no what i am saying is that the government is allowing halliburton (and possibly cheney i dont know if he personally still holds stock, but im sure his family does) to take advantage of the situation and war profiteer.
i see companies lay off thousands of workers and then give huge bonuses to the CEO and other execs everyday. these companies are not putting money into R&D put into the pockets of top management.
when i see the former head of Enron take home $100million dollars in the 12 months before they declared bankruptcy and claim poverty, i will cry out.
when i see verizons service decline while they claim it is because they are still behind because of 9/11. while at the same time laying off thousands and demoting thousands of others, calling them excess, but somehow finding money to give the CEO huge pay hikes and bonuses. (if they are so far behind why are they laying off workers?) i will cry out.
when i see a politically connected company get a green light to charge what ever they want, i will cry out.
peace
david
I always enjoy a good debate.I also have difficulty following fractured statements with an underlying emotional embellical attached to it.
It is true,that some corporations are poorly run.It is true,some have greedy egomaniacs at the helm.It is not a perfect world my Eutopian Friend.Go to Berkeley some time.It's filthy!
I have been in Corporate boardrooms for 27+ years.I have negotiated many GSA Contracts over the years.Nothing here that I see is unusual.As a mtter of fact,it was the liberal Dems that wrote most of the GSA Contract schedules!
Moreover.My older brother(his name is David as well) was an FO for a major Oil firm in SF at Natomas Corp and Houston at Oxy and then Diamond Shamrock,which absorbed Natomas Corp. in the 80s.He started out as a young MBA with J Ray McDermott Corp(Offshore Oil Rigs) in New Orleans.I have travelled with him to the UAE,Scotland and Jakarta,Surabaya and Medan.It was dangerous at times,and less so at others.American interests are very influential in the world of Politics as you know,both here and abroad.As an independent Petro Consultant,He had an office in the WTC..I remind you sir..HAD.
I wish to pause for a moment.At the risk of gross digression,I may remind you that it is Polite in the context of a healthy debate to reference remarks made by the debater present.In this case,that would be myself.
Be so kind in the future David,to be mindful of someone who puts thought into his statements and remarks.To reference those is not only polite,it is 'Debate 101',not 'Spin 201'.
To resume.Most profitable Corps do indeed allocate a portion of that profit to R&D,relying on a reserve is playing with Bankrupcy.
It is important to understand also,that Mr Cheney is the Vice President of these United States,and that we are at War.To spew statements and remarks that border on hidious,lest I remind you he takes no joy in killing,bloodletting or ultraviolence for Profit's sake.This is the kind of Liberal view that gives good liberals a bad name,IMO.
You may want to consider these options that I have illustrated for your higher education.When addressing me sir,do so without the emotional innuendo.State facts.Back them up.Formulate your own opinions,Liberal or not and state them,while referencing the remarks of the person with whom you are engaged in repartee.
Remeber also,"The French Connection"/"Fina PetroChem" topic for Friday.Over the weekend,your assignment is to review and study the background of the 'Svenska Poik' or the 'Swedish Boy'..Hans Blix and his investments in Volvo and SAAB,which have supplied Iraq's Military for decades.I will also allow extra credit for makeup work regarding GSA Contracts,abeit this is optional.
Class Dismissed.