4 ms·

yeah man, you got yourself out of the salt mines of Alabama. So time to pull up the ladder, right? > "Telephone Based Mindfulness Training to reduce blood pres

by xyst 2y ago

yeah man, you got yourself out of the salt mines of Alabama. So time to pull up the ladder, right? > "Telephone Based Mindfulness Training to reduce blood pressure in black-women" $2million(https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_47PH0825C0001_474 https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_47PH0825C0001_474...) The link you provided indicates funds were for repair to some bridge at port of entry in TX - "YSLETA, LAND PORT OF ENTRY PAVEMENT REPLACEMENT REPAIRS PROJECT, EL PASO, TX AWARD WAS MADE WITH LOW EMBODIED CARBON FUNDING" > "South Sudan Gender Aware Sustainanable Water and Sanitation": $40Million (https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_72066821C00009_72 https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_72066821C00009_72...) "tech bro American" doesn't want clean water for people in Sudan and promotion of basic hygiene practices. https://dt-global.com/projects/afia-wash/ https://dt-global.com/projects/afia-wash/ > State Department Spending on Social Media Influencers:$4M (https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/FESTIVUS-REP https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/FESTIVUS-REP...) There's so much wrong with this source material. It is so biased. All of these "killed" contracts you deem as wasteful yet turn a blind eye to the _billions_ that public companies pour into stock buybacks. Minimal investment back into the company. This only helps _rich_ cunts and foreign investors.

honeybadger1 2y ago
Why can't both points be true at the same time?
- wizzwizz4 2y ago
  Because one of the points is false. A priori, you're right: there could be hideous waste in this area. There probably is, even. But you haven't provided examples of it, and there's no real reason to assume that the wasted effort would be obvious at a glance.
airstrike 2y ago
Stock buybacks aren't inherently evil or immoral. They are just like issuing dividends, no difference, and are the reason companies exist: to return value to their equity holders for the equity risk they bear. They could be a sign of a lack of better projects for the company to invest in. There's likely something to be said about tying stock buy backs to more stock options for employees, but it'd have to be voluntary rather than regulated. There's definitely something to be said about CEO compensation relative to worker wages. But that's a civil society discussion, not a government regulation one. And finally capital gains taxes being lower than income taxes is morally reprehensible, but this one will take quite a bit of work to undo without destroying the US economy due to capital flight out of the country once the law changes

by xyst 2y ago

honeybadger1 2y ago

Why can't both points be true at the same time?

wizzwizz4 2y ago
Because one of the points is false. A priori, you're right: there could be hideous waste in this area. There probably is, even. But you haven't provided examples of it, and there's no real reason to assume that the wasted effort would be obvious at a glance.

airstrike 2y ago

Stock buybacks aren't inherently evil or immoral. They are just like issuing dividends, no difference, and are the reason companies exist: to return value to their equity holders for the equity risk they bear. They could be a sign of a lack of better projects for the company to invest in. There's likely something to be said about tying stock buy backs to more stock options for employees, but it'd have to be voluntary rather than regulated. There's definitely something to be said about CEO compensation relative to worker wages. But that's a civil society discussion, not a government regulation one. And finally capital gains taxes being lower than income taxes is morally reprehensible, but this one will take quite a bit of work to undo without destroying the US economy due to capital flight out of the country once the law changes