D.O.G.E (Department of Government Efficiency) II

[CrimsonNagus]

Corrupt Musk strikes again. This is the real reason Musk wanted control of the Feds, to funnel money to himself and his companies.

Starlink poised to take over $2.4 billion contract to overhaul air traffic control communication | The Verge

 

[arthurdawg]

Okay, come on. None of us who complain about the wage inequality are calling for everyone to have the same amount of wealth. The problem is really the productivity to pay gap and it has changed drastically since the 1980s. The rich are getting richer because they are hoarding the money at the top instead of paying workers better.

The Productivity–Pay Gap | Economic Policy Institute

This.

I mean... toilets need to be cleaned and if you are willing to do it well full time, why not pay people a living wage to do so? Not saying crazy salaries, but enough to have a home, maybe raise a kid, have medical insurance when you need it, a few years of good retirement. Hopefully most people will decide to seek training and improve themselves, but we need basic things done.

I think not paying people a living wage and expecting them to figure it out leads to lots of the issues we see now with needing government services. Marginally paid workers who make a single bad decision are suddenly bankrupt and have no good options and their life trajectory declines. Higher paid workers who have the fortune to inherit a billion dollars can make tons of bad decisions go bankrupt six times and still end up quite well off.

It is complex, but I think this would fix many issues.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Corrupt Musk strikes again. This is the real reason Musk wanted control of the Feds, to funnel money to himself and his companies.

Starlink poised to take over $2.4 billion contract to overhaul air traffic control communication | The Verge

So the FAA gets a superior product at a zero-dollar hardware setup, which means the whole shebang will cost considerably less. I know I'm supposed to be outraged by this, but I'm not exactly sure why. Oh right, right, the whole "Musk is the anti-Christ thing." Yeah, I'm gonna need more than that.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

So the FAA gets a superior product at a zero-dollar hardware setup, which means the whole shebang will cost considerably less. I know I'm supposed to be outraged by this, but I'm not exactly sure why. Oh right, right, the whole "Musk is the anti-Christ thing." Yeah, I'm gonna need more than that.

It's still a conflict of interest. If he is a part of any government agency in an official capacity, this would be an ethics issue for one of his companies to be given the contract.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

It's still a conflict of interest. If he is a part of any government agency in an official capacity, this would be an ethics issue for one of his companies to be given the contract.

Yeah, I really do get that. I guess my problem is that this sort of thing happens all the time and at every level of government, but now it's a problem. Kinda like how everybody knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that many people in Congress are actively engaging in insider trading, but the official response from the media seems to be tapdancing around the issue and never speaking up. They're doing it right in front of our faces. There no real ethical accountability in D.C. If they want to start, great, but not just with a selected few. Do it across the board or continue to do nothing.

 

[dayhiker]

If they want to start, great, but not just with a selected few. Do it across the board or continue to do nothing.

You're talking about "college" football, right?

 

[CrimsonJazz]

You're talking about "college" football, right?

Er...uh...yeah, that's it. It's interesting how much of what I now dislike about college football parallels things I detest about our government. Can we put Musk in charge of D1 football?

 

[dayhiker]

Er...uh...yeah, that's it. It's interesting how much of what I now dislike about college football parallels things I detest about our government. Can we put Musk in charge of D1 football?

We'd wind up with a sport where they fake injuries....wait, we have that already.

 

[jthomas666]

Corrupt Musk strikes again. This is the real reason Musk wanted control of the Feds, to funnel money to himself and his companies.

Starlink poised to take over $2.4 billion contract to overhaul air traffic control communication | The Verge

This is what the people voted for.

 

[dayhiker]

This is what the people voted for.

Out of curiosity, I wonder how much has been spent thus far in an attempt to upgrade/update the system?

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Yeah, I really do get that. I guess my problem is that this sort of thing happens all the time and at every level of government, but now it's a problem. Kinda like how everybody knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that many people in Congress are actively engaging in insider trading, but the official response from the media seems to be tapdancing around the issue and never speaking up. They're doing it right in front of our faces. There no real ethical accountability in D.C. If they want to start, great, but not just with a selected few. Do it across the board or continue to do nothing.

