From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Wed Jun 12 2002 - 13:16:01 PDT
Hi Ryan,
>This sounds like we need to get some conservatives behind it.
Er.... they are the ones in power now, so they are already behind it :-(
And let us not forget that this has been going on for decades, including
the 12 "conservative" years of Reagan/Bush as well as various "liberal"
years of Clinton and Carter. The reason...
>It all has several implications behind it.
>
>1. it wastes money coming and going (ie band instruments could be
>sold or given to schools for a nominal price)
It lines the pockets of defense contractors and other industry buddies
because overpriced government purchases ($1000 toliet seats etc.) do not
displace domestic sales. This has been standard policy since the end of
WWII and perhaps earlier. Remember there are laws on the books to stop
the reimportation of surplus US equipment overseas from reentering the
US. Public Safety was never, ever the reason for this legislation.
Protection of domestic industry was and still is.
>2. it pollutes because they are burying stuff (helps to get the knee
>jerk environmentalists on as well as the thoughtful environmentalists
>on board [like me] as well)
Uhm, concervatives are not traditionally concerned with the environment
:-) In fact, the record clearly shows the opposite. Not that the
"liberals" in government are really all that much better. They talk the
talk but more often than not do not walk the walk. The same money that
elects conservatives elects liberals.
>3. it destroys items that are historical (note the US army's call for
>old things in museums from civilians that have it)
I am unaware of this ever being a concern for either side of the
political spectrum. Business, on the other hand, is something both are
very concerned with.
>4. it wastes money
Taxpayer money, yes. But not corporate money. In fact, it creates more
wealth for those who put our politicians, conservative and liberal, into
office.
This all comes down to government and big business serving each others'
best interests, not the taxpayers'. Conservatives, for all their talk of
fiscal responsibility, expempt wasteful spending and government expansion
when it suits them. Liberals exempt safety and enviromental issues when
they run contrary to their financial backer's interests. Different talk,
same motivations behind their real actions.
BTW... I remember in the early 80s seeing a 60 Minutes show on DoD
warehouses. They showed one MASSIVE warehouse with millions of pairs of
boots and medical gowns (along with God only knows how much other stuff).
Much of the stuff had been there for 40+ years with the taxpayers not
only picking up the tab on unneeded and unnecessary purcahses, but the
long term storage of them as well. When asked why we didn't use any of
this stuff the Army officer in charge explained that the boot style specs
had changed and these were therefore outdated and could not be used.
When asked why the hospital gowns were not used he said a similar thing
saying that the ones in the warehouse had a different fastener than was
currently called for. When the 60 Minutes reporter then asked why keep
the stuff the officer stated "in case we need them". When? After they
have rotted into the ground? And the suggestion by 60 Minutes that these
items could be donated, or sold cheaply, to charities or our allies the
officer actually got angry at the suggestion. The end conclusion of the
report is that the taxpayers are buying things for the military that are
not needed, then we pay for them to be stored so they do not undermine
the economy.
If you look at it as a taxpayer, it makes no sense. If one looks at this
from the perspective of greed and big business it makes sense. Kinda
makes one wonder who our politicians (conservative and liberal) answer
to, doesn't it?
Steve
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