Never refer to street muggers and backroom burglars as “social workers” to sweeten their self-images and make them feel accepted as worthwhile members of society. Do not euphemize high-ranking, corporate officials engaged in greedy, capital-siphoning operations as “Captains of Industry.” We need to call blood-sucking, financial vampires what they are: Greedy Bastards, as does Dylan Ratigan in his book of that title.
There are other bastards to name properly. President Reagan played footsie with the worst people in Argentina for purely ideological reasons utterly counter to the human values of the populace there. He thought it was good strategy to help the generals wipe out or “disappear” thousands of “leftist” citizens and steal the newborn babies of women who were then liquidated. He knew about these activities at sufficient depth to have stopped it. Instead, he encouraged it through CIA operatives and agreeable diplomats. Clearly, his goal was to “purify” the Americas, making them safe for — for what? Rapacious capital enterprises operated from the United States. He foolishly imagined he was protecting the future security of U.S. citizens (that is, big money ‘s private investments.
<http://www.alternet.org/story/156200/what_did_reagan_know_about_the_argentine_dictatorship%27s_baby_thefts?page=entire>
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/ex-argentine-dictators-videla-bignone-convicted-of-having-babies-stolen-from-slain-dissidents/2012/07/05/gJQAXYHeQW_story.html>
<http://www.consortiumnews.com/2010/121710.html>
Pharmaceutial giants are highlighted for greedy behavior by contrast with India! The government of Indian has just begun a project that by 2017 will provide generic medications of all sorts to every Indian citizen who needs them via India’s many public hospitals, completely free of charge. Thus India joins company with several civilized nations, not including the United States. Sadly, our DOJ did not get a substantial grip on drug companies’ criminal practices. The three billion dollar fine laid against GlaxoSmithKline is a mere slap on the wrist that they will parlay as mere cost of doing business. No individual executives have yet been prosecuted.
Robert Reich notes that big fines have also been levied against Abbott Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson, but the same problem with deficient reforms of legislated control continues to plague the country. Obviously, the obstacle to proper legislative action is the stranglehold applied by lobbyists for the big profiteers. Bribery is business.
<http://www.alternet.org/economy/156172/5_questions_for_eliot_spitzer_on_the_biggest_healthcare_fraud_settlement_in_history?akid=9023.315724.Coz8UO&rd=1&t=1>
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/how-not-to-get-big-pharma_b_1653588.html?utm_hp_ref=daily-brief?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=070612&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BlogEntry&utm_term=Daily%20Brief>
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