Gravitymaster 0 #26 May 8, 2012 QuoteI hate to beak it to you but federal $$ have been funding states for decades- its not an 'Obama' problem Never said it was. More proof the Fed is way too big. It should not be involved in financing for local issues. Thanks for making my point. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tkhayes 348 #27 May 8, 2012 QuoteMany government jobs are outsourced. Yes, but you you cannot call Xe and Halliburton employees 'government workers' just because you want to make a point on a graph. That is a system of growing spending, not growing government. A contractor is not an employee, at least not in any circle I have ever seen. The federal & state govt is shrinking. Yes we are contracting out way too much and spending way too much on stuff like that. But let's not pretend that the government is actually growing because it is not. Real government employees are being cut back around here. Police, firefighters, teachers, public servants, staff in offices, etc. I have NO PROBLEM with firing all those Halliburton, Xe, Blackwater, and all the 'secret' companies that the CIA hires to do our security work. Fire every fucking one of them. Time to hit the reset button and start over on a lot of that stuff. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #28 May 8, 2012 Quote But let's not pretend that the government is actually growing because it is not. from the CBO http://www.cbo.gov/publication/42636 It's hard to miss the spike on the graph for spending as percentage of GDP. And that's the problem. Our government is bigger than any DOW or Fortune 100 company by a wide wide margin. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,027 #29 May 8, 2012 QuoteQuote But let's not pretend that the government is actually growing because it is not. from the CBO http://www.cbo.gov/publication/42636 It's hard to miss the spike on the graph for spending as percentage of GDP. And that's the problem. Our government is bigger than any DOW or Fortune 100 company by a wide wide margin. Given that a very large fraction of spending is non-discretionary and goes to the citizens rather than to govt. employees, it's hard simply to equate spending with the size of government in the context of "size" being used in this thread.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matthewcline 0 #30 May 8, 2012 QuoteI'm all for it - when di you write YOUR congressperson and ask them to change something - or are you just another right wing couch potato hoping that things will go your way? wanna fight wars? Better pass a tax bill to fund it..... Don't want taxes, then stop fighting the wars.....and everything else that goes with it - Halliburton, Xe, outsourcing secret spying organizations, CIA external programs, FBi external programs, etc. I write my Congresswoman weekly. I piss her off a lot when I show how she is failing the Country. Your Stereotype was a swing and a miss though, I belong to no Party and vote how I feel and express what I feel is right not what a party wants to do for control of the populace. The two parties want the same in the end, control. We, you and I, pay enough in taxes to do what the country needs done, we waste most, if not all of it, on overseas prop ups that are of now true use to us. The money they are slicing out of Medicare and Defense is going to other programs, not being saved to get out of debt. So, yes, I do speak up and I do act. When I do speak out, I try to do so as a person who looks at the big picture, the country as a whole, and use common sense and not one ideology as that is misguided and not going to fix this mess that BOTH parties have brought up on us with the Peoples Apathy as the road they traveled. MattAn Instructors first concern is student safety. So, start being safe, first!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #31 May 8, 2012 Quote Given that a very large fraction of spending is non-discretionary and goes to the citizens rather than to govt. employees, it's hard simply to equate spending with the size of government in the context of "size" being used in this thread. fair enough. However, even with the Boomers beginning to retire, I'd be shocked if that would explain the substantial jump from the high teens to 24%. The stimulus packages and industry bailouts are discretionary events. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,027 #32 May 8, 2012 Quote We, you and I, pay enough in taxes to do what the country needs done, So why was Bush's Iraq War "off budget"?... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #33 May 9, 2012 QuoteQuote We, you and I, pay enough in taxes to do what the country needs done, So why was Bush's Iraq War "off budget"? Why is Obama's entire presidency 'off budget'?Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davjohns 1 #34 May 9, 2012 QuoteQuoteMany government jobs are outsourced. Yes, but you you cannot call Xe and Halliburton employees 'government workers' just because you want to make a point on a graph. That is a system of growing spending, not growing government. A contractor is not an employee, at least not in any circle I have ever seen. The federal & state govt is shrinking. Yes we are contracting out way too much and spending way too much on stuff like that. But let's not pretend that the government is actually growing because it is not. Real government employees are being cut back around here. Police, firefighters, teachers, public servants, staff in offices, etc. I have NO PROBLEM with firing all those Halliburton, Xe, Blackwater, and all the 'secret' companies that the CIA hires to do our security work. Fire every fucking one of them. Time to hit the reset button and start over on a lot of that stuff. I didn't postulate whether the government was growing or not. But I have to take issue with your logic. Contract employees are used to directly replace government employees. Pretending that using a contractor reduces the size of government is ludicrous and indicates you have made up your mind and want to twist facts to fit. I work in government. We hire people or we hire a contractor. It just depends on the statistics the current administration wants to project as to which pot of money is funded right now. If you want to compare administrations, just compare apples to apples. How many people are walking through the office doors every morning and being paid for by the government? Whether you call them employee or contractor is about as important as whether you call them Bob or Ed. I have no idea whether government has grown or not. I really doubt anyone else does either. I just know that pretending that some workers count and others don't is not rational.I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet.. But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matthewcline 0 #35 May 9, 2012 QuoteQuote We, you and I, pay enough in taxes to do what the country needs done, So why was Bush's Iraq War "off budget"? MattAn Instructors first concern is student safety. So, start being safe, first!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matthewcline 0 #36 May 9, 2012 As far as Contractors, in some cases it is far cheaper to use them than GOV employees. For example on the Ranges at a local installation they have GOV and Contractor employees. The GOV is not responsible for any benefits for the Contractors. Some should be counted in the GOV ranks though, if they are classified as "permanent" contractor positions. MattAn Instructors first concern is student safety. So, start being safe, first!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShcShc11 0 #37 May 13, 2012 QuoteI hate to beak it to you but federal $$ have been funding states for decades- its not an 'Obama' problem Unemployment is at around 8.1% and people are wondering why. Its pretty simple: without an adequate help from the Federal to a State/local transfer, the state/local have no choice but to cut. A good majority believes there were vast Government expansion through stimulus, but the numbers say otherwise. This is Obama's economy and his battle. This is nothing new. See what is happening with the U.K who offered austerity as their holy solution. http://notthetreasuryview.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/four-charts-and-why-history-will-judge.html Shc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimmie 186 #38 May 13, 2012 Romney showed up at a firehouse with Guliani for a campaign photo op. Guliani is despised by the FDNY for many reasons. Romney is despised by the FDNY for his alliance with Scott Walker. The IAFF endorses Obama. However some firefighters still vote god, guns and abortionIAFF local 1430 and 417 (retired) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
