I don't get it. Do republicans even acknowledge the colossal mess of our nation's infrastructure?

[The Rabbi]

Best what? Waste of money?
I'd like to have the best economy. And that doesnt come from confiscatory taxes and regulation.

Then what's your plan for upgrading our infrastructure?

Move those goalposts!

I asked you what your plan was for upgrading our infrastructure. That was based on your claim that you want the best economy. See? I highlighted it for you.

Do you get the best economy with an infrastructure that's falling apart?

A nation of toll roads where

I'm sure the private sector will fix all our roads and bridges someday. You know, that private sector that the RWers claim can do everything better than the public sector.

Yeah, the same private sector that has outsourced most of our industry to effin China! We pay tax dollars to maintain this infrastructure and all the republicans do is drag their fucking feet. bastards.

Oh my freaking god, no shit. I'm vacationing in Florida...fucking toll roads EVERYWHERE. Cost $8 in tolls ONE WAY to drive an hour from Tampa to Brooksville. Ludicrous!

So you want others to pay for your lifestyle. No surprise there.

 

[Darkwind]

It's amazing to me how republicans in power bitch about entitlement programs, yet won't do a fucking thing to fix our infrastructure. Not only do they refuse to cut any defense spending to pay for it, but they refuse to raise taxes on the wealthy. Taxing the wealthy is the ONLY way this mess is going to be fixed without adding more unnecessary government debt.

Before you begin about spending money on infrastructure, how about a full accounting of what has been spent in the past 10 years.

I mean full accounting.

This means that if the Feds paid for 1 billion dollars in asphalt, then I want someone to break that down by state, county, highway, contractor and I want a physical inspection of the physical assets purchased. That means I want eyes on the road that was paved or the yard in which the asset is stored. In addition, the names of the people who worked on that project, their time sheets, and payments.

RIGHT DOWN TO THE VERY LAST PENNY.

Then we can do an analysis of the current system and eliminate corruption and waste BEFORE we commit another dime.

 

[Seawytch]

I asked you what your plan was for upgrading our infrastructure. That was based on your claim that you want the best economy. See? I highlighted it for you.

Do you get the best economy with an infrastructure that's falling apart?

Is our infrastructure falling apart? Don't think so.
Do we get the best economy by imposing confiscatory taxes and regulation? Nope. Obama spent 1 trillion dollars on "stimulus" and we've gotten 0.2% growth.

Why do you keep lying? The majority of the stimulus came in the way of tax breaks, not infrastructure spending. Can you tell us how much of the stimulus actually went to infrastructure?

Which part of my post was a lie? None of it. You are too stupid to understand 3 sentences.

First lie...stimulus was not a trillion dollars. Now, tell me what percentage of the roughly 800 billion in stimulus money went to infrastructure spending?

It was $831B but that probably doesnt account for a bunch of other spending. $1T is a pretty close approximation.
It is irrelevant here how much went to infrastructure spending. But it was over $66B. Tell me how much better infreastructure is today than it was 8 years ago.

It's about 66 billion better...which isn't enough.

US Infrastructure Spending Plummeted Since 2008

 

[The Rabbi]

Is our infrastructure falling apart? Don't think so.
Do we get the best economy by imposing confiscatory taxes and regulation? Nope. Obama spent 1 trillion dollars on "stimulus" and we've gotten 0.2% growth.

Why do you keep lying? The majority of the stimulus came in the way of tax breaks, not infrastructure spending. Can you tell us how much of the stimulus actually went to infrastructure?

Which part of my post was a lie? None of it. You are too stupid to understand 3 sentences.

First lie...stimulus was not a trillion dollars. Now, tell me what percentage of the roughly 800 billion in stimulus money went to infrastructure spending?

It was $831B but that probably doesnt account for a bunch of other spending. $1T is a pretty close approximation.
It is irrelevant here how much went to infrastructure spending. But it was over $66B. Tell me how much better infreastructure is today than it was 8 years ago.

It's about 66 billion better...which isn't enough.

US Infrastructure Spending Plummeted Since 2008

Why do you lie? Is it ignorance or stupidity?

 

[Seawytch]

Then what's your plan for upgrading our infrastructure?

Move those goalposts!

I asked you what your plan was for upgrading our infrastructure. That was based on your claim that you want the best economy. See? I highlighted it for you.

