State of Michigan is giving away $2.8 million of public money to build a road for a private weapons company

On Wednesday, MLive reported that, “the Michigan Strategic Fund has allocated $2.8 million to build a road from the city of Grayling to a planned Saab Inc. munitions plant in nearby Grayling Township.”

The Michigan Strategic Fund had approved an additional $3.5 million to the Swedish weapons company Saab Inc., public that money that was provided for the construction of a munitions factory to the global corporation.

According to the MLive article, Saab Inc. will assemble ground-launched bomb systems and shoulder-launched munitions for the U.S. Department of Defense. The rest of the article talked mostly about land use and land sales to Saab Inc., but didn’t explore any other angles related to the use of public money for a privately owned weapons corporation.

One omission in the MLive article was any information about the Michigan Strategic Fund, which was created by former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder in 2012. The Michigan Strategic Fund Board is also made up of people from the corporate world, along with a few government staffers. Included among the MSF Board is Randy Thelen, the President and CEO of the Right Place Inc.

Another omission centers around the kinds of weapons that will be manufactured by Saab Inc. at the northern Michigan facility. The MLive article states they will make “ground-launched bomb systems and shoulder-launched munitions for the U.S. Department of Defense.” If you look on the Saab Inc. site you can get a more detailed description of the weapons, such as the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) and the AT4, which is a shoulder launching system, that has its own promotional video.

Saab Inc. also operates in 30 different countries from around the world and sells weapons to to over 100 countries. Therefore, Saab Inc. is not only a weapons manufacturer, they are a weapons trafficker.

Lastly, it is worth noting that Saab Inc. is worth $11.27 Billion, which begs the question why the State of Michigan is providing $2.8 million to build a road for the global weapons trafficker?

In conclusion, I leave you with the words of President Eisenhower from his farewell speech on the dangers of the military industrial complex:

Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence—economic, political, even spiritual—is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved. So is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.