Last week, Maryland Governor Parris Glendening declared a moratorium on executions in his state. Although Gov. Glendening supports the death penalty, he said he’s lost faith in the fairness of Maryland’s judicial system. More blacks are murdered in Maryland than whites, but 12 of the 13 convicts on death row are there for murdering whites, not blacks.
Gov. Glendening halted the executions because it was clear to him that the courts in his state were sending an unmistakable message: white lives have more value than black lives. The Constitution and Pledge of Allegiance promise justice for all, but there are several standards of justice in America. Undereducated, poor blacks in Baltimore are at one end of the spectrum.
At the far opposite end of the American justice spectrum are corporations doing business with the federal government. The same week Parris Glendening announced his execution moratorium, the Project on Government Oversight released a report on misdeeds committed by contractors which claim an inordinate amount of tax dollars.
The United States government is the world’s largest consumer. Last year it purchased $235 billion worth of goods and services. Like other consumers, the feds don’t like being cheated or doing business with criminals. We have rules that prohibit so-called “bad boy” companies from winning federal contracts.
And yet they do. According to data from the Project on Government Oversight, 185 billion tax dollars went to just 43 companies in 1999. Sixteen of those 43 companies racked up 28 crimes among them. Ten of the companies had two or more criminal violations.
Violations like what, spitting on the sidewalk? In 2000, Lockheed Martin, the aerospace giant, was charged with 30 counts of illegally transferring space technology to the People’s Republic of China. That’s not spitting on the sidewalk, that’s treason. When a person commits treason, he or she usually gets a life sentence. No one at Lockheed went to jail; the company got off with a fine.
The larger question is why Lockheed was in a position to betray American secrets in 2000. In 1995, the company pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, for bribing officials in Egypt. The federal government could have – and should have – made Lockheed ineligible for government contracts based on the ’95 conviction, but the only sanction was, again, a fine. After the 2000 conviction, there’s still no suspension from bidding on government contracts. On the contrary, Lockheed lobbyists and executives have better access to the White House and Congress than honest Americans will ever have.
The Carlyle Group is a conglomerate headed by former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci. Former President George Bush and former Secretary of State James Baker are Carlyle investors and employees. Between 1996 and 2001, Carlyle paid $45,320,000 in fines and settlements. Among its misdeeds, Carlyle companies overcharged the Air Force for labor, swindled the U.S. and Saudi governments, polluted San Diego Bay, lied to the Navy about the reliability of weapons, overcharged the Army and – here’s a good one – overcharged schools and libraries for books.
Forty-five million in fines is hefty sum, but it’s just a fraction of the billions of dollars Carlyle gets from the government. Just a cost of doing business, pay the fine and keep on moving, secure in the knowledge that the company’s past crimes will never prevent it from a shot at future billions. Like the Maryland courts, the federal government is sending an unmistakable message: no one in the good old boys’ club can ever do wrong or will ever be punished.
In 1628, Sweden launched the Vasa, the biggest warship of its era. It sailed 1,500 yards and sank in Stockholm harbor. No one was ever held accountable.
In Houston this week, the auditing firm Arthur Andersen is on trial for its role in the Enron scandal. If convicted, the Securities and Exchange Commission can bar Andersen from auditing publicly traded companies.
See No Evil
Last week, Maryland Governor Parris Glendening declared a moratorium on executions in his state. Although Gov. Glendening supports the death penalty, he said he’s lost faith in the fairness of Maryland’s judicial system. More blacks are murdered in Maryland than whites, but 12 of the 13 convicts on death row are there for murdering whites, not blacks.
Gov. Glendening halted the executions because it was clear to him that the courts in his state were sending an unmistakable message: white lives have more value than black lives. The Constitution and Pledge of Allegiance promise justice for all, but there are several standards of justice in America. Undereducated, poor blacks in Baltimore are at one end of the spectrum.
At the far opposite end of the American justice spectrum are corporations doing business with the federal government. The same week Parris Glendening announced his execution moratorium, the Project on Government Oversight released a report on misdeeds committed by contractors which claim an inordinate amount of tax dollars.
The United States government is the world’s largest consumer. Last year it purchased $235 billion worth of goods and services. Like other consumers, the feds don’t like being cheated or doing business with criminals. We have rules that prohibit so-called “bad boy” companies from winning federal contracts.
And yet they do. According to data from the Project on Government Oversight, 185 billion tax dollars went to just 43 companies in 1999. Sixteen of those 43 companies racked up 28 crimes among them. Ten of the companies had two or more criminal violations.
Violations like what, spitting on the sidewalk? In 2000, Lockheed Martin, the aerospace giant, was charged with 30 counts of illegally transferring space technology to the People’s Republic of China. That’s not spitting on the sidewalk, that’s treason. When a person commits treason, he or she usually gets a life sentence. No one at Lockheed went to jail; the company got off with a fine.
The larger question is why Lockheed was in a position to betray American secrets in 2000. In 1995, the company pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, for bribing officials in Egypt. The federal government could have – and should have – made Lockheed ineligible for government contracts based on the ’95 conviction, but the only sanction was, again, a fine. After the 2000 conviction, there’s still no suspension from bidding on government contracts. On the contrary, Lockheed lobbyists and executives have better access to the White House and Congress than honest Americans will ever have.
The Carlyle Group is a conglomerate headed by former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci. Former President George Bush and former Secretary of State James Baker are Carlyle investors and employees. Between 1996 and 2001, Carlyle paid $45,320,000 in fines and settlements. Among its misdeeds, Carlyle companies overcharged the Air Force for labor, swindled the U.S. and Saudi governments, polluted San Diego Bay, lied to the Navy about the reliability of weapons, overcharged the Army and – here’s a good one – overcharged schools and libraries for books.
Forty-five million in fines is hefty sum, but it’s just a fraction of the billions of dollars Carlyle gets from the government. Just a cost of doing business, pay the fine and keep on moving, secure in the knowledge that the company’s past crimes will never prevent it from a shot at future billions. Like the Maryland courts, the federal government is sending an unmistakable message: no one in the good old boys’ club can ever do wrong or will ever be punished.
In 1628, Sweden launched the Vasa, the biggest warship of its era. It sailed 1,500 yards and sank in Stockholm harbor. No one was ever held accountable.
In Houston this week, the auditing firm Arthur Andersen is on trial for its role in the Enron scandal. If convicted, the Securities and Exchange Commission can bar Andersen from auditing publicly traded companies.
Not that it will ever happen.