Do you get the best economy with an infrastructure that's falling apart?

A nation of toll roads where

I'm sure the private sector will fix all our roads and bridges someday. You know, that private sector that the RWers claim can do everything better than the public sector.

Yeah, the same private sector that has outsourced most of our industry to effin China! We pay tax dollars to maintain this infrastructure and all the republicans do is drag their fucking feet. bastards.

Oh my freaking god, no shit. I'm vacationing in Florida...fucking toll roads EVERYWHERE. Cost $8 in tolls ONE WAY to drive an hour from Tampa to Brooksville. Ludicrous!

So you want others to pay for your lifestyle. No surprise there.

You don't think 8 dollars in tolls (one way) for a a 50 mile drive is excessive?

 

[The Rabbi]

Move those goalposts!

I asked you what your plan was for upgrading our infrastructure. That was based on your claim that you want the best economy. See? I highlighted it for you.

Do you get the best economy with an infrastructure that's falling apart?

A nation of toll roads where

I'm sure the private sector will fix all our roads and bridges someday. You know, that private sector that the RWers claim can do everything better than the public sector.

Yeah, the same private sector that has outsourced most of our industry to effin China! We pay tax dollars to maintain this infrastructure and all the republicans do is drag their fucking feet. bastards.

Oh my freaking god, no shit. I'm vacationing in Florida...fucking toll roads EVERYWHERE. Cost $8 in tolls ONE WAY to drive an hour from Tampa to Brooksville. Ludicrous!

So you want others to pay for your lifestyle. No surprise there.

You don't think 8 dollars in tolls (one way) for a a 50 mile drive is excessive?

Dont you care about infrastructure? You should be happy to pay your fair share to maintain roads in FL. Roads you are driving on.

 

[Darkwind]

Government is rife with fraud, waste and abuse. I'd shrink government by going for the low hanging fruit first. Medicare has $20-30 Billion in waste alone...and there are so many stupid and redundant programs and departments....it's a clusterfuck.

from Heritage - Top 10 Examples of Government Waste
. Medicare Overspending

• Medicare wastes more money than any other federal program, yet its strong public support leaves lawmakers hesitant to address program efficiencies, which cost taxpayers and Medicare recipients billions of dollars annually.
  
  For example, Medicare pays as much as eight times what other federal agencies pay for the same drugs and medical supplies.[6] The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently compared the prices paid by Medicare and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care program for 16 types of medical equipment and supplies, which account for one-quarter of Medicare's equipment and supplies purchases. The evidence showed that Medicare paid an average of more than double what the VA paid for the same items. The largest difference was for saline solution, with Medicare paying $8.26 per liter compared to the $1.02 paid by the VA.[7] (See Table 1.)
  
  
  
  
  
  These higher prices not only cost the program more money, but also take more money out of the pockets of Medicare beneficiaries. In 2002, senior citizens' co-payments accounted for 20 percent of the $9.4 billion in allowed claims for medical equipment and supplies.[8] Higher prices mean higher co-payments.
  
  Medicare also overpays for drugs. In 2000, Medicare's payments for 24 leading drugs were $1.9 billion higher than they would have been under the prices paid by the VA or other federal agencies. Although Medicare is supposed to pay wholesale prices for drugs, it relies on drug manufacturers to define the prices, and manufacturers have strong incentives to inflate their prices.[9]
  
  Nor are inflated prices for drugs and supplies the most expensive examples of Medicare's inefficiencies. Basic payment errors-the results of deliberate fraud and administrative errors-cost $12.3 billion annually. As much as $7 billion owed to the program has gone uncollected or has been written off.[10] Finally, while Medicare contracts claims processing and administration to several private companies, 19 cases of contractor fraud have been settled in recent years, with a maximum settlement of $76 million.[11]
  
  Putting it all together, Medicare reform could save taxpayers and program beneficiaries $20 billion to $30 billion annually without reducing benefits. That would be enough to fund a $3,000 refundable health care tax credit for nearly 10 million uninsured low-income households.

Unused Flight Tickets Totaling $100 Million

A recent audit revealed that between 1997 and 2003, the Defense Department purchased and then left unused approximately 270,000 commercial airline tickets at a total cost of $100 million. Even worse, the Pentagon never bothered to get a refund for these fully refundable tickets. The GAO blamed a system that relied on department personnel to notify the travel office when purchased tickets went unused.

