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George, Asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton famously replied, Because
thats where the money is. Given its rich supply of oil, Sutton
would have understood the U.S./U.K. invasion of Iraq. As you read this,
new sharing agreements are being hashed out with the pliant
Iraqi government to cut in British and American oil producers for a bigger
share of the flow. Yes, America may produce bumper cash crops of wheat, corn, and tobacco. But the Numero Uno cash crop gets harvested every April 17th. That crop is the American taxpayers, who could be the real reason for the war in Iraq, especially since the nuclear fairy tale President Bush spun turned out to be bogus. The income tax haul comes to about $1-trillion annually. To put it all in perspective, the State of Virginia, a provider of needed public services ranging from medical care to highways, has run up a debt equal to $1,892 per resident, the Census Bureau says. But the sum each Virginian, (and every other U.S. taxpayer,) owes the Federal government is an astonishing $25,000+, up 25% in just the few short years Mr. Bush occupied the White House. The military-industrial complex has never had it so good. Take away self-funding Social Security and Medicare, the real Federal budget is $1.8-trillion, of which the Pentagon gets a record $439-billion. Toss in the outlays for the so-called intelligence agencies, the total "defense" bill jumps to about $500-billion --- more than all the rest of the world spends on armaments. Let the good times roll! Knight Ridder news service reports the Pentagon
is shelling out $20 for ice cube trays that retail for less than a dollar
and $1,000 for popcorn makers. As Derrick Jackson wrote in the Boston Globe,
Halliburtons Kellogg, Brown & Root subsidiary charged you
and me $100 for a bag of laundry and $45 for a case of soda in Iraq. As for the traditional Republican Partys belief in the free market system, it apparently doesnt apply at the Pentagon. Its an agency where competitive bidding is a sham. Willie Sutton was in the wrong business. He should have made weapons, not pointed them. Heres what the Big Ten defense contractors reaped in billions from DOD last year: (1) Lockheed Martin, $20.7; (2)Boeing, $17.1; (3) Northrop Grumman, $11.9; (4) General Dynamics, $9.6; (5)Raytheon, $8.5; (6)Halliburton, $8.0; (7) United Technologies, $5.1; (8) Science Applications International, $2.5; (9) Computer Sciences Corp., $2.4; and Humana, $2.4. Scores of American corporations are paying no income taxes whatever as a result of Bushs tax breaks. Their total share of the income tax burden in 2004 was less than 19%. And according to Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), 82 of Americas largest and most profitable 275 companies, all Fortune 500 entities, paid zero or less in federal income taxes in at least one year from 2001 to 2003. The CTJ report noted, Aerospace and defense companies enjoyed the lowest effective tax rate over the three years (2001-03), paying only 1.6 percent of their profits in federal income taxes. Somebody once defined government as who gets what and how much. Thats cynical. But while depressing the corporate burden, Bush has, according to Reuters, tried to save $15-billion by trimming programs for cancer research, among other domestic needs. And he recently signed a measure to cut $39-billion over five years from the health care program for the poor, student loans, and other programs, the wire service said. Does any of this explain why President Bush hasnt given the public an honest answer about why he invaded Iraq? Willie Sutton would have made a much better President for two reasons: (1) He was candid about his crimes. (2)He never killed nobody. Sherwood Ross (electronic mail, March 13, 2006)
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