Five Ways We're Being Violated by Big Business

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/12/02

Five Ways We're Being Violated by Big Business
by Paul Buchheit
Published on Monday, December 2, 2013 by Common Dreams

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1. Drug Companies: The Body Snatchers

A report by Battelle Memorial Institute determined that the $4 billion government-funded Human Genome Project (HGP) will generate economic activity of about $140 for every dollar spent. Although that estimate is controversial, drug industry executives say it's just a matter of time before the profits roll in.

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2. Oil Companies: Ripping Up the Country, Ripping Off the Taxpayers

In the past year the U.S. has become a net exporter of oil, putting us in a position, according to the International Energy Agency, to be almost energy self-sufficient by 2035. Just five years ago we were spending $341 billion on crude oil imports. In 2012 we exported $117 billion worth of processed oil products.

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3. Telecommunications: We're Paying Them to Spy on Us

The CIA and NSA have been using our tax money to pay AT&T and Google and other companies to access its data - our data - for surveillance purposes. With almost no transparency or oversight, the CIA has been paying AT&T to monitor our overseas phone calls. Hundreds of dollars per customer per month goes to Verizon for similar snooping. The NSA compensated Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook for penalties accrued in the secretive Prism surveillance program.

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4. Banks: Almost 40% of Our 401(k)s Lost in Fees

Based on the 6% historical stock market return, an individual investing $1,000 a year for 30 years in a non-fee fund and then holding the accumulated sum for another 20 years would end up with $269,000. Imposing the industry average 1.3% fee would reduce the final total to $165,000, a 39% reduction.