Hightower speaks....
It's bad enough that our young men and women are thrust into a war of lies in Iraq, but it's a moral abomination that insurance gougers are allowed to prey on them at home.
It's been said that you don't know what hell is until you've had an insurance salesman in your living room, prattling on eternally about term life annuities.
But I've recently learned about a deeper level of hell reserved for insurance company hucksters who – get this – are ripping off America's young soldiers who are headed into the dread of the Iraqi war. Companies such as American Amicable Life Insurance have weaseled their way to our basic-training bases where they pose as semi-official military agents. Then gather boot-camp grunts into so-called classes where the unscrupulous agents proceed to pick the pockets of underpaid soldiers.
The fleecing is presented by the insurance companies and the military as a compulsory "briefing" on personal finances. With superior officers in the room, the agents talk of "investments" and walk the unsuspecting troops through pages of paperwork, getting them to sign blind authorizations to deduct money from their meager monthly paychecks.
The briefings don't mention that the 19- and 20-year-old soldiers are not really buying investments, but life insurance. Nor is it pointed out that they will pay far more in costly premiums than they'll ever draw out. Also, the insurance is unnecessary, since nearly every soldier is covered by a low-cost military policy that pays 10-times what these private scams do.
It's bad enough that our young men and women are thrust into a war of lies in Iraq, but it's a moral abomination that insurance gougers are allowed to prey on them at home. Yet, not only does the Pentagon turn a blind eye to this sleazy scam, but so does congress – the lobbying front for the companies, the American Council of Life Insurers, has used its campaign donations to get lawmakers to block any effort to stop the corporate thievery.
These companies, lobbyists, congress critters, and military officials are participating in crass war profiteering – and they deserve a special place in hell.
Jim Hightower is the best-selling author of "Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush," from Viking Press. For more information, visit jimhightower.com.
It's been said that you don't know what hell is until you've had an insurance salesman in your living room, prattling on eternally about term life annuities.
But I've recently learned about a deeper level of hell reserved for insurance company hucksters who – get this – are ripping off America's young soldiers who are headed into the dread of the Iraqi war. Companies such as American Amicable Life Insurance have weaseled their way to our basic-training bases where they pose as semi-official military agents. Then gather boot-camp grunts into so-called classes where the unscrupulous agents proceed to pick the pockets of underpaid soldiers.
The fleecing is presented by the insurance companies and the military as a compulsory "briefing" on personal finances. With superior officers in the room, the agents talk of "investments" and walk the unsuspecting troops through pages of paperwork, getting them to sign blind authorizations to deduct money from their meager monthly paychecks.
The briefings don't mention that the 19- and 20-year-old soldiers are not really buying investments, but life insurance. Nor is it pointed out that they will pay far more in costly premiums than they'll ever draw out. Also, the insurance is unnecessary, since nearly every soldier is covered by a low-cost military policy that pays 10-times what these private scams do.
It's bad enough that our young men and women are thrust into a war of lies in Iraq, but it's a moral abomination that insurance gougers are allowed to prey on them at home. Yet, not only does the Pentagon turn a blind eye to this sleazy scam, but so does congress – the lobbying front for the companies, the American Council of Life Insurers, has used its campaign donations to get lawmakers to block any effort to stop the corporate thievery.
These companies, lobbyists, congress critters, and military officials are participating in crass war profiteering – and they deserve a special place in hell.
Jim Hightower is the best-selling author of "Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush," from Viking Press. For more information, visit jimhightower.com.
posted by BLONDIE at 2:36 PM
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