31–40 of 63 posts
Well maybe they are putting together a better site that makes up for all of those and also enable the citizens to vote and/or give ideas where they want their money spent, or just enable the voters to keep the money if they do not have representation.
"[A democracy] can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury."
It is extremely ironic then, that the Canadian open data movement has held up the US as an example of transparency and openness, and a model for the sorts of disclosure that the Canadian federal government should live up to. This is such a momentous leap backwards, i just don't know where to begin. There is no other source for this data. We're still figuring out the best use for it, but if the government doesn't prov…
I know what you mean. I find it incredibly frustrating that we HAPPILY go after minuscule savings on things like data.gov and NPR, meanwhile it is 100% taboo to talk about cutting big budget areas like the military. In my opinion we need to be looking at the big 3 because that is where we have the best opportunity to make significant improvements. Defense Social Security Medicare/Medicaid
Defense. Job program for millions of workers.
Social Security. Welfare 2.0 -- after the Clinton welfare reform, you get bumped out of welfare after a few years. So people get declared "disabled" instead. Also, checks for grandma and checks for people with chronic disabilities.
Medicare. Healthcare for grandma. Welfare for big hospitals and doctors. Ever notice hospitals are always under construction? Medicare is what pays for it.
Medicaid. Healthcare for the indigent, and tool to make red state more appealing to business. (Protip: Compare Medicaid benefits in South Carolina to New York or Michigan.)
This is a misleading headline. Nothing has happened yet. From the source article: The White House requested $35 million for the e-government fund in 2011. The House allocated only $2 million in its bill, H.R. 1. The Senate, meanwhile, would provide $20 million for the e-government fund. http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=35&sid=2327798 It's a budget fight, similar to the ones going on at hundreds of agencies right…
Agreed, but some of the sites are set to lose funding in a few weeks amid a febrile political atmosphere. My understanding is that the main expense areas are hosting/infrastructural overhead, developer salaries, and normal office/administrative overhead which is a fact of life in DC. The pessimist in me thinks that keeping the inner workings of government in a state of murky obscurity furthers the interests of some m…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know what you mean. I find it incredibly frustrating that we HAPPILY go after minuscule savings on things like data.gov and NPR, meanwhile it is 100% taboo to talk about cutting big budget areas like the military. In my opinion we need to be looking at the big 3 because that is where we have the best opportunity to make significant improvements. Defense Social Security Medicare/Medicaid
If Congress were a typical family... Income: $40k Husband and wife arguing over whether to spend $80k or $79.9k. These "cuts" are nothing more than talking points.
As long as you need dollars to buy oil, we'll continue with nonsensical debate like this.
from the sources it seems to be a doing of the House. Do we have any Republican here? Can such a person elaborate on the merits of this decision, please.
So what's happening now is that the Republicans are pumping out legislation that slashes and burns any discretionary spending that won't blow back and piss off their constituency. So farm subsidies are ok, but Obama initiatives whose constituency consists completely of left-wing "sunlight" groups are easy pickings.
It seems bizarre, but it really isn't worth getting too excited about. Lots of legislation is born in the House, but most legislation dies in the Senate. In fact, the strategic purpose of doing this is to get you excited and frantically calling your democratic Senator about your pet project.
It appears that the Republican intent is to shut down the government, or come real close to doing so. Why they want to do this is questionable, since Bill Clinton was able to use the shutdown in his era to neutralize the republican "revolution" in the Congress in the 90s. I figure the republicans are betting that Obama's crew will bungle their response, since they seem to lack competence and cohesion.
Well maybe they are putting together a better site that makes up for all of those and also enable the citizens to vote and/or give ideas where they want their money spent, or just enable the voters to keep the money if they do not have representation.
That is, I believe, the worst possible idea. "[A democracy] can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury."
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know what you mean. I find it incredibly frustrating that we HAPPILY go after minuscule savings on things like data.gov and NPR, meanwhile it is 100% taboo to talk about cutting big budget areas like the military. In my opinion we need to be looking at the big 3 because that is where we have the best opportunity to make significant improvements. Defense Social Security Medicare/Medicaid
Think about what those things actually are. We're a post-industrial economy, since we don't make anything anymore, your "big 3" are the American equivalent of Bread & Circuses in Rome. Defense. Job program for millions of workers. Social Security. Welfare 2.0 -- after the Clinton welfare reform, you get bumped out of welfare after a few years. So people get declared "disabled" instead. Also, checks for grandma and ch…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Think about what those things actually are. We're a post-industrial economy, since we don't make anything anymore, your "big 3" are the American equivalent of Bread & Circuses in Rome. Defense. Job program for millions of workers. Social Security. Welfare 2.0 -- after the Clinton welfare reform, you get bumped out of welfare after a few years. So people get declared "disabled" instead. Also, checks for grandma and ch…
What's a post-industrial economy? Is it like an industrial economy that got tired, and needed a little sit-down while it's credit rating was still good?
See: http://www.thestreet.com/story/11061024/1/the-cannibalizatio...
This is a misleading headline. Nothing has happened yet. From the source article: The White House requested $35 million for the e-government fund in 2011. The House allocated only $2 million in its bill, H.R. 1. The Senate, meanwhile, would provide $20 million for the e-government fund. http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=35&sid=2327798 It's a budget fight, similar to the ones going on at hundreds of agencies right…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know what you mean. I find it incredibly frustrating that we HAPPILY go after minuscule savings on things like data.gov and NPR, meanwhile it is 100% taboo to talk about cutting big budget areas like the military. In my opinion we need to be looking at the big 3 because that is where we have the best opportunity to make significant improvements. Defense Social Security Medicare/Medicaid
Yeah but you've got to remember that every program has a constituency. The fact that we're the constituency, does mean that we have to temper our vociferousness with solid arguments and evidence. This stuff is important, but remember, there are programs out there to feed impoverished children. Is data.gov more important than that? Maybe not. The point is though, that data.gov and open government data is, given our go…
As for those who can't feed their children without federal help should have learned to keep their legs closed or at least used a condom. I feel sorry for the kids, but there are soup kitchens or private charity.