Corporate Control

George W. Bush is the first Oval Office incumbent to hold a business degree. His administration has been accused of running the USA like a corporation, to the detriment of US citizens. This capitalist ideology is nowhere more evident than the war on Iraq, where companies like Halliburton and WorldCom are reaping rewards for their political "donations".

For example, David Kay, the man in charge of the search for WMDs, was vice-president of a major US defence contractor, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). The company leads a $650m contract for various services and support for the US army in Iraq (this is why Bush repeatedly claims there is no need for more troops - the neo-cons just keep hiring more out-sourcing companies to do the work... and paying them a fortune). No wonder Bush didn't want UN weapons inspectors back in the country.

In most developed Western countries, there is supposed to be a clear distinction between Church and State. There should also be a clear distinction between State and Industry. The Bush administration embodies a dangerous conflict of interests that ultimately threatens the very principles and institutions that it claims to support.

How can a government simultaneously satisfy rampant corporate greed and provide for the real needs of its citizens? "Trickle-down economics" has become an excuse for daylight robbery. Bush is bankrupting the State, transferring trillions of dollars to corporate coffers while health and education needs are neglected.

According to George A. Akerlof, 2001 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics:

"This is the worst government the US has ever had in its more than 200 years of history. It has engaged in extraordinarily irresponsible policies not only in foreign and economic but also in social and environmental policy. This is not normal government policy. …this is a form of looting."