Aerion
20-03-2007, 09:25
There are numerous examples of conflicts of interest, and the easy possibility for political corruption though many seem to ignore this. When the corporate elite and political elite rub elbows, is it really a good thing? It is actaully amazing how united the social and political elite of the United States are. Some say they just have politicians on these boards for looks, not true, sometimes they are on the boards as active members participating in decision making. This is just some examples:
Sectreray of State Condoleezza Rice has served on the board of directors for the Carnegie Corporation, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Charles Schwab Corporation, the Chevron Corporation, Hewlett Packard, the Rand Corporation, the Transamerica Corporation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and KQED, public broadcasting for San Francisco. She has also sat on the board of the International Advisory Council of the prominent bank, J.P. Morgan Chase; the Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame; and the San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors."
Secretary of Defence Robert Michael Gates (also former Director of Central Intelligence has been a member of the board of trustees of Fidelity Investments, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc., Parker Drilling Company, Science Applications International Corporation, and VoteHere, a technology company which seeks to provide cryptography and computer software security for the electronic election industry (Does he REALLY need to be here?)
Vice President Dick Cheney From 1995 until 2000, he served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Halliburton, a Fortune 500 company and market leader in the energy sector.[citation needed] Under Cheney's tenure, the number of Halliburton subsidiaries in offshore tax havens increased from 9 to 44.As CEO of Halliburton, Cheney lobbied to lift U.S. sanctions against Iran and Libya, saying that unilateral moves to isolate countries damaged U.S. interests. He also sat on the Board of Directors of Procter & Gamble, Union Pacific, and Electronic Data Systems.
MANY OTHER EXAMPLES OF SENATORS, ETC. Just look it up.
I suppose it has always been this way though, the Founder of the precursor to the FBI was Napoleon's great-nephew Charles Joseph Bonaparte (grandson of Napoleon's youngest brother) just for one example of royalty descent of early US officials.
So Is it right for prominent civil servants and elected officials to hold positions on corporate boards and organizations that might conflict with their position?
Sectreray of State Condoleezza Rice has served on the board of directors for the Carnegie Corporation, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Charles Schwab Corporation, the Chevron Corporation, Hewlett Packard, the Rand Corporation, the Transamerica Corporation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and KQED, public broadcasting for San Francisco. She has also sat on the board of the International Advisory Council of the prominent bank, J.P. Morgan Chase; the Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame; and the San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors."
Secretary of Defence Robert Michael Gates (also former Director of Central Intelligence has been a member of the board of trustees of Fidelity Investments, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc., Parker Drilling Company, Science Applications International Corporation, and VoteHere, a technology company which seeks to provide cryptography and computer software security for the electronic election industry (Does he REALLY need to be here?)
Vice President Dick Cheney From 1995 until 2000, he served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Halliburton, a Fortune 500 company and market leader in the energy sector.[citation needed] Under Cheney's tenure, the number of Halliburton subsidiaries in offshore tax havens increased from 9 to 44.As CEO of Halliburton, Cheney lobbied to lift U.S. sanctions against Iran and Libya, saying that unilateral moves to isolate countries damaged U.S. interests. He also sat on the Board of Directors of Procter & Gamble, Union Pacific, and Electronic Data Systems.
MANY OTHER EXAMPLES OF SENATORS, ETC. Just look it up.
I suppose it has always been this way though, the Founder of the precursor to the FBI was Napoleon's great-nephew Charles Joseph Bonaparte (grandson of Napoleon's youngest brother) just for one example of royalty descent of early US officials.
So Is it right for prominent civil servants and elected officials to hold positions on corporate boards and organizations that might conflict with their position?