Saturday, May 24, 2008: it was a mild spring day throughout most of the country. Rescue and recovery work continued; rebuilding and rennovation continued. Reformation and renewal of America's spirit continued. Interim President Colin Powell and Interim Vice-President John McCain were dealing with multiple issues involving war, finance, and human resources. An O.U.T.R.A.G.E. team of ambassadors had been dispatched to Iran to see if a cease fire could be negotiated. Since that war hadn't really 'taken hold' yet, it seemed like a prudent thing to do. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was being assured that the new U.S. government had no intention of declaring war on his country. The Bush administration had hinted at such a possibility during all of 2007. It was evident that the U.S.A. was not satisfied with only 5% of its oil inventories coming from that South American country; it wanted more - and Chavez was reluctant to cooperate.
The military-industrial complex, mammoth oil companies, and the big business community within the U.S.A. wanted the federal government to keep Americans 'hooked' on oil. The sole motive, of course, was profit. Exxon-Mobil had recorded record profits over the past eight quarters, and corporate big shots were only interested in beating last quarter's results. It was a short-term business mentality that had only served to ruin the nation's economic stablity. Companies today would ship entire departments overseas, then ship them to another country within months, all for the sake of the bottom line. Giant corporations like General Motors and Ford Motor Company had taken massive losses during the last quarters of 2006 and the first quarters of 2007 by offering buy-outs to thousands of employees. The long-range desire, of course, was to cut costs - especially high union labor costs. In most corporations, the only place where labor costs weren't being chopped was in the executive suites. CEOs, CFOs, and upper-echelon corporate officers continued to amass multi-million-dollar fortunes thanks to their six and seven-figure salaries, outrageous benefits packages, and stupendous 'golden parachutes'.
An O.U.T.R.A.G.E. committee had been appointed to study and research this situation. Establishing a maximum wage seemed to be a viable idea, but could it be done without watering down the effects of free enterprise? O.U.T.R.A.G.E. believed the core problem was greed. Sheer greed. How could people's minds be altered to minimize this very human trait?