bjturk.commentary: patriotic profiteering

bjturk.commentary
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this bjturk.commentary:
patriotic profiteering

This time, I'm genuinely angry. I'm all for making a profit, but be up front about it. Don't cloak it in a guise of being charitable or patriotic.

What has angered me is this: 7-Eleven stores are selling olive green wristbands that say "Support Our Troops" on them. That's fine. For each wrist band sold, they donate US$1 to the USO, which provides support for U. S. troops worldwide, organized the Bob Hope troop visits, and sends various entertainers all over the world to entertain the troops. They are a wonderful organization, and as a former soldier, I can tell you that their work is so important and so appreciated. I applaud the donations to the USO as well.

But all is not so rosy. You see, these rubber wrist bands are very similar to the yellow "LIVESTRONG" bands sold by the Lance Armstrong Foundation for US$1 each, with the proceeds going to support cancer research. Just one dollar not only covers production and distribution, but also provides funding for this research, as well as the foundation's education programs. However, the green bands at 7-Eleven are selling for US$3 instead.

Do the math. The price is $3, then $1 goes to charity. That leaves $2 to cover the cost of production and distribution, administrative costs, etc., for a large corporation that can deal in much higher volumes (and get the associated discounts) than the Lance Armstrong Foundation. How can this not be profiteering? How can 7-Eleven cloak itself in patriotic pride while profiting so heavily on American sentiment? This is not only an insult to our troops, but it's an insult to the intelligence of Americans.

For many years, I have avoided 7-Eleven in general because I have found that their prices often run much higher than Circle K. This just gives me another good reason to avoid their stores. I appreciate the sentiment, and support the troops myself, but I can neither appreciate nor support efforts to tap my wallet by way of my patriotism. Frankly, it's un-American.

7-Eleven, you should be ashamed.

Click here to donate to the USO directly, without feeding 7-Eleven's reprehensible corporate greed.

December 13, 2004

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