End the War: Don't let it be profitable.

[IdaBriggs]

I've posted this before, and I'll probably post it again.

If this war is necessary for the safety of our country, then may I *FIRMLY* suggest that PROFITEERING by companies selling us bullets, $80,000 a year truck drivers, and all of the other "outsourced" crap that makes this a bonanza for companies like Halliburton, et al needs to STOP IMMEDIATELY?

If body armor is a NECESSITY FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR TROOPS, why is the company selling it allowed to make a HUGE PROFIT by providing it to the government? Let's try something SENSIBLE --

Have the government PROMPTLY take over the companies "for the good of the nation" and pay the workers a reasonable amount; fire the executives making obscene amounts of money; and tax the hell out of the folks who've been getting rich off the blood of our soldiers.

Simple, isn't it? :shrug:

[YOY]

1. Pretty sure that would end most war by 'civilized' countries

No rich bastards making money? No war!

[BR_Parkway]

2. I'd vote for it

[IdaBriggs]

3. Thank You. nt

[unhappycamper]

4. War is a racket

Here's an exceprt of chapter two, "Who Makes The Profits?".

The World War, rather our brief participation in it, has cost the United States some $52,000,000,000. Figure it out. That means $400 to every American man, woman, and child. And we haven't paid the debt yet. We are paying it, our children will pay it, and our children's children probably still will be paying the cost of that war.

The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits – ah! that is another matter – twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent – the sky is the limit. All that traffic will bear. Uncle Sam has the money. Let's get it.

Of course, it isn't put that crudely in war time. It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country, and "we must all put our shoulders to the wheel," but the profits jump and leap and skyrocket – and are safely pocketed. Let's just take a few examples:

Take our friends the du Ponts, the powder people – didn't one of them testify before a Senate committee recently that their powder won the war? Or saved the world for democracy? Or something? How did they do in the war? They were a patriotic corporation. Well, the average earnings of the du Ponts for the period 1910 to 1914 were $6,000,000 a year. It wasn't much, but the du Ponts managed to get along on it. Now let's look at their average yearly profit during the war years, 1914 to 1918. Fifty-eight million dollars a year profit we find! Nearly ten times that of normal times, and the profits of normal times were pretty good. An increase in profits of more than 950 per cent.

Take one of our little steel companies that patriotically shunted aside the making of rails and girders and bridges to manufacture war materials. Well, their 1910-1914 yearly earnings averaged $6,000,000. Then came the war. And, like loyal citizens, Bethlehem Steel promptly turned to munitions making. Did their profits jump – or did they let Uncle Sam in for a bargain? Well, their 1914-1918 average was $49,000,000 a year!

Or, let's take United States Steel. The normal earnings during the five-year period prior to the war were $105,000,000 a year. Not bad. Then along came the war and up went the profits. The average yearly profit for the period 1914-1918 was $240,000,000. Not bad.



Smedley Darlington Butler wrote this is 1935.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Even better, get congress to cut off funding for the war.

Then bring the troops home, discharge them, and cut defense spending by about 2/3.

Of course, doing so would cut a lot of politicians' campaign funding and deny the sacred right of generals and admirals to take their seats on the boards of the "defense" industry.