Profiteers make a killing on Homeland Security
Once again, we have to turn abroad to find out what's happening in our own country. With a handful of 24/7 cable news networks, it's still next to impossible to find hard news on the airwaves. So on that solitary area where Bush's poll numbers aren't tanking-- security-- how do you suppose the admnistration is actually performing. Cynics would claim that since it's run by the robber baron GOP, it's probably awash in corruption, cronyism and corporate dollars, all at the expense of the US public. Well, give the cynics a prize. From Der Spiegel:
The business of fear in the United States of America has been booming ever since September 11, 2001 and the price tag for the protective cordon of high-tech gadgetry intended to keep the US safe from more terrorist attacks is enormous. Devices designed to detect nuclear material in shipping containers will cost the US government $300 million. The budget for the American Shield Initiative, a plan that calls for monitoring the country's borders with sensors or drones, comes at the hefty price of $2.5 billion. A further $10 billion is budgeted for a new computer system designed to monitor visitors, while outfitting all 6,800 aircraft in US commercial aviation with anti-missile systems will cost about the same amount. The total 2005 Homeland Security budget weighs in at a whopping $50 billion -- roughly equivalent to the gross national product of New Zealand. . .
The security business is booming in places like the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Wyoming as well -- hardly places that come to mind as potential terrorist targets. But according to the requirements stipulated by Congress, the Department of Homeland Security's budget must be equally distributed among all US states and territories. Last year, Wyoming spent $37.74 per capita on homeland security while the state of New York had to make do with $5.41 per capita. The result? Every police officer in Wyoming now has his or her own ABC protective suit. . .
To make sure that all this lucrative hemorrhaging of American taxpayers' money doesn't come to an end too soon, the security industry has taken a page from the defense industry and hired specialists who are aptly nicknamed "rainmakers" -- political insiders adept at selling their influence to the highest bidder. Tom Ridge, the former Secretary of Homeland Security, is now lobbying on behalf of container security, while many of his former top officials have set up shop on K Street, Washington's magnificent mile for lobbyists.
The business of fear in the United States of America has been booming ever since September 11, 2001 and the price tag for the protective cordon of high-tech gadgetry intended to keep the US safe from more terrorist attacks is enormous. Devices designed to detect nuclear material in shipping containers will cost the US government $300 million. The budget for the American Shield Initiative, a plan that calls for monitoring the country's borders with sensors or drones, comes at the hefty price of $2.5 billion. A further $10 billion is budgeted for a new computer system designed to monitor visitors, while outfitting all 6,800 aircraft in US commercial aviation with anti-missile systems will cost about the same amount. The total 2005 Homeland Security budget weighs in at a whopping $50 billion -- roughly equivalent to the gross national product of New Zealand. . .
The security business is booming in places like the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Wyoming as well -- hardly places that come to mind as potential terrorist targets. But according to the requirements stipulated by Congress, the Department of Homeland Security's budget must be equally distributed among all US states and territories. Last year, Wyoming spent $37.74 per capita on homeland security while the state of New York had to make do with $5.41 per capita. The result? Every police officer in Wyoming now has his or her own ABC protective suit. . .
To make sure that all this lucrative hemorrhaging of American taxpayers' money doesn't come to an end too soon, the security industry has taken a page from the defense industry and hired specialists who are aptly nicknamed "rainmakers" -- political insiders adept at selling their influence to the highest bidder. Tom Ridge, the former Secretary of Homeland Security, is now lobbying on behalf of container security, while many of his former top officials have set up shop on K Street, Washington's magnificent mile for lobbyists.
posted by Matt Sandwich | 12:43 PM
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