How U.S. Politics are Governed By Global Corporations

Editor’s Note: Pat Choate has provided EconomyInCrisis with a summary of highlights from his upcoming book “Dangerous Business: The Risks of Globalization for America,” to be released on August 12, 2008. “Dangerous Business” is a wake-up call about the perils of unfettered globalization. It tells how America can remain prosperous, sovereign and secure.

Global corporations and financial interests now dominate politics and governance in the United States. They operate with few controls and little public disclosure thereby encouraging the purchase and sale of our laws. Between 1998-2007, Washington’s top 10 special interests spent more than $1.44 billion on lobbying. They got value for their money.

The wealthiest of these interests, the hedge fund operators, pay only a 15 percent tax on their current earnings and 5 percent tax on their long-term capital gains – a rate far lower than paid by other taxpayers. Under globalization, the U.S. is also shifting much of the work of its government from public servants to private companies. For instance, the Central Intelligence Agency now relies on private corporations to collect much of its field intelligence.

“The rest of the story” tells about the Walter Reed Hospital scandal -- the indifferent and sub-standard treatment of wounded soldiers -- and the role of a private corporation headed by former Vice President Dan Quayle.

Details describe recent federal and state efforts to sell 50 to 99-year toll road leases on high volume sections of the Federal Interstate Highway System, including the Indiana Toll Road. As part of that deal, the new private owners got control of development on a 20-mile wide and 157-mile long swath through Indiana until the year 2084, telling how the State of Texas is trying purchase from the federal government more than 4,000 miles of Interstate highways, at 1960 prices, which the state plans to convert to privately operated toll roads.

Pat Choate is an economist, author of eight books and was the 1996 Vice Presidential running-mate of Ross Perot for the Reform Party. Choate received his PH.D. in economics from the University of Oklahoma. Choate's new book "Dangerous Business: The Risks of Globalization for America" will go on sale August 12, 2008 and pre-orders are available at Amazon.com

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