Yeah, I get it, "But everybody's doing it!" However, if they do the same things that the previous regimes did, then can they look anyone in the face and claim to be different than the previous regimes? I would think not. Let's do it the right way for once.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Yeah, I get it, "But everybody's doing it!" However, if they do the same things that the previous regimes did, then can they look anyone in the face and claim to be different than the previous regimes? I would think not. Let's do it the right way for once.

Fair enough. I'm guessing this administration is feeling an extra bit of entitlement because the press will report everything they do in the worst way possible, anyway. If that's their mindset, they really need to stop.

 

[arthurdawg]

Out of curiosity, I wonder how much has been spent thus far in an attempt to upgrade/update the system?

Yes... and what are the technical capabilities of Verizon vs. Starlink? Can Starlink do it better?

It has be technically sound over just doing a cut rate budget job. Sometimes it takes upfront dollars to do that.

Other than those questions needing to be vetted and answered.

If starlink is #1 better tech and #2 better value then that is cool.

But I'm also note sure you can do that with the notable conflict of interest there.

 

[crimsonaudio]

If starlink is #1 better tech and #2 better value then that is cool.

Pretty sure it's both, but it still doesn't look good.

 

[JDCrimson]

Jazz, i really struggle understanding your ethical perspective on things our government does. On the one hand you champion the warrantless review of the various agencies and the termination or shutdown of the agencies and their employees without due process. Then on the other hand, you dont object to conflicted profiteering by the same parties.

You really ought to run for office because you would make a helluva politician...

Yeah, I really do get that. I guess my problem is that this sort of thing happens all the time and at every level of government, but now it's a problem. Kinda like how everybody knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that many people in Congress are actively engaging in insider trading, but the official response from the media seems to be tapdancing around the issue and never speaking up. They're doing it right in front of our faces. There no real ethical accountability in D.C. If they want to start, great, but not just with a selected few. Do it across the board or continue to do nothing.

 

[arthurdawg]

Pretty sure it's both, but it still doesn't look good.

Yeah... in a positive sense, what Musk has done with Space X has been truly amazing and exciting to watch. I'm afraid his deconstruction of Twitter to X and the current imbroglio will tarnish that legacy considerably. And Verizon is not terrible speaking as a client for 20 years.

I like my two gas guzzlers, so I can't speak to Tesla personally, but again, he has done great things, just wish he'd turn it around this time.

 

[Bazza]

 

[jthomas666]

Fair enough. I'm guessing this administration is feeling an extra bit of entitlement because the press will report everything they do in the worst way possible, anyway. If that's their mindset, they really need to stop.

More likely that they feel entitled because they know no one in the GOP has the stones to object, and because they know they won't have to suffer any consequences.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Jazz, i really struggle understanding your ethical perspective on things our government does. On the one hand you champion the warrantless review of the various agencies and the termination or shutdown of the agencies and their employees without due process. Then on the other hand, you dont object to conflicted profiteering by the same parties.

You really ought to run for office because you would make a helluva politician...

The reason I don't factor in warrants and due process with these agencies is because I've only known these terms to be associated with criminal law. They aren't being arrested, they are being defunded and shut down because they are wasteful, incompetent and worst of all, many of them are redundancies of other departments. And it's not that I don't object to profiteering; quite the opposite in fact. All I'm saying is do it right or don't bother doing it at all. Waiting to act until the people with whom you disagree are running things just speaks to the worst partisan behavior.

One of the things that really twists my knob is how rapidly those goons in D.C. turn on each other. Trump was a Democrat for what? 50+ years? Tulsi was a life-long Democrat. So was RFK. I cast my very first vote for one William Jefferson Clinton. In terms of actual votes cast for the presidency, I've voted for a Dem twice and a Repub only once. After that, I started voting third-party and that's where I've been since the 2000 election. So yeah, I could never run for office unless someone creates the Carlin party whose political stances mostly mirror those of the late, great George Carlin. And since Carlin didn't vote at all, you see why this would never work.

 

[cdub55]

More likely that they feel entitled because they know no one in the GOP has the stones to object, and because they know they won't have to suffer any consequences.

No consequences? You mean like a pardon? Hunter says hello...