Auditors also found 27,000 transactions between 2001 and 2002 in which the Pentagon paid twice for the same ticket. The department would purchase the ticket directly and then inexplicably reimburse the employee for the cost of the ticket. (In one case, an employee who allegedly made seven false claims for airline tickets professed not to have noticed that $9,700 was deposited into his/her account). These additional transactions cost taxpayers $8 million.

This $108 million could have purchased seven Blackhawk helicopters, 17 M1 Abrams tanks, or a large supply of additional body armor for U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.


Redundancy Piled on Redundancy

Government's layering of new programs on top of old ones inherently creates duplication. Having several agencies perform similar duties is wasteful and confuses program beneficiaries who must navigate each program's distinct rules and requirements.

Some overlap is inevitable because some agencies are defined by whom they serve (e.g., veterans, Native Americans, urbanites, and rural families), while others are defined by what they provide (e.g., housing, education, health care, and economic development). When these agencies' constituencies overlap, each relevant agency will often have its own program. With 342 separate economic development programs, the federal government needs to make consolidation a priority.

Consolidating duplicative programs will save money and improve government service. In addition to those programs that should be eliminated completely, Congress should consolidate the following sets of programs:

• 342 economic development programs;
• 130 programs serving the disabled;
• 130 programs serving at-risk youth;
• 90 early childhood development programs;
• 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities;
• 72 federal programs dedicated to assuring safe water;
• 50 homeless assistance programs;
• 45 federal agencies conducting federal criminal investigations;
• 40 separate employment and training programs;
• 28 rural development programs;
• 27 teen pregnancy programs;
• 26 small, extraneous K-12 school grant programs;
• 23 agencies providing aid to the former Soviet republics;
• 19 programs fighting substance abuse;
• 17 rural water and waste-water programs in eight agencies;
• 17 trade agencies monitoring 400 international trade agreements;
• 12 food safety agencies;
• 11 principal statistics agencies; and
• Four overlapping land management agencies

Top 10 Examples of Government Waste

Great post.

 

[NYcarbineer]

I don't get the opposition to having the best? Don't you want the best???

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

It's amazing to me how republicans in power bitch about entitlement programs, yet won't do a fucking thing to fix our infrastructure. Not only do they refuse to cut any defense spending to pay for it, but they refuse to raise taxes on the wealthy. Taxing the wealthy is the ONLY way this mess is going to be fixed without adding more unnecessary government debt.

Before you begin about spending money on infrastructure, how about a full accounting of what has been spent in the past 10 years.

I mean full accounting.

This means that if the Feds paid for 1 billion dollars in asphalt, then I want someone to break that down by state, county, highway, contractor and I want a physical inspection of the physical assets purchased. That means I want eyes on the road that was paved or the yard in which the asset is stored. In addition, the names of the people who worked on that project, their time sheets, and payments.

RIGHT DOWN TO THE VERY LAST PENNY.

Then we can do an analysis of the current system and eliminate corruption and waste BEFORE we commit another dime.

While our infrastructure crumbles in the meantime.

Are you willing to put the defense budget on hold and not spend another nickel until we do that same assessment?

 

[The Rabbi]

I don't get the opposition to having the best? Don't you want the best???

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

It's amazing to me how republicans in power bitch about entitlement programs, yet won't do a fucking thing to fix our infrastructure. Not only do they refuse to cut any defense spending to pay for it, but they refuse to raise taxes on the wealthy. Taxing the wealthy is the ONLY way this mess is going to be fixed without adding more unnecessary government debt.

Before you begin about spending money on infrastructure, how about a full accounting of what has been spent in the past 10 years.

I mean full accounting.

This means that if the Feds paid for 1 billion dollars in asphalt, then I want someone to break that down by state, county, highway, contractor and I want a physical inspection of the physical assets purchased. That means I want eyes on the road that was paved or the yard in which the asset is stored. In addition, the names of the people who worked on that project, their time sheets, and payments.

RIGHT DOWN TO THE VERY LAST PENNY.

Then we can do an analysis of the current system and eliminate corruption and waste BEFORE we commit another dime.

While our infrastructure crumbles in the meantime.

