>The whole program of having a civilian outfit sell the surplus was brought
>to you by the Clinton/Gore team...
As others have already pointed out, this was also a move by hardcore
Republicans such as Gingrich. Gore/Clinton were just doing their mimic
the Republican thing, which they did quite often to the frustration of
many on both sides of the aisle.
>Downsize the government and give jobs to
>lower paid civilians.
Uhm... this is traditionally Republican territory. Don't you remember
that fight about airport security a couple of months ago? Republicans
wanted minimum wage felons, who turn over 200% a year, guarding our
airports instead of well paid professional force responsible directly to
the people and not to some corporation trying to squeeze as many pennies
as possible so they can afford another Mercedes.
In theory a private outfit should be more accountable, efficient, and
profitable for the taxpayer than a Government run program. IN THEORY.
However, the ability of this to happen depends strongly on the winning
bidder, which is also generally the lowest bidder. So your mileage will
vary ;-)
Also remember, the whole point of selling off Government surplus is for
the taxpayer to get as much as possible back for the money they spent.
It is NOT to give a handful of people the cheapest deal possible. So I
am torn here. As a MV collector I want the stuff to be sold off as
cheaply and easily as possible. As a taxpayer I want each sale to go for
the maximum value the free market is willing to pay. I lose/win either
way things lean.
Just food for thought...
Steve
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Feb 06 2002 - 11:49:24 PST