This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: “Your Tax Dollars At Work”

  • Another “Fine Example” of Stimulating “Green Vehicle” Production

    Well, it looks like another “green vehicle” manufacturer is on the ropes.  After taking taxpayers for the proverbial “sleigh ride in July” for tens of millions, of course.

    Smith Electric Vehicles was touted as another “green” vehicle maker.  It was to specialize in large electric vehicles suitable for commercial use.  It originally announced plans to make over 500 such vehicles.

    In return for $1.4 million in tax credits from Missouri, Smith promised to create 200+ new jobs.  It’s hired 54 people to date.

    Smith owes large sums to various creditors.  The precise amount isn’t known, but since it includes a $30k+ debt to a Missouri university and six months’ back rent on 90,000 sq ft of space at the Kansas City airport, the total could easily be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

    And it’s stopped production.

    Of course, since this was one of the Administration’s pet “green” projects – the POTUS touted it publicly in a speech at the Kansas City airport 4 years ago – it got some $30+ million in Federal stimulus funds.  Anyone surprised?

    The Washington Examiner has a good article on Smith, its troubles, and its past problems (which go far beyond what I’ve listed here).  It’s worth reading – providing you don’t have high blood pressure or anger management issues.

    Yeah, looks like that “green” stimulus program worked out just swimmingly here.  One could even be cynical and say it looks almost like a political payback or “make work” deal.  But that can’t possibly be the case.

    Still, what’s that old saying:  “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck . . . . “

  • Yeah, Those “Good Times” Are Really Rolling . . . .

    Remember, the economy is recovering.  Good times are here!  Economic problems are a thing of the past.

    Well, maybe not.  Seems like in real terms (e.g., inflation-adjusted dollars), men working full-time today make less than they did 40 years ago.

    What about women working full-time, you ask?  Well, that peak was years ago, too – in 2007, to be precise.

    So tell me:  how’s that “wonderful economic recovery” coming for you, folks?  From my perspective, it doesn’t really look all that good.  But maybe that’s just me.

    But not to worry, my friends.  The current Administration says they’re not to blame, and that if we just do what they say things will straighten out “real soon now”.

    Problem is, we’ve been hearing pretty much that same “song and dance” from them for 5+ years now.  And I don’t know about you, but from my perspective things are no better off now than they were 5 years ago. Instead, they kinda look worse.

    Fewer people are working (percentage wise) than they were in early 2009.  More are on foodstamps.  More are drawing “disability” instead of working.  Hell, we’re short well over 5 million full-time jobs just to get back to the same proportion of the population working regularly as we had in early 2009 – let alone make any real progress.

    Don’t even get me started on the deficit.  We’ve added over 64% to the US Federal debt in just over 5 1/4 years.  And the current budget proposals from the current Administration add nearly $1.1 trillion to the Federal debt in the next two years alone.

    And don’t forget that “success story of the Century” – the introduction of that wonder-of-wonders, ObamaCare.  It’s rear-loaded, cost-wise – but it’s already screwing up things by the numbers.  When the real cost of ObamaCare actually starts coming due in about 5 years, well – Katie bar the door.

    Whatever this Administration is doing – it ain’t working.  Except maybe to improve a few folks’ golf games.

    Oh, that ain’t working
    That’s the way we do it 
    Get our money for nothing
    Get golf trips for free . . . .

  • IRS pays bonuses to tax-delinquent employees

    I guess not paying your taxes on time is a big deal if you’re an IRS employee, or at least that’s the message that they send.

    More than 2,800 workers got bonuses despite facing a disciplinary action in the previous year, including 1,150 who owed back taxes, said a report by J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration. The bonuses were awarded from October 2010 through December 2012.

    George’s report said the bonus program doesn’t violate federal regulations, but it’s inconsistent with the IRS mission to enforce tax laws.

    “These awards are designed to recognize and reward IRS employees for a job well done, and that is appropriate, because the IRS should encourage good performance,” George said. “However, while not prohibited, providing awards to employees who have been disciplined for failing to pay federal taxes appears to create a conflict with the IRS’s charge of ensuring the integrity of the system of tax administration.”

    They won’t pay taxes on the money that they earned, so give them more money – makes perfect sense to me.

  • You Couldn’t Make This Stuff Up

    White House looks to regulate cow flatulence as part of climate agenda

    Yep, you read that right – the current Administration apparently now wants to regulate freaking cow farts.  What’s the penalty for a violation – the offender gets turned into hamburger?

    All I’ve got to say is:  YGBSM!!

  • Multicam wars

    Multicam

    The Army Times reports that Multicam patterns may disappear, according to Crye Precision, the folks who own the pattern. They released a statement that they tried to help the Army save money by selling at prices reduced to less than 1% over cost and the Army rejected the offer;

    Army officials have said, on condition of anonymity, that negotiations with Crye broke down over cost. Military.com has reported that Army officials did not want to pay Crye $24.8 million in royalties to use MultiCam, citing an unnamed source.

    The company said that under pressure from the Army, it had reluctantly provided a valuation to the service, along with a discounted price. It claims the figure had been misused to represent the company as unwilling to negotiate with the Army as the Army seeks to find cost savings.

    So, the Army is spending that 24.8 million bucks looking for a new pattern. Is that how you run your personal finances? I don’t.

    Slightly off-topic; I recommend that Crye move out of New York because between the New York City mayor and the State’s legacy governor, I see them outlawing camouflage because it looks so scary.

  • Well, Now We Know Why COLAs Were REALLY Reduced . . .

    Apparently the funds were needed to develop a pizza MRE.

    Well, I’m joking about the “funds were needed” part.  But not about spending years to develop a pizza MRE.

    Somehow a pizza MRE just doesn’t strike me as the Army’s most pressing need these days.

    Look, I’m all for better equipment, uniforms, field rations, and the like.  And improving what you have today is always something you need to look at.

    But at some point, what you have today is more than good enough.  Go beyond that, and IMO you’re simply wasting time and money – AKA “gilding the lily” or “goldplating”.  Or making changes simply for the sake of making changes.

    Doing that also wastes time and money – time and money that could be used for better things.  Like, you know, maybe keeping promises and/or improving the quality of training or life for the troops.  ‘Cause Lord knows DoD consistently seems to have a problem with all of those.  And “not enough money” seems to always be the reason.

    A pizza MRE.  Hell, wouldn’t it be just as simple to put a box of mixed long-shelf-life condiment packets in each case of MREs  (or one of each in each MRE) and let the troops “spice things up” as they wish?

  • About Freakin’ Time

    FCC Begins Tracking ‘Obama Phone’ Use

    That’s a good first step.  Why it wasn’t done from day one, I dunno.

    Oh well.  Better late than never, I guess.

    Perhaps now the suspicious use/fraud rate in the program will drop below the 41% level found last year.

  • More Obamacare “Good News” Stories

    Another few    outrageous examples of incompetence    news items regarding that    Phenominally Putrid and Absurd Compilation of Asininity   Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , AKA “ObamaCare”.

    I swear, you just couldn’t make this sh!t up if you tried.

     

    (Hat-tip to the Drudge Report site for several of the above links.)