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It really is not conspiratorial thinking to say there is a huge amount of waste in the defence industry. We are talking tons of cash which absolutely nobody kno

by ak_111 3y ago

It really is not conspiratorial thinking to say there is a huge amount of waste in the defence industry. We are talking tons of cash which absolutely nobody knows where it went. The Pentagon has failed 6 straight audits. If you ever worked in corporate finance you know how epically dysfunctional financially a corporation must be to fail a single audit. It has approx 4 trillion in assets. If only 5 -10 % of this is due to some kind of direct or indirect corruption we are talking about hundreds of billion in "waste". https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-fails-audit-sixth-year-row-2023-11-16/ https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-fails-audit-sixth-...

FredPret 3y ago
Waste - of course. Systematically making a huge (remember, we’re talking big enough to cause the downfall of the States) and then hiding the profits from retail investors? Different story. Imagine the political windfall someone like Gary Gensler (SEC chair) or a Democrat could get from exposing that? The whole notion is very unstable.
- CPLX 3y ago
  Is this some kind of joke? Do you really think it's strange or unusual to suggest that there's a conflict of interest between professional manager and shareholders, and that the managers routinely rig things for their own personal benefit? We're both talking about the same country, the United States right? Have you ever heard of Jack Welch?
- ak_111 3y ago
  It is indeed very unstable. This is exactly why Eisenhower (who was one of the most hawkish presidents) used his farewell address to warn the public about the growing malign influence of the military-industrial complex (when he coined the term) and which you somehow want to characterise as conspiratorial thinking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower%27s_farewell_address https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower%27s_farewell_addres...
  - FredPret 3y ago
    Yes, I know all about Eisenhower and his warnings. That doesn’t mean a conspiracy as described is feasible. How could such a group steal enough money to ruin the US? Skimming a little bit off the top, sure, but large-scale, systematic diversion of so much public money that it ends Pax Americana… no. There are records of where the money comes from, and where it goes. There are far too many people who could become instant public darlings by exposing it. It’s unstable.
    - CPLX 3y ago
      > How could such a group steal enough money to ruin the US? Some remedial reading for you: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Broke-Capitalism-America/dp/1982176423/ref=asc_df_1982176423/ https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Broke-Capitalism-America/dp/1...

by ak_111 3y ago

FredPret 3y ago

Waste - of course. Systematically making a huge (remember, we’re talking big enough to cause the downfall of the States) and then hiding the profits from retail investors? Different story. Imagine the political windfall someone like Gary Gensler (SEC chair) or a Democrat could get from exposing that? The whole notion is very unstable.

CPLX 3y ago
Is this some kind of joke? Do you really think it's strange or unusual to suggest that there's a conflict of interest between professional manager and shareholders, and that the managers routinely rig things for their own personal benefit? We're both talking about the same country, the United States right? Have you ever heard of Jack Welch?
ak_111 3y ago
It is indeed very unstable. This is exactly why Eisenhower (who was one of the most hawkish presidents) used his farewell address to warn the public about the growing malign influence of the military-industrial complex (when he coined the term) and which you somehow want to characterise as conspiratorial thinking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower%27s_farewell_address https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower%27s_farewell_addres...
- FredPret 3y ago
  Yes, I know all about Eisenhower and his warnings. That doesn’t mean a conspiracy as described is feasible. How could such a group steal enough money to ruin the US? Skimming a little bit off the top, sure, but large-scale, systematic diversion of so much public money that it ends Pax Americana… no. There are records of where the money comes from, and where it goes. There are far too many people who could become instant public darlings by exposing it. It’s unstable.
  - CPLX 3y ago
    > How could such a group steal enough money to ruin the US? Some remedial reading for you: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Broke-Capitalism-America/dp/1982176423/ref=asc_df_1982176423/ https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Broke-Capitalism-America/dp/1...