Are you willing to put the defense budget on hold and not spend another nickel until we do that same assessment?

Where is this crumbling infrastructure you people keep bleating about? No one said Defense had zero waste. Another straw man.

 

[Darkwind]

I don't get the opposition to having the best? Don't you want the best???

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

It's amazing to me how republicans in power bitch about entitlement programs, yet won't do a fucking thing to fix our infrastructure. Not only do they refuse to cut any defense spending to pay for it, but they refuse to raise taxes on the wealthy. Taxing the wealthy is the ONLY way this mess is going to be fixed without adding more unnecessary government debt.

Before you begin about spending money on infrastructure, how about a full accounting of what has been spent in the past 10 years.

I mean full accounting.

This means that if the Feds paid for 1 billion dollars in asphalt, then I want someone to break that down by state, county, highway, contractor and I want a physical inspection of the physical assets purchased. That means I want eyes on the road that was paved or the yard in which the asset is stored. In addition, the names of the people who worked on that project, their time sheets, and payments.

RIGHT DOWN TO THE VERY LAST PENNY.

Then we can do an analysis of the current system and eliminate corruption and waste BEFORE we commit another dime.

While our infrastructure crumbles in the meantime.

Are you willing to put the defense budget on hold and not spend another nickel until we do that same assessment?

Failed again.

The military budget needs a significant review for Fraud, Waste, and Abuse. It also needs a realignment of assets spending priorities.

However, we're talking about infrastructure up in here, and before we spend another dime, I don't think it is unreasonable to have a 'to the penny' audit of the entire system.

 

[NYcarbineer]

I don't get the opposition to having the best? Don't you want the best???

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

Wow...you don't even realize you supported my point.

Now that IS funny.

You're right. I dont realize it. Because I didnt.
Why is Sweden an apt comparison to the US?

I'm guessing you don't believe any country is an apt comparison to the US, because if you acknowledged any were you'd get trapped.

 

[NYcarbineer]

I don't get the opposition to having the best? Don't you want the best???

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

It's amazing to me how republicans in power bitch about entitlement programs, yet won't do a fucking thing to fix our infrastructure. Not only do they refuse to cut any defense spending to pay for it, but they refuse to raise taxes on the wealthy. Taxing the wealthy is the ONLY way this mess is going to be fixed without adding more unnecessary government debt.

Before you begin about spending money on infrastructure, how about a full accounting of what has been spent in the past 10 years.

I mean full accounting.

This means that if the Feds paid for 1 billion dollars in asphalt, then I want someone to break that down by state, county, highway, contractor and I want a physical inspection of the physical assets purchased. That means I want eyes on the road that was paved or the yard in which the asset is stored. In addition, the names of the people who worked on that project, their time sheets, and payments.

RIGHT DOWN TO THE VERY LAST PENNY.

Then we can do an analysis of the current system and eliminate corruption and waste BEFORE we commit another dime.

While our infrastructure crumbles in the meantime.

Are you willing to put the defense budget on hold and not spend another nickel until we do that same assessment?

Where is this crumbling infrastructure you people keep bleating about? No one said Defense had zero waste. Another straw man.

Ah, of course, now he lapses into denialism.

 

[The Rabbi]

I don't get the opposition to having the best? Don't you want the best???

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

Wow...you don't even realize you supported my point.

Now that IS funny.

You're right. I dont realize it. Because I didnt.
Why is Sweden an apt comparison to the US?

I'm guessing you don't believe any country is an apt comparison to the US, because if you acknowledged any were you'd get trapped.

I'm guessing you cannot say why Sweden is an apt comparison.
I'm also guessing you have to look up the word "apt".

 

[Seawytch]

I don't get the opposition to having the best? Don't you want the best???

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

Wow...you don't even realize you supported my point.

Now that IS funny.

You're right. I dont realize it. Because I didnt.
Why is Sweden an apt comparison to the US?

I'm guessing you don't believe any country is an apt comparison to the US, because if you acknowledged any were you'd get trapped.

Of course Sweden isn't an apt comparison to the United States. We are a HUGE nation of cars and drivers. Sweden is small county with an excellent public transportation system. We spend the same as Sweden. That's sad.

 

[The Rabbi]

I don't get the opposition to having the best? Don't you want the best???

