A slap in the face of the poor, a blank check for war, and soft on corporate cri

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Thu, 10 Feb 2005 22:22:45 -0500

A slap in the face of the poor, a blank check for war, and

soft on corporate crime

 

 

 

 

http://www.corporatepolicy.org/topics/budget.htm

 

2006 Budget: Coddling Corporate Criminals

 

The Bush 2006 budget proposal includes deep cuts in social services

and community development programs, while increasing military spending

and preserving his first-term tax cut for corporations and the

nation's wealthiest. In just a few years, the U.S. budget has dropped

from a surplus to a dramatic deficit.

http://www.kowaldesign.com/budget/

 

Corporate lobbyists will be happy to find several anti-regulatory

initiatives

http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/2657/1/308?TopicID=1

as well as deep cuts in the enforcement budgets of certain regulatory

agencies including the EPA.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews & storyID=urn:new\

sml:reuters.com:20050207:MTFH33401_2005-02-07_21-06-18_N07210514:1

 

How Bush's budget goes soft on corporate crime The FBI

http://www.fbi.gov/publications/strategicplan/strategicplanfull.pdf

predicts that " major corporate crime will impact the U.S. economy over

the next five years. " The FBI is currently investigating over 189

major corporate frauds, 18 of which have losses over $1 billion. As

the FBI suggests, the " aggressive investigation and prosecution of

major corporate fraud will be a key factor in restoring long-term

confidence in our business leaders, " especially after Enron and the

epidemic of corporate crime witnessed in recent years.

 

Yet Bush proposes cutting the SEC's enforcement budget by $8 million.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/printedition/bal-bz.sec08feb08,1,3709318.story?\

ctrack=3 & cset=true

 

As Prof. John Coffee of the University of Columbia Law School points

out: " The consensus of criminologists is that likelihood of

apprehension is far more important than the severity of punishment ...

From a policy perspective, this means that the passage of tough

mandatory sentences that impose exemplary sentences on white collar

offenders will do less to achieve deterrence than investment in

enforcement and detection. "

 

http://www.corporatepolicy.org/topics/war.htm

 

War Profiteers

 

Corporate Patriotism or War Profiteering?:

Hundreds of Americans soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice for a

war that was sold to the American public by misleading assertions

about an imminent threat, weapons of mass destruction, and ties to

terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. In November, American taxpayers were

asked to foot the bill as Congress passed the Bush administration's

request for an additional $87 billion for the ongoing occupation and

reconstruction of Iraq. Yet where is the $87 billion going? Mostly to

companies with long-standing connections to the Bush administration,

including Halliburton and Bechtel, the two contractors that have made

the most money.

 

It's unclear how U.S. interests (particularly the interests of U.S.

taxpayers) or the interests of the Iraqi people have been served by a

contracting process that has been dominated by the administration's

corporate cronies, riddled with conflicts of interest, and designed in

a manner that effectively undermines competition, transparency and

accountability. For example, reports from Iraq suggest that due to the

ban, the reconstruction process has been slowed down by the inability

to get spare parts for key equipment.

 

There is are also numerous reports of shoddy fulfilment of work

orders, huge gas surcharges by Halliburton. (Click Here for

Halliburton Timeline)

http://www.corporatepolicy.org/topics/Halliburton%20Timeline.htm

 

In addition, the process has hampered Iraqis' ability to get their own

economy running. Congressional investigators report instances where

Iraqi businesses have been able to complete certain work for a

fraction of the cost estimated by U.S. contractors.

 

PO Box 19405, Washington, DC 20036

1.202.387.8030 V. 1.202.234.5176 Fax

Email: info