[A-List] Re: Oil, Oil Everywhere

[CeJ <jannuzi@xxxxxxxxx>]

> > It was probably possible to divide capitalists by sector before the
rise of portfolio investment.  And it is still possible to do so
regarding small capitalists whose main wealth comes from companies
they own and manage themselve.  But, for the rest?  A majority of the
rich always vote Republican (at least since the New Deal probably),
but that's for the reasons of tax and other policies.>>

I think private equity investors might challenge that view. These tend
to be very rich, though, like hedge funds, private equity is
apparently going after smaller investors now even as it runs out of
things to invest in (at least at the lucrative levels of the past
decade).

Placing 20 million dollars with Carlyle Group, for example,
has been a major bet on what is, in effect, a holding company of
defense contractors.

> > Polls of service members that I have seen indicate that officers are
predominantly Republican and the rank and file are just about evenly
split between Republican, Democrat, and Independent.>>

I would bet my line of demarcation holds

wants to be 'qualitatively retained', votes Republican
wants out of enlisted service, votes Dem or Ind or not at all

The last time a major Republican really turned large numbers of the
lower enlisted against the party would have been Cheney when he was
Sec. of Defense and tried to oversee 'rationalization' of the forces
under Bush I, which was then reversed during the huge build up for the
first war against Iraq, and then re-reversed once the war was
(quickly) over.  If I remember correctly--the fog of time is catching
up to me.

Let's see:


http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/bios/cheney.htm

> > Like Carlucci he thought it better, if cuts had to be made, to have
a smaller but highly trained and equipped force rather than maintain
previous levels of strength without sufficient readiness. Cheney
preferred to cut some conventional weapon systems rather than
strategic systems. >>

Yep, he turfed out a lot of lifer dogs--put them into the reserves and
guard, too.

More interesting to me, though, would be the millions of people whose
livelihood depends on civilian military jobs and, even more
importantly, management jobs and/or equity interest with a defense
contractor, such as SAIC (which was, last time I looked,
'employee-owned').

CJ