To the editor:

We Americans are a resourceful and innovative people. Our latest contribution to the world is a new form of government. For lack of a better term, I’ll call it “corporatocracy.” To give a few examples:

Who benefited from the Iraq war? The families on both sides who lost loved ones, or Halliburton and Bechtel?

Who benefited from the new environmental protection law? Children who need fresh water to drink and fresh air to breathe, or the power generation companies?

Who benefited from the corporate bankruptcies? The employees that lost their savings and their retirement benefits, or the Enron and WorldCom companies?

Who benefits from proposed Medicare law? The seniors who will surely have to enroll in a private HMO, or the pharmaceutical companies?

What happened to the “government of the people, by the people, for the people shall never perish from the earth?”

Jacob Enoch,

Lawrence