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Steve Ballmer serves up a data trove about government spending in the US

nytimes.com

41–50 of 273 posts

Re: Steve Ballmer serves up a data trove about government spending in the US

#41
post #27

m$ has got so much better since he left.

Seems to me lots of companies make $ Do they all get a derogatory psuedonym? adob$ amaz$ face$ goog$ mailchim$ etc etc etc or is the negativity reserved for M$ Suggesting there is something wrong with a software company because it makes money seems to be a blow in from 1990's militant open source philosophy and probably best left in the 1990s.

M$ will never, ever, be forgiven for the FUD that put OS in dire straits.

Re: Steve Ballmer serves up a data trove about government spending in the US

#43
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> even the CBO's reports are highly politicized Can you source that?

I took it to mean "third parties politicize CBO reports" rather than "CBO reports are created with ideological slants," because, well, that's the truth of the matter. You can't criticize a CBO forecast for being slightly inaccurate when politicians decide to change the parameters after the fact.

I think you're correct, but it was poorly worded

Re: Steve Ballmer serves up a data trove about government spending in the US

#44

I think this is an interesting point: >One rule Mr. Ballmer said his team made early on was to use only government data — no outside providers — to avoid accusations of bias. But this created its own challenges. Its going to be interesting to see the site. I wonder if it will be free?

Hopefully free for non-profit uses at least.

Re: Steve Ballmer serves up a data trove about government spending in the US

#45
post #8

The article mentions that the data shows a huge allocation of resources to education. Why is education publicly funded in the USA, and not left to market forces? Can't that be considered a "socialist" policy?

A public company generally cares about quarterly performance. A private company might have its sights as far as a few years out. However, with education it takes about 20 years to start seeing a return on investment. It just doesn't make sense to approach education from a business standpoint, both because the ROI is very low, and you need to have stability in education, you can't have someone like ITT Tech all of a s…

If you really believe this why don't you short-sell a bunch of companies and make a killing?

Re: Steve Ballmer serves up a data trove about government spending in the US

#46
post #5
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll get excited when it comes out. What is in it for ballmer?

It makes his wife happy? That is what is discussed in the article. Frankly, it's a reasonable motivation.

I think it was more about him wanting to win an argument with his wife about his tax dollars being enough for charity but once he started getting the data like all engineers he kept going deeper down the rabbit hole.

Re: Steve Ballmer serves up a data trove about government spending in the US

#47
post #16
post #4

I really never liked Ballmer, but I did love him for the Developers dance, and now, well, this is awesome. I hope he does it in a long-term sustainable way.

Funny and satirical as it is, [1] completely changed my opinion of Steve Ballmer for the positive. > Steve Ballmer. You open the door to his enormous grinning face, and before you know it he’s in the hall handing over a bottle of something cheap (but with such confidence you don’t notice) and he’s giving you the handshake of your life. Then he’s in. Loving it. Loving the music. Loving the food and drink. He’s going u…

That was a really strange article

Re: Steve Ballmer serves up a data trove about government spending in the US

#48
I have found this website very helpful in the past few years when researching government financial info: http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/total_spending_chart

I reached out to the website developer/maintainer/creator, Chris Chantrill, telling him I appreciated his work on the site and asking if he needed help (seems like a 1 man operation?) - here's how he responded:

Thanks! I started the site in 2007 when "I couldn't take it any more." Since then it has just growed.

Here's how you can help. Suggest a feature.

Best wishes,

--Chris

Chris' site provides unbiased commentary on the importance/relevance of certain measurements, and gives access to download data. It could use a bit of a UX/UI overhaul but it's an amazing feat for a one-man operation to track and present all these different sources of gov data.

I'll be interested to see how Balmer's site compares in functionality (and neutrality) especially given his vast resources and team of experts.

Re: Steve Ballmer serves up a data trove about government spending in the US

#49
post #16
post #4

I really never liked Ballmer, but I did love him for the Developers dance, and now, well, this is awesome. I hope he does it in a long-term sustainable way.

Funny and satirical as it is, [1] completely changed my opinion of Steve Ballmer for the positive. > Steve Ballmer. You open the door to his enormous grinning face, and before you know it he’s in the hall handing over a bottle of something cheap (but with such confidence you don’t notice) and he’s giving you the handshake of your life. Then he’s in. Loving it. Loving the music. Loving the food and drink. He’s going u…

One thing that gets wrong is calling Gates the genius. Ballmer is the smarter of the two.

Re: Steve Ballmer serves up a data trove about government spending in the US

#50
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny and satirical as it is, [1] completely changed my opinion of Steve Ballmer for the positive. > Steve Ballmer. You open the door to his enormous grinning face, and before you know it he’s in the hall handing over a bottle of something cheap (but with such confidence you don’t notice) and he’s giving you the handshake of your life. Then he’s in. Loving it. Loving the music. Loving the food and drink. He’s going u…

> handing over a bottle of something cheap (but with such confidence you don’t notice) Three commas?

That's Mark Cuban
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