Buried deep (on page 81) in the April 2004 issue of Harper's Magazine is a superb revelation by Tim Shorrock about a little outfit called CEO COM LINK, which is a division of Business Roundtable. Essentially, the Business Roundtable is a kind of Senate, or Parliament, of business tycoons who get together and develop strategies to protect their interests by working together. In many ways, its methodological thinking mirrors that of John D. Rockefeller: why compete against one another when you can join together to defeat a common enemy. In Rockefeller's case, the result was monopoly. In the case of the Business Roundtable, the result is civil democracy quietly sublimated by corporate oligarchy. I was intrigued by the news that a select group of Chief Executive Officers culled from Fortune 500 companies now has a direct line to (and from) the highest levels of our national government. As Shorrock explains:

No other organization, public or private, has such a secure and open line to the top tier of government during a national disaster…Certain organizations, such as the Red Cross and the International Association of Fire Chiefs, say they take part in conference calls with Ridge and other top [Department of Homeland Defense] officials when the terror alert is raised, but no dedicated hot line like CEO COM LINK exists for any other group: not governors, mayors, firefighters, hospitals, or police.

My curiosity was stirred. So I skimmed a copy of a business roundtable publication and promptly pooped my knickers in disgust. Some notable passages:

The traditional governmental 'one-size-fits-all' approach is unwieldy for the fast-evolving security arena. Government is less likely to perceive substitution risks. Government is likely to be more willing to direct resources in response to public fear, even where security risk is smaller than the public perceives. Finally, government often fails to develop the most effective and efficient solutions. Thus the responsibility for protecting the homeland should not lie solely in the hands of government.

So sayeth the business leaders.

And yet…

A security program that provides a benefit to only a select few should ideally be paid for by those beneficiaries. The traditional responsibility of government to provide for the common defense and to guard our borders suggests that security risks of national significance should be overseen – and paid for – by the government. The challenge of allocating the costs of security occurs between these two ends of the spectrum – and is complicated by the indeterminate nature of the terrorist threat. Any newly implemented security program should include a close analysis of the question of funding. If the government mandates extraordinary additional costs to enhance homeland security against terrorism, those costs should ordinarily be borne by the government."

And yet…

In many cases private firms, not the government, possess the technical expertise and means to protect the infrastructure they control.

And as the business moguls make abundantly clear…

'The private sector owns and operates 85 percent of the nation’s critical infrastructure [the power grid, financial services, information services, railroads, airlines and others], and Roundtable companies are stepping up to address risks to homeland security,' [C. Michael] Armstrong added. 'We are doing our part to protect employees, customers, facilities and our country.'

So there you have it. The only task fit for the government is to fork over the money. Tax the masses. Surrender your authority. Surrender your resources. The private sector will take it from here, thank you very much.

FYI: Here's a list of your newest corporate mommies and daddies. Now play nice.