& We Wonder Why We Face a Fiscal Cliff

[dumbass]

Alaskan town home, Akutan, now has a new $75.5 Million Dollar airport with no planes, located on an island accessible only by hovercraft and a new $29 Million Dollar harbor with no road to access it and no utilities to operate it. This is another classic blunder by politicians wasting $104,000,000.00 of our tax dollars while demanding that we pay more.

This is crazy!! Who the hell is watching out for us, the taxpayers.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...230803871.html

[KWSeeks]

You are right but the airport and port was funded mostly by revenues from oil companies for drilling on their land. The real issue is our government's inability to manage anything. Just as a good example of how well our government handles your/our money and how our government handles programs; here is some information you might be interested in:

FEMA - failed miserably in New Orleans dealing with Katrina and now in New York dealing with Sandy - the majority of the relief efforts on both of these has been done by faith-based organizations and American citizens who donate their time, money and even their businesses.

FEMA's annual operating budget is $5.8 Billion per year (480M per month) - Where does this money go?

EPA - The EPA writes and enforces regulations - their annual operating budget is $8.62 Billion per year (718 M per month) - Where does this money go?

IRS - Which requires $13 Billion to operate; that is 1.08 Billion per month - Where does this money go?

Homeland Security - (and remember we have a pretty much wide open southern border) their operating budget is $60.4 Billion per year - that's 5.03 Billion per month - Where does this money go?

Our Welfare budget which does not include Unemployment Benefits, is $422 Billion per year, 35.16 Billion per month. We spend about $62,000 per family per year. The average American income is $45,000 per year and these people are still on welfare, nothing has changed.

Now - I saved the best for last - the interest on the national debt is $247.7 Billion per year - $20.64 Billion per month - $5.65 Million per day. That is just INTEREST on our National debt and it is larger than the budget for most countries in the world.

Are these the people you really want managing your health care, medicare and Social Security?

[Stevomeo]

Just ask all the folks in NY and NJ how high taxes and big government worked for them after Sandy rolled through their neighborhoods. Seems that churches and volunteers were feeding and clothing these folks while the bureaucrats were patting each other's asses.

[madmax]

Originally Posted by Stevomeo

Just ask all the folks in NY and NJ how high taxes and big government worked for them after Sandy rolled through their neighborhoods. Seems that churches and volunteers were feeding and clothing these folks while the bureaucrats were patting each other's asses.

FEMA worked a helluva lot better after Sandy than Katrina. I guess it makes a difference who's driving: someone that wants to help versus someone trying to prove government can't work.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican and Romney surrogate, was off-script but on-topic Tuesday morning when he told the Today show:

“The federal government’s response has been great. I was on the phone at midnight again last night with the president, personally; he has expedited the designation of New Jersey as a major disaster area ... the president has been outstanding in this. The folks at FEMA, Craig Fugate, and his folks have been excellent.”

But I guess if you watch Fox and their wannabees, you get a different story, one divorced from the facts:
http://mediamatters.org/research/201...onse-to/191163

[OneArm]

Fox news does know how to use facts.

[dumbass]

Originally Posted by madmax

FEMA worked a helluva lot better after Sandy than Katrina. I guess it makes a difference who's driving: someone that wants to help versus someone trying to prove government can't work.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican and Romney surrogate, was off-script but on-topic Tuesday morning when he told the Today show:

“The federal government’s response has been great. I was on the phone at midnight again last night with the president, personally; he has expedited the designation of New Jersey as a major disaster area ... the president has been outstanding in this. The folks at FEMA, Craig Fugate, and his folks have been excellent.”

But I guess if you watch Fox and their wannabees, you get a different story, one divorced from the facts:
http://mediamatters.org/research/201...onse-to/191163

Why isn't Obama on Staten Island taking a victory lap today. Answer: He doesn't have the balls.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?se...ork&id=8903133

[Morbidus]

Originally Posted by Stevomeo

Just ask all the folks in NY and NJ how high taxes and big government worked for them after Sandy rolled through their neighborhoods. Seems that churches and volunteers were feeding and clothing these folks while the bureaucrats were patting each other's asses.

Point 1 is very true. NY and NJ have always had much higher taxes than much of the country-but must be mitigated by some higher wages and cost of living. And they are coastal/seaport areas and which translates to people who want to have a lifestyle-so to speak where the action is.

Point 2 also well taken to a point. If people do something out of pure benevolence that is fine and good but IF it is done with the intention of impressing someone with the uprightness of their particular religion that is less impressive. And some religions such as JW's help their own first. I think that is probably true for the Mormons. The evangelicals always like to put on a big show. Yea, the government is bureaucratic, ridgid and unwieldly but religion neutral when people just want to get there lives back together and don't want to be told that their misfortune was part of some kind of their own "sin". Going back into history we do have Christianity picking up where the declining Roman Empire left off. Accidently or otherwise they sensed where they could score points with the public and damn the secular government. They succeeded. And now they want to do it again.