I would really like to comment on the substance of this article: the idea of independent contractors, 1099-employees, and remuneration.
But everytime I address the subject of self-employment, self-motivation, and entrepreneurship one (or more) admins here at TLC gets a hair up their a** and bans me....and I have so much fun wading around this shallow pool of the internets that I think I do not want that to happen.
Waiting to be banned in 4...3...2...7of6....8
Posted by Bagley at October 22, 2007 07:23 PMOnce again we have found that scandal that will finally expose the corruption and malfeasance of the Bush/Cheney Junta. Pardon me if I don't show much excitement.
This Blackwater business is about as evil and Orwellian as it gets. But there is a reason that it is not a national story. My suspicion is that Blackwater's checks find their way into the right "Democratic" pockets.
Posted by James E. Powell at October 22, 2007 07:50 PMHate to say it but my brother in law worked for Blackwater.
Independent contractor, paid his own taxes. However, when an artillery round fell in his compound, injured him and killed 4 Philipino workers, his trip to the hospital in Germany and eventually the U.S., and all his medical bills were paid by somebody. The U.S. government or Blackwater? I do not know, but it was not my brother in law who had to pay.
What with weddings, bar mitzvahs, parents weekend, Islamofascism Awareness Week, Halloween/All Saints/All Souls Days and Total Dick's Excellent Preventive War on Iran, there's barely time left to paint the house. However, I did manage to watch Bill Moyer's Journal last Fri., 10/19/07 and his interview with Jeremy Scahill (Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army). Wow. Scahill has a command of the subject (and then some; actually quite a lot more) and a brisk, plainspoken style that imparts volumes of information in a gripping, comprehensible stream.
If the Blackwater, Triple Canopy, CACI et al. mercenary topic interests/alarms you, and even if it doesn't, 45 minutes of Moyers & Scahill conversing is top shelf. Scahill also earns points, with me at least, for employing the word "privatization" in a perjorative sense about a dozen times in discussing the Iraq (and beyond, far beyond) security environment. Go see and/or read.
I agree with James Powell. I admire Waxman, but what's the point of another investigation - nothing will come of it. Subpoenas are ignored. DOJ won't prosecute contempt of congress. And reid and rockefeller have sold out the Constitution (and us) for $25K each from the telcos. pelosi is just pathetic.
The 49ers suck. My college team (WA Huskies) sucks, and the Democratic leadership sucks. Have a nice day.
Posted by Jim Faith at October 22, 2007 08:23 PMOf course the did. That's no surprise. Blackwater is a true red (Republican) company. True Republicans don't really pay taxes. Didn't you know that?
Posted by ecthompson at October 22, 2007 09:55 PMHow can the IRS tell a company it has to have employees rather than 1099 contractors? I'm a 1099 contractor--pay my own taxes. I don't see what the big scandal is. I don't see how Blackwater can be forced to hire people as employees rather than contractors.
Posted by CG at October 23, 2007 04:24 AMThe IRS makes determinations on who is and who is not an employee. It is called the employee/employer relationship and other organizations can make a referral such as state labor agency, Social Security Administration etc. The issue to be determined is control. Who controls the person hired. Do they provide their own tools, clothing, office space. Were they hired to perform a task or activity and then left alone to accomplish it, or are they provided everything to work with, given specific instructions, and closely supervised.
My bet is that the Little Prince is not so much avoiding Social Security taxes as much as workers compensation. The wc would be huge. I heard him say that he has to buy a policy for every person. He does not say what kind. My guess is it is a term life insurance only for the days they are in theater and required by law.
Also read that the injured and survivors have to sue to get anything, so that would sugguest no wc. Blackwater also countersues anyone who sues for damages. This is an old stunt to reduce lawsuits. One of the lawyers for survivors probably tipped Waxman off.
Thanks BeBe.
Posted by CG at October 23, 2007 05:13 AMYou know, it's funny. I'm outraged at Blackwater and this administration's use of them. I'm outraged at the reports of their atrocity-committing ways. But, I am not scared of them, not one iota.
You know why Blackwater doesn't scare me? If Blackwater is Prince's and the Republican's private army, they are a pretty worthless one.
No tanks. No real Navy. No air force. Light weapons, suburbans, Humvees, bullet-proof vests and aviator sunglasses does not make a modern army. They're just thieves, draining the public treasury. And if push came to shove, most of their army would leave as soon as the paychecks stopped coming. Blackwater's utility beyond being an instrument to loot the public treasury and to allow some inbred hicks to get their sick thrills is not only unproven, what's been shown of it in Iraq looks pitiful.
Posted by Brian Bell at October 23, 2007 07:07 AMAlso read that the injured and survivors have to sue to get anything, so that would sugguest no wc.
As I stated above my brother in law did not have to pay for his medical bills.
Perhaps Blackwater was learning as they advanced in their Iraq contract. Easier to pay off the injuries and have quiet workforce than more bad publicity. (That worked real well for them.)
Another thing was the length of the contract. He mentioned that some of his co-workers lived 30 days or more out of country (U.S.) on these short 6 month contracts, they supposedly did not have to pay taxes.
I also don't understand how going after taxes would apply to the many foreign mercs working for Blackwater. There are lots of South African, British, Australian, and Nepalese independent contractors working for Blackwater in Iraq.
Brian you're right, the only loyalty mercs know is money.
In my brother in law's case he worked for the devil (trainer on the firing range) in order to take care of his autistic teen and the high medical bills. Another case for healthcare in this nation.
If anybody cares, he recovered from his wounds and is back to work at his old job stateside.