Drone manufacturers are makers not takers
by digby
Well isn't this special?
Commercial drones, which are expected to be approved for use in the US in 2015, will create 100,000 jobs in 10 years, adding $13.7 billion to the American economy, according to a new study (pdf).
The study was published by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a trade association with an interest in promoting the benefits of unmanned aircraft—the industry does not like the word “drone”—but its assumptions offer an interesting assessment of the sector’s opportunities.
Howie did some interesting digging last week on the Senators who c stepped up to join Rand Paul's filibuster and what do you know, with the exception of Paul, they're all taking big bucks from the industry that makes the drones:
The biggest drone makers are General Atomic Aeronautical, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Honeywell International, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon. They've been handing out the checks across the aisle big time and almost all of the filibusterers other than Rand took exceedingly large amounts of money from these drone makers. Just a quick glance coughed up these big donations to some of today's filibsterers last year. Kelly Ayotte was certainly the hypocrite of the day, but she didn't want for company:
• General Atomic- Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Miss McConnell (R-KY)
• Northrop Grumman- Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Pat Toomey (R-PA). Miss McConnell (R-KY)
• BAE Systems- Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Marco Rubio (R-FL)
• Honeywell International- Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Miss McConnell (R-KY)
• Lockheed Martin- Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) , Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Miss McConnell (R-KY)
• Raytheon- Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Miss McConnell (R-KY)
I suppose we could all assume they are men and women of integrity who stood up to some of their largest donors, but we don't really believe that do we?
By the way, the drone manufacturers don't want them called drones. They want them called UAV's (unmanned aerial vehicles)
There’s a reason this trade association is releasing a jobs forecast that includes a state-by-state breakdown: The Obama administration’s use of military drones has become a political touchpoint in the on-going debate about privacy, America’s military entanglements, and just how far the executive branch can bend protections on civil liberties. But UAV companies and their allies desperately need government help to get drones into the skies, financed and insured, and that won’t happen if they are the target of public ire.
People are nervous about this technology because it presents a threat to privacy and safety at the hands of a government agency (or private corporation for that matter) that decides not to honor normal constitutional processes. And that's because of what's happening with their use by the military.
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