Comments on: The Washington Post Becomes Conservative

By: Lt bell

Lt bell — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 03:17:46 +0000

Stotch-
you make Goebbles look like a child

did you work for hitler in a past life?

By: Terry Ott

Terry Ott — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 03:08:12 +0000

I don't see any problem with this editorial. There are gradations of wasteful spending, among them:
(1) Inefficiency: Spending money unwisely on things most would agree we need to do; the money doesn't get the job done.
(2) Overkill: Spending more money than is necessary to get the desired result; the money gets the job done but the same job could have been done for less.
(3) Frivolousness: Spending OPM (other peoples' money) for things we don't really need at all, for whatever reason(s).

Of these, I consider #3 to be the worst transgression. #1 can be done with good intentions and amount to an honest mistake. #2 can be done because one is overzealous and/or lacks common sense.
#3 is inevitably an intentional ripoff of the taxpayers, and should not be condoned under any circumstances. This is truly abuse.

That politicians get away with it, professing themselves "patriotic" while weakening the economic well-being of the general public, and while proposing at the same time that they should not be subject to various rules and controls the rest of us live with (airline screening proposal, labor laws, etc), is sickening.

By: SoloD

SoloD — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 02:01:36 +0000

In fact the GOP's irresponsibility is much worse, because they pretend that you don't have to pay for it. Sure you can have tax cuts and all the spending we can push out, and run a war to boot.

Democrats would call for some sacrifice, or at least not offer up a tax cut.

By: bryan

bryan — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 01:55:44 +0000

One point of an earmark is to direct money to a project that would not receive money as a result of rational judgments based on cost-benefit analyses.

Is this true? Is this the *only* reason for an earmark? Does the government *ever* do *anything* as a result of "rational judgments based on cost-benefit analyses"? Could someone please enlighten me with one such example?

Is that sort of like accepting the low bid?