The Real Matrix

Alright, I get the point. The DoD uses a lot of corporations to handle several aspects of daily military operations. Turse went above and beyond in his descriptive story of Rick, the average American, and how most of his life is intertwined with military influence. It was quite revealing early on in the article that if you take part in the economy, then you are using products that are also doing business with the military. Perhaps this is because the Pentagon is making the military more adaptive to civilian life, as opposed to creating a foreign life. Therefore, military personnel can find comforts in their brand name soap, candybars, and coffee when they enlist for the military.

The thing that took me by surprise involves Eisenhower's MIC speech. With the way the economy/military was transforming during his time period, the DoD should be on pace to using $200 million. The problem is that this number has increased to $1 trillion. If he believed there was a problem 50 years ago, then he would most certainly find the country in a state of crisis today. Maybe we have lost sight of this problem because the military is using 'cool' corporations, things that we ourselves are familiar with using. Afterall, it looks a lot different to the taxpayer when they are paying corporations such as FedEx and SaraLee then it is when using Bechtel or Lockheed Martin.