David LaShell

Just like oil, agriculture, livestock, investment instruments, and healthcare, WAR is BIG business. It's naive to consider the societal and human impacts of these "industries" without first considering the financial incentives and greed that lie behind them. I find it grossly negligent that so much debate occurs around these topics without a clearer understanding of where the money flows. We should all be demanding more details on where our tax dollars really flow - all the companies "related" to the political leaders (lobbying, etc.) managing this money. WNYC has done some outstanding coverage of some of these industries (e.g., companies profiting from pink slime production, etc.) but this morning's coverage of whether we can end war downplayed the influence of private contractors on government decision making. I'm a contractor to government, providing geographic analysis for various City agencies, and I can see all around me how contractors influence and manipulate government executives to the profit of their organizations.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment, Brian Lehrer, WNYC and NPR are GREAT!
Dave LaShell
dlashell@esri.com