Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Janine Wedel's series on the Shadow Elite is worth reading.

Here is an excerpt:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janine-r-wedel/emshadow-eliteem-selling_b_655392.html
"Many contractors are integrally involved in formulating and influencing policy on issues ranging from defense (as seen in the mentoring program), to the economy and energy to homeland security and intelligence. Even when many, if not most, of these contractors perform admirably, whether contractors always have the public interest at heart, or whether, beholden to shareholders, they might have their own, is a crucial question...."

Majia here: This issue about contractors shaping government policy priorities, strategies, and spending is an important issue. Contracting services isn't necessarily a bad thing; however, it is problematic for contractors to be writing regulations, policies, and strategies.

The contract work involved in the reconstruction of New Orleans was fraught with fraud and outright corruption.

We've seen how padding is added to Haliburton's services in Iraq and Afghanistan, fleecing the government of huge amounts of cash.

Unfortunately contracting too often is an open invitation for pilfering, as Galbraith documents in his book, The Predatory State.

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