News Who Funds What: A Look at Money in Politics

[Ivan Seeking]

My time at PF is very limited right now, in fact I shouldn't even be here now so I will just throw this out for your consideration. I thought that it might be interesting to see who funds what. Be it a politician, agendas, movements, causes, action committees, re-election committees, the national debt, or just about any political or social issue of significance, where is the money coming from and/or who's getting it?

For example:
IIRC, the Swift Boat Vets were allegedly funded by Texas Oil Money. Does anyone know if this is correct?

Who profits from the national debt?

Where is all of the money for homeland security being spent?

 

[russ_watters]

IIRC, the Swift Boat Vets were allegedly funded by Texas Oil Money. Does anyone know if this is correct?

Yes, at least for their initial funding.

Who profits from the national debt?

Pretty much everyone, I suppose. The debt itself is in the form of government bonds, so anyone who owns one is earning interest on the national debt. On the other end, anyone who receives money that the government doesn't have (whether its a contractor being paid to build a road, a defense contractor selling a plane, or a poor person cashing a welfare check) is profiting from the debt.

Where is all of the money for homeland security being spent?

Probably mostly on the bureacracy. The biggest actual project is probably airport security.

 

[Skyhunter]

The biggest actual project is probably airport security.

At least that is the only evidence of Homeland security doing anything. And isn't that being paid for by a tariff on air travel?

It should be interesting to see what FEMA does with the $62 billion they just had allocated for Katrina. I hear that they are actually telling people in the Astrodome that FEMA will mail them a check if they have a New Orleans address.

I thought there was a mandatory evacuation in progress?

Do the evacuee's need to establish a new address first?

If they do will they still be able to get FEMA aid?

I am already feeling queasy about this.

 

[edward]

Where is all of the money from homeland security being spent?

A lot is being spent to keep an eye on the internet. Even on forums.

Companies that are positioning themselves to help the government surveill the web came out in force at a recent Homeland Security Conference in Washington. They included Oracle, Microsoft, Information Builders, Choice Point, Man Tech, AMS, and Booz Allen & Hamilton. Government speakers from civilian and military agencies all stressed that they urgently need the technology to store surveillance-derived intelligence and exchange it with other agencies. If these corporations step up to the plate on developing new surveillance, monitoring, and biometric ID systems, they stand to make billions.

Companies like Top Layer Networks, Inc. of Westboro, Massachusetts, are developing ways for the FBI to install surveillance systems at a few key Internet hubs which would allow federal agents to remotely flip a switch and pound a few keys to begin monitoring the e-mail or web-based mail of any targeted group or individual. According to chief Top Layer engineer Ken Georgiades, the firm is working with a number of partners to develop new standards for the legal interception of communications at the Internet Service Provider level and at higher gigabit speeds.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=1108

 

[russ_watters]

It should be interesting to see what FEMA does with the $62 billion they just had allocated for Katrina. I hear that they are actually telling people in the Astrodome that FEMA will mail them a check if they have a New Orleans address.

I thought there was a mandatory evacuation in progress?

Do the evacuee's need to establish a new address first?

Mail is being forwarded to refugee camps and FEMA is already passing out pre-paid credit cards with $2000 on them. Neither of those is going particularly well yet, though.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/07/katrina.mail/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/10/katrina.impact/index.html

 

[Pengwuino]

I believe Switzerland holds a fair percentage of the US national debt... I'll go look around after... dum dum dum... SEINFELD!

Man they were selling these tickets on 3rd party sites for $300-$800 a seat at the first sold out event. They opened tickets up for a 2nd show and we got 3 for $75 :P

 

[Pengwuino]

Mail is being forwarded to refugee camps and FEMA is already passing out pre-paid credit cards with $2000 on them. Neither of those is going particularly well yet, though.

Guess there stopping that program.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050909/D8CH15TG3.html