# Halliburton -- Your tax dollars at work **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 18, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326 "2004-08-18T00:47:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/1 "2004-08-18T00:47:39Z")
According to CBS news, Halliburton is doing a different kind of “money laundering”: > [@](#): > > Documents obtained by CBS News show an auditor repeatedly flagged improper fees for soldiers’ laundry. At one site, taxpayers reportedly paid $100 for each 15-pound load of wash – $1 million a month in overcharges. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/17/eveningnews/main636644.shtml](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/17/eveningnews/main636644.shtml) Other information in the article said that hundreds of Halliburton employees are living in five-star hotels in Kuwait with “fruit baskets and pressed laundry delivered daily.” The Army pays $1.39 per day to bunk a soldier in a tent. Halliburton employees were asked to move into tents, but they declined. Most readers here know without being reminded that Dick Cheney resigned as Chief Executive Officer of Halliburton, a Texas-based corporation, to seek the Vice Presidency. And Halliburton was awarded the contract in Iraq without competitive bidding. Will they have to pay more than the 7.5 million in fines previous accessed or agreed to? Does this corporation support our troops? Is this your idea of patriotism? It isn’t mine and I don’t think that it represents the views of most of the Republicans that I know either. Isn’t this war profiteering? ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/2 "2004-08-18T01:24:58Z")
Will we ever see any of the money returned? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/3 "2004-08-18T02:31:26Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Will we ever see any of the money returned? Will spending limits ever be capped? Will Congress take action? Will Kimberly tell Danny she’s pregnant with Bruce’s child? Stay tuned to _As the KBR Turns_ to find out! _Endless loads of laundry getting you down? Well turn that frown upside down, ladies! For a mere $15 per pound of laundry, we’ll wash, press and or fold your load and even deliver it to your door the next day. For a limited time only, each new customer receives a complimentary fruit basket_ delivered with each load! Sign up now, don’t delay.\* [sub]\*Void where prohibited, some restrictions may apply, offer subject to change at any time, non-transferable. Offer void in Iran.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/4 "2004-08-18T02:58:44Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Will we ever see any of the money returned? Not if the defense department has anything to say about it: > [@](#): > > The Army reversed a decision late Tuesday to withhold payment on 15 percent of future payments to Halliburton Company on its contracts in Iraq and Kuwait, giving the company more time to resolve a billing dispute. > … > Government contractors normally cannot be paid more than 85 percent of their invoices until they fully account for their costs. Twice this year, the Army set this rule aside for Halliburton as the company cataloged its costs and explained how it was billing the government. The most recent reprieve expired Sunday. [Army Grants Halliburton More Delay](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/18/politics/18halliburton.html) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/5 "2004-08-18T03:25:03Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Isn’t this war profiteering? Yes, of course it is. Do the Great American Electorate give a shit? No, they probably don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/6 "2004-08-18T04:37:56Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Isn’t this war profiteering? Why do you hate America Zoe? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/7 "2004-08-18T04:52:50Z")
> [@](#): > > **Equipoise** : Why do you hate America Zoe? I know…I should just shut up and leave, but something in me says it’s better to bitch than switch. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/8 "2004-08-18T07:23:34Z")
All I can think about is that Ken Starr’s $80 million Whitewater witchhunt got started on a lot less than this. And the Republicans claim _they’re_ the ones with the high moral standards? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/9 "2004-08-18T11:44:51Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > All I can think about is that Ken Starr’s $80 million Whitewater witchhunt got started on a lot less than this. > > And the Republicans claim _they’re_ the ones with the high moral standards? Hey, nobody that everybody knows slept with somebody who wasn’t his or her spouse while they were doing the laundry (it was a small load so I did it by hand). Besides Dick Cheney is just so fubsy compared to Bill Clinton. Also, to pick a nit, it wasn’t $15/pound, it was $100/15 pounds. Which is only about $6.67 a pound. Or roughly 8 to 10 times what it costs around here. I’m sure there’s no cheap Iraqi labor for them to exploit, they need to bring in professional launderers from Manhattan. So it’s really not an overage at all. ---
**Author:** ![furlibusea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@furlibusea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furlibusea)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/10 "2004-08-18T12:12:27Z")
Correct me if I am wrong, but weren’t we sold the idea of subcontracting because it would open up the market and be cheaper for the tax payer? I know that in the oil business Haliburton is the best at what they do, and for that part of the job there may have been no other good choice, but there was no earthly reason that a company that had already been fined for overcharging the government should have wound up with anything more than a strictly audited contract within their tight area of expertise. You don’t hand known cheaters signed checks. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/11 "2004-08-18T12:27:23Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Hey, nobody that everybody knows slept with somebody who wasn’t his or her spouse while they were doing the laundry (it was a small load so I did it by hand). Besides Dick Cheney is just so fubsy compared to Bill Clinton. I’ll thank you to refrain from using the phrases “small load,” “by hand” and “Bill Clinton” in the same post again. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/12 "2004-08-18T12:27:37Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > (it was a small load so I did it by hand) Dude! You’ll go blind! And **I** sure wouldn’t admit that. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/13 "2004-08-18T12:58:37Z")
It’s right in line with what the military pays for things like hammers and nails, though. Massive multiples of reasonable costs. > [@](#): > > Twice this year, the Army set this rule aside for Halliburton as the company cataloged its costs and explained how it was billing the government. Well, sure. You wouldn’t want anything like “accountability” (a clearly communist and anti-American notion) to get in the way of free enterprise and capitalism, would you? Cripes, if you start to demand accountability or responsibility, the whole American system would collapse. How would we have managed such amazing technological progress, like Enron, WorldCon, Arthur Andersen, if we held people responsible for their actions? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/14 "2004-08-18T13:33:53Z")
Do I detect a faint note of sarcasm? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/15 "2004-08-18T13:36:12Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > . How would we have managed such amazing technological progress, like Enron, **WorldCon** , Arthur Andersen, if we held people responsible for their actions? :: giggle :: It was actually WorldCo **m** , but that’s such an apt typo. 😃 :: snicker :: ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/16 "2004-08-18T13:38:03Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Do I detect a faint note of sarcasm? Naw, you’re just letting your imagination run wild again. Comes of paying too much attention to that man behind the curtain. ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/17 "2004-08-18T15:45:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Halliburton insists it doesn’t waste money, it saves it. Uh oh. Looks like they got a pretty water-tight defense going there. And as long as they _say_ they’re saving money, I don’t see any reason to doubt them. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/18 "2004-08-18T20:41:23Z")
Even in Manhattan you can get your clothes washed at 50 cents a pound. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/19 "2004-08-18T20:53:16Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > And the Republicans claim _they’re_ the ones with the high moral standards? This comes up all the time around here. Not that I don’t believe you, but just for fun… …cite? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326/20 "2004-08-18T21:09:59Z")
With due respect, this ain’t a question of whether Republicans or Democrats are the dirtiest, most grafty, least moral politicians. This has to do with “corporate greed”, which is, of course, a myth. We have this ridiculous notion that a company is something different from the people who run it, so the “company” is doing the country dirt, but all the executives running the country are perfectly honest, moral, upright, patriotic individuals. It’s such bullshit. I actually teach a class for MBAs, and we are obliged to mention ethics. I’m pretty scathing. You find me an executive with ethics (regardless of their political affiliation) and I’ll show you the first person “downsized.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halliburton-your-tax-dollars-at-work/260326.md?page=2)