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

It's amazing to me how republicans in power bitch about entitlement programs, yet won't do a fucking thing to fix our infrastructure. Not only do they refuse to cut any defense spending to pay for it, but they refuse to raise taxes on the wealthy. Taxing the wealthy is the ONLY way this mess is going to be fixed without adding more unnecessary government debt.

Before you begin about spending money on infrastructure, how about a full accounting of what has been spent in the past 10 years.

I mean full accounting.

This means that if the Feds paid for 1 billion dollars in asphalt, then I want someone to break that down by state, county, highway, contractor and I want a physical inspection of the physical assets purchased. That means I want eyes on the road that was paved or the yard in which the asset is stored. In addition, the names of the people who worked on that project, their time sheets, and payments.

RIGHT DOWN TO THE VERY LAST PENNY.

Then we can do an analysis of the current system and eliminate corruption and waste BEFORE we commit another dime.

While our infrastructure crumbles in the meantime.

Are you willing to put the defense budget on hold and not spend another nickel until we do that same assessment?

Where is this crumbling infrastructure you people keep bleating about? No one said Defense had zero waste. Another straw man.

Ah, of course, now he lapses into denialism.

LOL! Yeah I wont go along with the mere assertions of the OP. I want proof of the basic supposition. If that's "denialism" then I guess I'm guilty. I deny you have a valid point at all.

 

[The Rabbi]

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

Wow...you don't even realize you supported my point.

Now that IS funny.

You're right. I dont realize it. Because I didnt.
Why is Sweden an apt comparison to the US?

I'm guessing you don't believe any country is an apt comparison to the US, because if you acknowledged any were you'd get trapped.

Of course Sweden isn't an apt comparison to the United States. We are a HUGE nation of cars and drivers. Sweden is small county with an excellent public transportation system. We spend the same as Sweden. That's sad.

Thanks for admitting that trying to make a comparison to Sweden was a failure. That's progress.

 

[Darkwind]

I don't get the opposition to having the best? Don't you want the best???

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

Wow...you don't even realize you supported my point.

Now that IS funny.

You're right. I dont realize it. Because I didnt.
Why is Sweden an apt comparison to the US?

I'm guessing you don't believe any country is an apt comparison to the US, because if you acknowledged any were you'd get trapped.

If you cannot make your case based upon the merits of the US system of governance, making a comparison to other, dissimilar systems, isn't gong to help you. It has nothing to do with traps, but your belief that we can spend and do exactly as other countries, all the while ignoring that we're the best economy in the world vs their not so good economies.

Stick with just fixing things in this country and let the world do what the world does.

 

[NYcarbineer]

I'm sure the private sector will fix all our roads and bridges someday. You know, that private sector that the RWers claim can do everything better than the public sector.

Hint: Who do you think actually does the work?
You're so fucking stupid I wonder if you can breathe without someone reminding you.

Do they provide the money? Let the private sector raise the money AND do the work if it's so great.

Translation: pwned again.
Where do you think the money comes from to fix this stuff?
Ooh, that's gotta hurt.

It comes from government taxation. The private sector is dependent on the taxpayer for the funds to do infrastructure work.

 

[NYcarbineer]

Even if we don't have "the best", we should be a lot higher up on this list...We are a nation of drivers whereas Sweden has a strong public transportation system. We spend the same as fucking Sweden?

We have like 100 times the land mass of Sweden too. Who gives a shit about Sweden?

Wow...you don't even realize you supported my point.

Now that IS funny.

You're right. I dont realize it. Because I didnt.
Why is Sweden an apt comparison to the US?

I'm guessing you don't believe any country is an apt comparison to the US, because if you acknowledged any were you'd get trapped.

If you cannot make your case based upon the merits of the US system of governance, making a comparison to other, dissimilar systems, isn't gong to help you. It has nothing to do with traps, but your belief that we can spend and do exactly as other countries, all the while ignoring that we're the best economy in the world vs their not so good economies.

Stick with just fixing things in this country and let the world do what the world does.

So the US cannot be compared to any other country on earth? Why is that?

 

[NYcarbineer]

When you're spending more on your military than most of the rest of the world combined, and when you're defending other countries interests at your expense,

and when those countries can use the amount they are saving on defense, at our expense, for other interests such as their infrastructure,

then of course, you make your own infrastructure spending a bigger problem.