The four richest counties in America all surround the Pentagon. This is either a remarkable coincidence or weapons are very profitable. I checked the math.
The Pentagon is a building shaped like five sides. This is called a "pentagon." When you have five sides, money flows to the four counties surrounding you. I'm not sure why the fifth side doesn't get a county, but that's geometry for you.
The Winners
- Loudoun County, VA
- Falls Church, VA
- Fairfax County, VA
- Howard County, MD
All four counties cluster around Washington D.C., specifically around the building where we decide how to spend military money. It's like a watering hole, if water was government contracts and the animals were defense contractors in suits.
Maybe the reason these counties are so rich is because they're geographically close to money. Like, the money can't travel very far, so it just stays nearby. That would explain why counties in Ohio aren't as rich - they're too far from the Pentagon for the money to reach them.
How The System Works
Here's the simple version:
- Defense contractors give money to politicians
- Politicians buy weapons
- Defense contractors get more money
- Defense contractors give more to politicians
It's a circle. A very profitable circle. For four counties.
Circles are round. This is important because if the system was a square, it would have corners where money could get stuck. But circles have no corners, so the money just keeps flowing forever. That's why we call it a "cycle" and not a "square."
President Eisenhower warned about this in 1961. He ran the military during World War II, so his confusion about peacetime military spending is notable.
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eisenhower's Warning about the Military-Industrial Complex
The Lobbying Math
Defense contractors spend millions lobbying Congress. Congress then allocates billions to defense contractors. The return on investment is excellent.
The Revolving Door
Many government officials leave to work for defense contractors. Many defense contractor executives become government officials. They're not changing jobs. They're changing seats at the same table.
A revolving door is a type of door that spins in a circle. When you walk through it, you end up on the other side, but the door keeps spinning. If you wanted to, you could just keep walking through it over and over again. I think that's what government officials are doing, except instead of just walking, they're collecting millions of dollars each time they go around.
This creates what economists call "conflicts of interest" and what everyone else calls "obviously corrupt."
What You Can Do
Track defense contractor lobbying:
- Check OpenSecrets.org for lobbying data
- Search which contractors donate to your representatives
- Note the correlation between donations and contract awards
Follow the revolving door:
- Search "[government official name] + defense contractor" to see career paths
- Track which officials move to which companies
- Notice the pattern
Contact your representatives:
- Ask specific questions about specific contracts
- Reference actual dollar amounts
- Request justification for contract awards to companies that employ former officials
The pattern is clear. The solution is simpler: Stop rewarding it.
Sources
- Forbes: America's Richest Counties
- OpenSecrets.org: Defense Contractor Lobbying Data
- President Eisenhower's Farewell Address, 1961
Comments