Pierre-Henri LeRoy, head of Proxinvest, a Parisian investor advisory service, tells the International Herald Tribune, “Here in France, greed has been legalized.” He notes, “Executives compare themselves to the market in the US, not India, when they plan their compensation.”
Greed was legalized long ago in the US. It is what we export around the globe, the American “way of life.” It is what W and wealthy Republicans refer to when they reference our mission to “bring democracy” to other nations: not really the freedom to participate in government, but the chance to get rich by any means possible, preferably for those who already have some mighty big bucks.
The Homeland Security sham of the last five years has created at least 90 millionaires among former Washington types who wormed their way into high-paying executive jobs with so-called “security” firms. This, of course, piggybacks onto Dick (grab while the grabbing is good) Cheney’s Halliburton windfall. His stock has doubtless paid hefty dividends since he handed over Iraq’s lucrative “recovery.”
Greed is also underplayed in the immigration debate. Though some argue that those risking all to come to America do so in search of freedom, boatpeople and others likely have a bigger yen for cash. I see a lot of immigrants (legal and illegal) either working their tails off (legally of illegally), or collecting government checks (legally or illegally), as fast as they can.
The once “almighty” dollar is now worth about 30 percent less than the Euro and about 80 percent less than the British Pound. Yet when people speak about their dream earnings, around the globe, they still calculate in dollars.
The power and influence of America’s greed may be our undoing. A recent New Yorker article describes East Coast container ports and their high security risks. One expert observes how, for the right price, the deadly contents of any container could be overlooked in a heartbeat.
The only thing standing between America and economic and physical ruin, then, seems to be a payoff big enough to allow trusted guardians to look the other way. So the real “terrorism” may dwell in greedy oil industry CEOs, the grand larceny of the pharmaceutical lobby, crooked politicians on the take, and security personnel who are unskilled hacks or willing to have their palms greased.
Whether applied to political terrorists, immigrant street gangs, underpaid workers going “postal,” or demoralized military troops fighting a losing battle that is doing nothing but making others richer at home, the expression — “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people” – has never been truer.
And greedy people kill more people, and cause more people to be killed, than altruistic ones.
