US Legislators Profiting from War? Say it ain’t so, Joe

Seems it’s not just the executive branch and their friends that have “invested” in this war. From IPS comes a news article about the money invested by our legislators.

Members of Congress invested nearly 196 million dollars of their own money in companies that receive hundreds of millions of dollars a day from Pentagon contracts to provide goods and services to U.S. armed forces, say nonpartisan watchdog groups.

The article is based on a report by the Center for Responsive Politics, via their site: Opensecretes.org

Before we get to the meat of this, consider that I found this via Common Dreams.org’ copying the news article. The article is not a US based media article. Oh nooooooooo! It is a nonprofit, global news organization out of Rome publishing an article on a report by a US based watch dog group. THANK GOD FOR THE INTERNET!
Ok, I feel better. Don’t you?

The original article, Strategic Assets has a wonderful chart. Of the top 10 legislators invested in our military industrial complex, can you guess who has the most tied up? A hint: Of the top 10, 3 are democrats and they don’t include Nancy or Diane.

According to the most recent reports of their personal finances, 151 current members of Congress had between $78.7 million and $195.5 million invested in companies that received defense contracts of at least $5 million in 2006. In all, these companies received more than $275.6 billion from the government in 2006, or $755 million per day, according to FedSpending.org, a website of the budget watchdog group OMB Watch.

In 2004, the first full year after the Iraq war began, Republican and Democratic lawmakers—both hawks and doves—had between $74.9 million and $161.3 million invested in companies under contract with the Department of Defense.

Our esteemed colleagues have seem to have no concern about the image such investing may present:

The minimum value of Congress members’ personal investments in these contractors increased 5 percent from 2004 to 2006,…

Granted, some of the companies counted may seem unlikely candidates for being considered defense until you read:

As the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have expanded and transformed, so, too, has the need for goods and services that extend beyond helicopters, armored vehicles and guns. Giant corporations outside of the defense sector, such as Pepsico, IBM, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson, have received defense contracts and are all popular investments for both members of Congress and the general public. So common are these companies, both as personal investments and as defense contractors, it would appear difficult to build a diverse blue-chip stock portfolio without at least some of them.

So, what’s a person to do with their 401K money if they want to be in the good, secure companies but does not want to promote war profiteering? As noted in the article, even without war, the solder needs tooth paste. But we are exercising our military currently and we’re using it up, which means replacement costs are accelerated. Though maybe tooth paste is used at no greater rate. Though we did call in all those reserves. Which might explain Pepsico getting $187 million in 2006 but it does not explain:

In the case of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chair of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, his stock in Pepsico, which is worth at least $1 million, is actually held by his wife, who is on the food and beverage corporation’s board of directors.

Nor does it explain this:

Petraeus will speak on April 8 and 9 to the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees. In 2006, members of these two committees had between $32 million and $44 million invested in companies with DOD contracts. Foreign Relations member Kerry’s investments accounted for most of it—between $28.9 million and $38.2 million. Members of the two committees held between $3 million and $5.1 million in defense-only companies.

What is there to say? Military spending of war does increase GDP for the good? Privatization of the military goes far beyond mercenaries? The USA is an economy of war making? It’s just business? I’m a fool for not riding the money wave?

The army and the empire may be falling apart
The money has gotten scarce.

One mans word held the country together
But the truth is getting fierce.

END