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I grew up in the DC suburbs. I literally know these people, played with their kids when I was a kid. Like I'm really sure. It's not super complicated. This is

by CPLX 3y ago

I grew up in the DC suburbs. I literally know these people, played with their kids when I was a kid. Like I'm really sure. It's not super complicated. This is basically how the country is run and to some extent has always been run.

FredPret 3y ago
Government contract fraud of this kind on the order of couple of million up to a couple of hundred million here and there is terrible and people should go to prison. It’s enough money to an enormous amount for an individual - ie, your DC friends could buy half a dozen really nice mansions or something. This is kind of corruption should never be tolerated, but neither should it be mythologized and feared.
- CPLX 3y ago
  What the hell are you talking about? Like you don't understand that if you're a senior executive at a massive defense contractor you can hire former generals who just signed off on your bid to lucrative consulting agreements, you can put politicians on your board of directors (ie Nikki Haley @ Boeing) and employ their children's PR firms and "strategy consultancies" and so on. It's not fraud in the legal sense, it's just disgusting and I agree it shouldn't happen. But it's all right out in the open and how the system works. I'm not really asking if you agree, I'm describing something I have seen first hand.
  - FredPret 3y ago
    First of all calm down please. I’m trying to have a factual and calm conversation. Second of all OK nice and where is all that money going? Sure, generals as directors, politicians making killer stock investments. But I don’t see these trillions in the form of corporate profits, or missing tax money. The money is almost entirely accounted for (ie audited) and the numbers are reasonable. The US pissed away a ton of money in the middle east, but that money is hardly missing - we know where it went.
    - CPLX 3y ago
      > The US pissed away a ton of money in the middle east, but that money is hardly missing - we know where it went. lmfao https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/08/usa.iraq1 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/08/usa.iraq1
rqtwteye 3y ago
I lived in northern VA for a while and have met these people too. The non profit sector there is a similar insider circle.

by CPLX 3y ago

FredPret 3y ago

Government contract fraud of this kind on the order of couple of million up to a couple of hundred million here and there is terrible and people should go to prison. It’s enough money to an enormous amount for an individual - ie, your DC friends could buy half a dozen really nice mansions or something. This is kind of corruption should never be tolerated, but neither should it be mythologized and feared.

CPLX 3y ago
What the hell are you talking about? Like you don't understand that if you're a senior executive at a massive defense contractor you can hire former generals who just signed off on your bid to lucrative consulting agreements, you can put politicians on your board of directors (ie Nikki Haley @ Boeing) and employ their children's PR firms and "strategy consultancies" and so on. It's not fraud in the legal sense, it's just disgusting and I agree it shouldn't happen. But it's all right out in the open and how the system works. I'm not really asking if you agree, I'm describing something I have seen first hand.
- FredPret 3y ago
  First of all calm down please. I’m trying to have a factual and calm conversation. Second of all OK nice and where is all that money going? Sure, generals as directors, politicians making killer stock investments. But I don’t see these trillions in the form of corporate profits, or missing tax money. The money is almost entirely accounted for (ie audited) and the numbers are reasonable. The US pissed away a ton of money in the middle east, but that money is hardly missing - we know where it went.
  - CPLX 3y ago
    > The US pissed away a ton of money in the middle east, but that money is hardly missing - we know where it went. lmfao https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/08/usa.iraq1 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/08/usa.iraq1

rqtwteye 3y ago

I lived in northern VA for a while and have met these people too. The non profit sector there is a similar insider circle.