I know accounting can be a problem, but this is ridiculous.
CBS News | The War On Waste | Wed, 30 Jan 2002 16:20:05 EST
Its own auditors admit the military cannot account for 25 percent of what it spends.
"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.
2.25.2002
EJ Dionne points out how the Enron fiasco should shape out attitudes about government regulation.
End of an Era (washingtonpost.com)
The era that's ending saw regulators as nothing but meddlers getting in the way of genius. But capitalism doesn't work without regulation. Powerful people will take advantage of their muscle unless someone -- like it or not, that usually includes the government -- keeps an eye on them...........
.........That is why Enron has ended an era. For a very long time, we've assumed that the fundamental conflict in capitalism is between the owners and the workers. Enron proves that the real conflict is between insiders and outsiders. The losers in the Enron case are both stockholders and workers.
End of an Era (washingtonpost.com)
The era that's ending saw regulators as nothing but meddlers getting in the way of genius. But capitalism doesn't work without regulation. Powerful people will take advantage of their muscle unless someone -- like it or not, that usually includes the government -- keeps an eye on them...........
.........That is why Enron has ended an era. For a very long time, we've assumed that the fundamental conflict in capitalism is between the owners and the workers. Enron proves that the real conflict is between insiders and outsiders. The losers in the Enron case are both stockholders and workers.
Jackpot. Enron start to spill the beans.
Yahoo! - Former Employee Says Enron Manipulated California Power Market
LOS ANGELES -- A former Enron Corp. employee has written a letter to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer claiming that he has knowledge the company's trading arm manipulated wholesale electricity prices in California.
Yahoo! - Former Employee Says Enron Manipulated California Power Market
LOS ANGELES -- A former Enron Corp. employee has written a letter to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer claiming that he has knowledge the company's trading arm manipulated wholesale electricity prices in California.
Reality Denial 101. The Bushies continue to push privatization and self-regulation as if Enron and Arthur Andersen weren't still stinking up the landscape.
Utne Reader Online: Money
At a time when the Enron scandal is bringing intense Congressional scrutiny on corporate auditors, SEC chairman Harvey Pitt is quietly proposing to pass the enforcement buck from government back to the private sector. The investing public is sadly mistaken if it thinks that either government, auditors, or companies will back reliable financial disclosure that is legally enforceable.........
..........Don't be fooled. No authority, public or private, now enforces the public's interest in either reliable disclosure or auditor independence-and none will. That's the price of deregulation. But today it's clear that deregulation has backfired. Only a government auditor-regulator as fully independent as the Federal Reserve would have any hope of restoring credibility to the securities industry.
Utne Reader Online: Money
At a time when the Enron scandal is bringing intense Congressional scrutiny on corporate auditors, SEC chairman Harvey Pitt is quietly proposing to pass the enforcement buck from government back to the private sector. The investing public is sadly mistaken if it thinks that either government, auditors, or companies will back reliable financial disclosure that is legally enforceable.........
..........Don't be fooled. No authority, public or private, now enforces the public's interest in either reliable disclosure or auditor independence-and none will. That's the price of deregulation. But today it's clear that deregulation has backfired. Only a government auditor-regulator as fully independent as the Federal Reserve would have any hope of restoring credibility to the securities industry.
Article by Bill Allison, author of "The Cheating of America", on how American corporations and millionaires legally avoid billions in taxes.TOMPAINE.com - Perfectly Legal
In researching our book, we found that the top 1 percent of tax filers, in terms of income, claimed 15 percent of all itemized deductions. They enjoyed 40 percent of the tax-exempt interest that municipal bonds and the like pay. They claimed half of the write-offs for losses from partnerships and closely held corporations. According to the IRS's most recent statistics, there were 101 returns filed by millionaires who paid absolutely nothing in federal income taxes.
In researching our book, we found that the top 1 percent of tax filers, in terms of income, claimed 15 percent of all itemized deductions. They enjoyed 40 percent of the tax-exempt interest that municipal bonds and the like pay. They claimed half of the write-offs for losses from partnerships and closely held corporations. According to the IRS's most recent statistics, there were 101 returns filed by millionaires who paid absolutely nothing in federal income taxes.
Book excerpt from Lester Brown of the WorldWatch Institute. He points out how market signals ignore both benefits and harms of economic activity that affect anyone but the people directly involved in the transaction.
TOMPAINE.com - Book Excerpt The Value Of A Tree Standing
A forest in the upper reaches of a watershed may provide services such as flood control and the recycling of rainfall inland that are several times more valuable than its timber yield. Unfortunately, market signals do not reflect this, because the loggers who are cutting the trees do not bear the costs of the reduction in services. National economic policies and corporate strategies are based largely on market signals. The clearcutting of a forest may be profitable for a logging firm, but it is economically costly to society.
TOMPAINE.com - Book Excerpt The Value Of A Tree Standing
A forest in the upper reaches of a watershed may provide services such as flood control and the recycling of rainfall inland that are several times more valuable than its timber yield. Unfortunately, market signals do not reflect this, because the loggers who are cutting the trees do not bear the costs of the reduction in services. National economic policies and corporate strategies are based largely on market signals. The clearcutting of a forest may be profitable for a logging firm, but it is economically costly to society.
2.24.2002
Jason Vest details the projects that Bush wants to pump more money into, despite their either not being needed or history of (sometimes lethal) mechanical problems. These include the Osprey, the Raptor, the Comanche, and the Crusader.
TAP: Vol 13, Iss. 5. Costs a Bundle and Can't Fly. Jason Vest.
The V-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft under the aegis of the U.S. Marine Corps, has killed more Marines than the Taliban has. It's perennially in an "experimental" stage. Four prototypes have crashed in the past 10 years, killing a total of 30 men, including the program's most experienced hand. Not long after the last crash, which occurred in December 2000, a report from the Pentagon understated in calling the Osprey program "not operationally sustainable." Even Dick Cheney, as defense secretary under the elder George Bush, tried to quash it. The current administration could have followed the March 2000 recommendation by the Congressional Budget Office to find safer and better applications for the technology developed in the program--a move that the CBO estimated would save $6.6 billion over the next decade. President Bush, however, wants Congress to give the Marines another $2 billion for the program. Meanwhile, the Air Force has requested $124 million for work on its own version of the disaster-prone aircraft.
TAP: Vol 13, Iss. 5. Costs a Bundle and Can't Fly. Jason Vest.
The V-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft under the aegis of the U.S. Marine Corps, has killed more Marines than the Taliban has. It's perennially in an "experimental" stage. Four prototypes have crashed in the past 10 years, killing a total of 30 men, including the program's most experienced hand. Not long after the last crash, which occurred in December 2000, a report from the Pentagon understated in calling the Osprey program "not operationally sustainable." Even Dick Cheney, as defense secretary under the elder George Bush, tried to quash it. The current administration could have followed the March 2000 recommendation by the Congressional Budget Office to find safer and better applications for the technology developed in the program--a move that the CBO estimated would save $6.6 billion over the next decade. President Bush, however, wants Congress to give the Marines another $2 billion for the program. Meanwhile, the Air Force has requested $124 million for work on its own version of the disaster-prone aircraft.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)