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Posts: 3407
Location: Chicago
Joined: January 13, 2003
Contributor
Since: April 11, 2002
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Utter nonsense, pure crap. How do you get sucked into this stuff Mike?
The U.S. Post Service was established in 1775 - they've had 234 years to get it right; it is broke, and even though heavily subsidized, it can't compete with private sector FedExp and UPS services.
This nonsense has already been refuted by other posters here.
Social Security was established in 1935 - they've had 74 years to get it right; it is broke.
It is NOT broke! How many people have complained about their checks bouncing? When you call the SS Administration the lights are on and they answer the phone. A "bubble" in the US population growth is going to require that the system TEMPORARILY increase it's funding until the bubble passes. After the baby boomer bubble passes through the SS system's funding needs actually DECLINE!
Do a little research about the plight of older Americans before social security - read about the number who lived in abject poverty - or had to impose on their kids to support them. Then tell me again how it's a failure.
Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - they've had 44 years to get it right; they are both broke; and now our government dares to mention them as models for all US health care.
See, you just don't get it if you believe this stuff. What is "right"? You mean making a profit? Self sustaining? Those were never the goals of the system. Oh, and they aren't broke - again, can you tell me of a single circumstance where a medicare check has bounced from lack of funds? Go ahead, I'm waiting...
I love seeing these people on TV saying - "I don't want ANY government health care - and don't you TOUCH my Medicare!!"
AMTRAK was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; last year they bailed it out as it continues to run at a loss!
The US Army and Navy has been around for over 200 years - when was the last time they made money? My local fire and police departments have been around near 100 years - they have NEVER ONCE turned a profit! The interstate highway system has never made money, they have to be subsidized EVERY year - the same goes for the FAA and the NTSB. The damn Center For Disease Control loses millions every year - what's the problem there, eh?? Bunch of slackers, I'll bet! Yep, they all run at a loss.
So should we get rid of the Army/Navy, the fire and police departments, interstate highways, the CDC, the FAA, and the NTSB?
NO public transportation system in the world makes a profit, none are fully self-sustaining. Their value is not measured in profitability.
And BTW - do just a little bit of homework and you'll find that Amtrak was deliberately set up to fail when it came into existence in 1970-71. It was designed to relieve the private railroads of the "money losing" passenger service so they could haul freight only. Of course, the railroads continued to lose money and market share (for a variety of reasons) until the last 5-6 years.
Amtrak was promised funding in its early days that never materialized, and has been starved ever since (for a variety of reasons far too complex to get into here). Yet despite the best efforts of many, Amtrak isn't dead - far from it, it has experienced major growth - growth limited only by it's capacity, not by demand. It is on the verge of taking on a much larger role in the US transportation system as a whole - as it already has in California, the Northeast, and to an extent here in Illinois.
This year, a trillion dollars was committed in the massive political payoff called the Stimulus Bill of 2009; it shows NO sign of working;
No signs?? You mean the stock market's increase of 1500 points, the prevention of what was universally agreed would have been a global depression, improved GDP results, none of that had anything to do with the stimulus? Oh, I see. If it wasn't the stimulus packages (one in the Bush term, one since) what was it Mike?
it's been used to increase the size of governments across America,
If by that you mean it's allowed some communities to hire additional police and fire department personnel (or prevent layoffs), or to hire 100 more skilled workers at Amtrak. Yep, that hated Amtrak - they hired machinists, electricians, mechanics, etc.(most of whom were laid off from the auto industry BTW) to rebuild damaged or otherwise non-usable railcars; some have ALREADY returned to service, and at an average investment of about 1/4th of what new equipment costs - and so on. Yes, if that is what you mean then you are correct. Me, I'd like my fire department and police department to have what they need to do the job.
and raise government salaries while the rest of us suffer from economic hardships.
Government raises funded specifically by the stimulus? Let's see some proof. Not stories about how some funds were used to meet prior contractual obligations, money gifted to people from the stimulus funds. I'll be watching for your reply.
It has yet to create a single new private sector job.
Wrong, it has created a number of jobs already, and the effect of the 2009 bill is just now really getting into the economy. Go to the website and look up how many jobs are ALREADY in place as a result of the stimulus:
http://www.recovery.gov/
is the site. You can see what's happening in your own state if you like. Here's what's new in Michigan in the LAST WEEK:
• Ypsilanti Wins $14.9 Million Clean Cities Grant to Support Clean Fuels, Vehicles, and Infrastructure Development 8.26.2009
• U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Awards $8.18 Million in Recovery Act Loans for Sewer System Upgrades in Essexville, MI 8.25.2009
• EPA Announces Distribution of $7.1 million in Recovery Act Funds to Clean Up Underground Petroleum Leaks in Michigan 8.25.2009
• Recovery Office, DELEG Host Funding Forums on Recovery Act Job Training Grants 8.20.2009
• Dept. of Energy Announces $37 Million in Recovery Act Grants for Small Business Research and Technology
$663 million have already been paid out to the Department of Education. YOUR WAGES are being partially funded by the 2009 recovery act. If you are so dead set against it then why don't you refuse some of your paycheck??
Our national debt projections (approaching $10 trillion) have increased 400% in the last six months.
And FYI, the projections were just revised DOWN in the last few weeks. Now I agree, debt is not necessarily a good thing. But in this case, we'll have a lot to show for what is being spent. And we'll have avoided a global meltdown. Look back, even conservative economists say the stimulus was needed; in fact many complained it was TOO SMALL!
During WWII our national debt was almost 1/4th of the country's GDP. Now (even with the two stimulus bills) it's in the single digit range. Should we have not spent the money and gone into less debt during WWII? C'mon Mike - you're so anti-deficit all of a sudden - ANSWER MY QUESTION! Should we not have made the expenditures needed to avoid a world economic crisis? Sometimes you have to take steps that aren't pleasant, but are needed. If your house needed major repairs and you didn't have the money on hand to pay for them - would you go into some debt or let the house collapse?
BTW, the largest single expenditure that drove the debt to where it is now was the Iraq war, multiple trillions were spent on it.
"Cash for Clunkers" was established in 2009 and went broke in 2009 - - after 80% of the cars purchased turned out to be produced by foreign companies, and dealers nationwide are buried under bureaucratic paperwork demanded by a government that is not yet paying them what was promised.
What?? Did you even read what you pasted here??
The program was DESIGNED to go broke! It was funded with a limited amount of money to be spent over a limited time, and was so successful that it spent the money faster than anyone anticipated. It put lots of people back to work (including the extra people hired to speed claims processing). This program was WILDLY successful.
So with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that each and every "service" shoved down our throats by an over-reaching government turns into disaster, how could any informed American trust our government to run or even set policies for America's health care system - - 17% of our economy?
Let me be perfectly blunt - how can you be so lazy as to not do some fact checking and accept this "cut and paste" trash you post at face value? I thought you were a lot smarter than that.
Maybe each of us has a personal responsibility to let others in on this brilliant record before 2010, and then help remove from office those who are voting to destroy capitalism and destroy our grandchildren's future.
Maybe YOU have the responsibility to do some fact checking before you post this crap.
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So what's the worry then? - Tweekeng 11:21:04 08/30/09
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