Government Waste, from the bottom up

[Patroklos]

Dear ****,

I never supported parts of the job stimulus bill that are nothing but blatant, useless pork barrel "projects." I support the stimulus bill that creates concrete results in regard to either job creation, or preservation of jobs.

Sincerely,

MrFun

Which parts would those be? The job creating ones that is.

[MrFun]

This thread appears to be talking about the census and how the current democrat administration is burning tax dollars through wasteful and unnecessary pratices.

Why are you trying to make this thread about Republicans? Is this the third term of Bush, and he's managing the Census?

Part of the topic is about wasteful spending. The CNN report I saw this morning on television talked about Republicans' perception of wasteful spending, then deciding to roll around in the money anyway.

[Drake Tungsten]

I'd rather focus on the gigantic tears of the bilateral carotids: the complete political pandering of the ever-escalating Pentagon budget, to no real purpose; and the ever-rising amount of money spent on Medicare/Medicaid, without any increasing benefit in either health outcomes or the number of people covered.

Throw Social Security in there and you've identified all the major problem areas.

[Drake Tungsten]

Well if you have no problem with hypocrisy, then there is nothing wrong with that.

The Democratic Party is attacking some Republican congressmen for both opposing the stimulus bill and also helping direct some stimulus spending into their districts.

I don't know the facts of the case, but the logic of the Democratic position baffles me. It seems perfectly reasonable to believe (1) that increasing government spending is not the best way to promote economic growth in a depressed economy, and (2) that if the government is going to spend gobs of money, those on whom it is spent will benefit. In this case, the right thing for a congressman to do is to oppose the spending plans, but once the spending is inevitable, to try to ensure that the constituents he represents get their share. So what exactly is the problem?

Let me offer an analogy. Many Democratic congressmen opposed the Bush tax cuts. That was based, I presume, on their honest assessment of the policy. But once these tax cuts were passed, I bet these congressmen paid lower taxes. I bet they did not offer to hand the Treasury the extra taxes they would have owed at the previous tax rates. Would it make sense for the GOP to suggest that these Democrats were disingenuous or hypocritical? I don't think so. Many times, we as individuals benefit from policies we opposed. There is nothing wrong about that.

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2010/02/illogical-attack-on-gop.html

[Ben Kenobi]

The CNN report I saw this morning on television talked about Republicans' perception of wasteful spending, then deciding to roll around in the money anyway.

So start your own thread.

[DinoDoc]

Part of the topic is about wasteful spending. The CNN report I saw this morning on television talked about Republicans' perception of wasteful spending, then deciding to roll around in the money anyway.

Don't lie. You're half of Maddow's audience. You can admit it.

[MrFun]

Don't lie. You're half of Maddow's audience. You can admit it.

I'll lie and say that I watch Maddow on a regular basis.

[Guynemer]

I'd rather focus on the gigantic tears of the bilateral carotids: the complete political pandering of the ever-escalating Pentagon budget, to no real purpose; and the ever-rising amount of money spent on Medicare/Medicaid, without any increasing benefit in either health outcomes or the number of people covered.

Throw Social Security in there and you've identified all the major problem areas.

Okay. Either I am getting more conservative, or you are getting more liberal, or both. I don't know which. But we really shouldn't be agreeing about stuff like this.

[Drake Tungsten]

It has nothing to do with liberal or conservative and everything to do with **** or non-****. Any non-****** can look at the federal budget and see that Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security and defense spending are the three major drains on the country's finances.

[Guynemer]

Fair enough, but even most non-**** conservatives go apoplectic at the barest mention of curbing defense spending; likewise for non-**** libs when it comes to SS.

Unless I have grossly overestimated the ratio of nontards to ***** in the US, which is hard to imagine given my low esteem for my countrymen.

[Drake Tungsten]

Fair enough, but even most non-**** conservatives go apoplectic at the barest mention of curbing defense spending; likewise for non-**** libs when it comes to SS.

I disagree with your labeling of these types of people as "non-*****".

[Ben Kenobi]

It has nothing to do with liberal or conservative and everything to do with **** or non-****.

I should put you back in my sig again.

[Drake Tungsten]

Please don't. Asher deserves it more.

[Theben]

It has nothing to do with liberal or conservative and everything to do with **** or non-****. Any non-****** can look at the federal budget and see that Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security and defense spending are the three major drains on the country's finances.

At risk of being labeled a ****, does anyone know how much interest is generated for individuals by SS? I'm not a fan of privatization, at least as far as investing it in the market, but I can't help but think that requiring the individual to put that money into something more akin to a regular savings account would be better. It could even be govt-backed, like FDIC.

[rah]

The current interest rate on regular savings accounts has fallen so far that it's approaching zero.