Because They Can

Observations: Because They Can

As fledgling businesses grow to behemoths, their understanding of the world changes. Their world view evolves. They come to realize that, over time, they become immune from the normal mores of society. They realize that they can do things that lesser corporations could never do. Soon they take bold, brash and often illegal, immoral and amoral steps -- because they can.

Goldman Sachs’ CEO Lloyd Blankfein reportedly believes he’s just a banker ‘doing God’s work’ as he ravages the global financial system. Goldman influenced the writing of a letter giving financial speculators the right to deal in commodities. The result was, in 2008, when the global harvest of wheat was the highest in history, speculators drove the price of wheat futures so high there were food riots in over thirty impoverished nations. They did that because they could.

After the 2008 market collapse, as people across the nation were furloughed from their jobs, and financial institutions were supported by bailouts, Goldman Sachs and others handed out million dollar bonuses -- because they could. All the while, politicians and the media were decrying the earnings and pensions of teachers, and canceling union contracts, also because they could. Valid contracts in one industry,

illegitimate in another. Go figure.

Governments do the same. The Bush administration waged war because they could. The NSA spies on the world because they can, and they bring along their collaborators, experts in communications, social media, and the traditional media as well. Now they all do things because they can.

Look at the US budget and you’ll find plenty of collaborators: Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing at the top. Dick Cheney’s former company, Halliburton, and construction, engineering contractor Bechtel don’t even make the top 20 list.

Look at the media corporations and the way they support the military industrial complex. Interviews on media news center on ‘experts’, those special people who know all about the myriad relationships in conflicting nations like Syria. They easily and confidently espouse the many reasons for US intervention in Syria while failing to disclose that they are board members of the major contractors that benefit from such conflicts.

http://public-accountability.org/2013/10/conflicts-of-interest-in-the-syria-debate/

In healthcare, the immoral and devious actions of PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Management companies) are finally surfacing, and not enjoying the scrutiny. For a couple decades, these pariahs of prescriptions have hidden their financial wizardry from their corporate clients, to the tune of Billions per year and growing. How is it that industry leader Express Scripts profits have grown from $250 million a decade ago to $1.8 billion on the 12 months ended in June*.?

PBMs negotiated with the government for, and received, “an amendment requiring the government to keep the PBM’s incentives and spreads confidential.”* How could they do that? Size matters. Money Matters. Both buy influence. Why did they do that? Because they can. It is only when Americans finally take notice, and then take action will we be able to say ’You can’t.”

*

http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/10/news/companies/pbm-pharma-management.pr.fortune/index.html