128shot
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2005
- Messages
- 1,258
- Reaction score
- 31
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
Here is an article I found on the web, its a little old (pre-dates WWII), but I think it might hold some relevence...
A snip
http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm
I find this interesting, and I think it shows how much certain people profit from war and how everyone else gets screwed. Government contracts are often huge during wartimes, and I bet during peace time too, among other things.
Its an interesting article..
A snip
The World War, rather our brief participation in it, has cost the United States some $52,000,000,000. Figure it out. That means $400 to every American man, woman, and child. And we haven't paid the debt yet. We are paying it, our children will pay it, and our children's children probably still will be paying the cost of that war.
The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits – ah! that is another matter – twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent – the sky is the limit. All that traffic will bear. Uncle Sam has the money. Let's get it.
Of course, it isn't put that crudely in war time. It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country, and "we must all put our shoulders to the wheel," but the profits jump and leap and skyrocket – and are safely pocketed. Let's just take a few examples:
Take our friends the du Ponts, the powder people – didn't one of them testify before a Senate committee recently that their powder won the war? Or saved the world for democracy? Or something? How did they do in the war? They were a patriotic corporation. Well, the average earnings of the du Ponts for the period 1910 to 1914 were $6,000,000 a year. It wasn't much, but the du Ponts managed to get along on it. Now let's look at their average yearly profit during the war years, 1914 to 1918. Fifty-eight million dollars a year profit we find! Nearly ten times that of normal times, and the profits of normal times were pretty good. An increase in profits of more than 950 per cent.
http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm
I find this interesting, and I think it shows how much certain people profit from war and how everyone else gets screwed. Government contracts are often huge during wartimes, and I bet during peace time too, among other things.
Its an interesting article..