Jump to content

No one gets rich off of government...


TPS

Recommended Posts

KD in CT said:

If there is one thing the absurd levels of federal bureaucracy ensure, it's that people aren't flat out ripping off the government. Unless of course they are named in some appropriations bills by some Congress-critter.

 

I think you have to be pretty naive to believe people aren't "flat out ripping off the government."

 

Getting rich off Uncle sam

A snippet from a very long article:

As one former SAIC manager observed in a recent blog posting: "My observation is that the impact of national elections on the business climate for SAIC has been minimal. The emphasis on where federal spending occurs usually shifts, but total federal spending never decreases. SAIC has always continued to grow despite changes in the political leadership in Washington."

 

And the revolving door never stops spinning. One of the biggest contracts ever for SAIC is in the works right now. It's for a Pentagon program called Future Combat Systems, which is described as "a complex plan to turn the U.S. Army into a lighter, more lethal, more mobile force" and also as "the most difficult integration program ever undertaken by the U.S. Department of Defense." The contract runs into the billions of dollars. The man who helped craft this program at the Pentagon was Lieutenant General Daniel R. Zanini. Zanini recently retired from the army, and he now has a new job. Can you guess where it might be?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 47
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I think you have to be pretty naive to believe people aren't "flat out ripping off the government."

 

Some people are. Those who don't pay taxes. That's why so many people oppose paying taxes, not because they don't want to help the economy, but because they know that their hard work gets lost by the cheats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some people are. Those who don't pay taxes. That's why so many people oppose paying taxes, not because they don't want to help the economy, but because they know that their hard work gets lost by the cheats.

 

I'm not sure if you misspoke there, but tell me how paying taxes helps the economy?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure if you misspoke there, but tell me how paying taxes helps the economy?

 

Well I try and look at it from both sides. I do believe that the government should offer some services such as cheaper education and health care but I do also believe in total privatization in pretty much every other area. And well, paying taxes is pretty much the only way you could fund these services.

 

Obviously paying too much taxes is actually worse for the economy as a whole though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL, you of all people complaining about not answering questions? Mr. Non-partisan partisan. So do you think that that taxes have no positive impact on the economy? Are you really that thick?

 

What is the positive impact? Oh that's right, it allows the gov't to create jobs. That was easy. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is the positive impact? Oh that's right, it allows the gov't to create jobs. That was easy. :rolleyes:

It also allows the government to stimulate private sector employment. Erie Canal was built with taxes, it created so many jobs for so many years that it was easily one of the best investments ever made, private or public. Police, justice system, education, regulatory agencies etc. all make it possible for capitalism to florish. If the left has overemphasized government's role[and many have], this board is proof that the right can't see the forest for the trees, in that government is supremely necessary to keep society afloat and moving forward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It also allows the government to stimulate private sector employment. Erie Canal was built with taxes, it created so many jobs for so many years that it was easily one of the best investments ever made, private or public. Police, justice system, education, regulatory agencies etc. all make it possible for capitalism to florish. If the left has overemphasized government's role[and many have], this board is proof that the right can't see the forest for the trees, in that government is supremely necessary to keep society afloat and moving forward.

 

Let me ask you this question. Do you feel that the recent tax cuts have done a more effective job of stimulating the economy than by raising them? The economy has made an astonishing rebound from the market crash of 2000. Do you agree that by giving people more disposable income will it will eventually find its way into the economy, either through spending (which Americans are champs at) or through investment. It has to go someplace.

 

Great job of coming up the the recent example of the gov't creating jobs.........the Erie Canal. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great job of coming up the the recent example of the gov't creating jobs.........the Erie Canal. :rolleyes:

 

But how is that any different than the quarter-trillion dollar Joint Strike Fighter program?

 

 

 

And doesn't molson's argument basically mean that the tax benefits for companies like ExxonMobil are good, because it's our taxes at work creating jobs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let me ask you this question. Do you feel that the recent tax cuts have done a more effective job of stimulating the economy than by raising them? The economy has made an astonishing rebound from the market crash of 2000. Do you agree that by giving people more disposable income will it will eventually find its way into the economy, either through spending (which Americans are champs at) or through investment. It has to go someplace.

 

Great job of coming up the the recent example of the gov't creating jobs.........the Erie Canal. :sick:

I take it you are not much up on history? I have studied a lot on the Erie Canal so it just came to mind quickly, and it says a lot about you that you would laugh at that example. Ok, how about the space program that helped with so many technological advances that were passed onto private industry? That better? The tax cuts? The tax cuts were accompained by spending increases that were also pumped into the economy. It was borrowed and then spent, it put money in people's hands, too. That could spurred the economy, too. It had to go someplace. But really, the economy would have rolled on anyway, just like it did after Clinton's tax increase which saw the economy expand enormously.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How much of that do you think was due to the dot.com bubble blowing up at the time?

Nah, it was the tax increase. Had nothing to do with the dawn of the Information Age, the emergence of a new investor class, or the flattening of global energy prices for an unprecedented SEVEN years. Because there are plenty of clear examples throughout history of governments taxing their way to properity.

 

In fact, taxes are so great that I'm shocked Mr. Clinton didn't implement Rubin's "BTU Tax" just to make sure America ended up with ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How much of that do you think was due to the dot.com bubble blowing up at the time?

Most of it. You missed my point. All I was saying was that tax increases and cuts of this size don't have the giant impact on the economy the politicians make out. It's just spin. But do remember why the "information age" was made possible. It was the government using tax payers dollars that pushed this thing, provided research dollars and built the infrastructure. So government investmentr created the information age and allowed for an economic boom.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of it. You missed my point. All I was saying was that tax increases and cuts of this size don't have the giant impact on the economy the politicians make out. It's just spin. But do remember why the "information age" was made possible. It was the government using tax payers dollars that pushed this thing, provided research dollars and built the infrastructure. So government investmentr created the information age and allowed for an economic boom.

 

Do you really believe this stuff or do you just post this to give us a good laugh. If it's the latter good job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...