Your Tax Dollars at work

reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
So in the same bill that allowed AIG to pay out all the bonuses there was a stimulus program to give 11 million dollars to Microsoft for a bridge in Washington state. The bridge will connect the east and west buildings at Microsoft Corporation which are currently divided by a highway.
I wonder how much Microsoft had to donate to the DNC and Obama campaigns for this.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
It sounds like exactly the way the stimulus money is intended to be spent. Construction work that puts people without jobs to work.
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member

Originally Posted by prime311
http:///forum/post/3012458
It sounds like exactly the way the stimulus money is intended to be spent. Construction work that puts people without jobs to work.
It sounds like cutting off the arm to save the finger to me.
Im was and am against this stimulus money ever being distributed.But since it has been it should be spent on the public ,after all it is the public's money. Road work, ,improving schools, building a whole bunch of prisons...... I wasnt aware that Microsoft needed a bailout too.
I almost forgot about it .I think it was a AIG exec.that remodeled his office with public money.I dont think that went over to well even though he put some construction workers to work,as a matter of fact i think he got fired.
 
V

vinnyraptor

Guest
Originally Posted by reefraff
http:///forum/post/3012398
So in the same bill that allowed AIG to pay out all the bonuses there was a stimulus program to give 11 million dollars to Microsoft for a bridge in Washington state. The bridge will connect the east and west buildings at Microsoft Corporation which are currently divided by a highway.
I wonder how much Microsoft had to donate to the DNC and Obama campaigns for this.
your crying bout 11 mil? Bill will pay ten times that in taxes right back to the Fed. and he'll donate 100 times more to charity. it will probably reduce traffic and create some jobs. atleast its not a bridge to nowhere, lol.
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by VinnyRaptor
http:///forum/post/3012490
your crying bout 11 mil? Bill will pay ten times that in taxes right back to the Fed. and he'll donate 100 times more to charity. it will probably reduce traffic and create some jobs. atleast its not a bridge to nowhere, lol.
lol he wont be donating anything anymore since it cant be used as a corporate write off anymore. Let Gates build his own bridge between his own buildings,he can afford it ...really he can.
Whats next ,build a private bank for Warren Buffet to keep all his money in ?
 
theclemsonkid

theclemsonkid

Member
It's actually a public bridge on public land if I'm nost mistaken. And I believe that Microsoft footed half of the 22 million to build the thing. So why not lay off a little...
Plus a job created is a job created, right?
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by TheClemsonKid
http:///forum/post/3012513
It's actually a public bridge on public land if I'm nost mistaken. And I believe that Microsoft footed half of the 22 million to build the thing. So why not lay off a little...
Plus a job created is a job created, right?
You are correct.
The bridge is also connecting public roads. Microsoft is paying for 50%, and it's estimated that their employees will account for 40% of it's use. Seems like a pretty good deal for the taxpayers.
Don't believe everything you read, guys. The media is loving the ratings and subscribers they get by stirring up the public over this bailout stuff, and spin up wealth envy.
Bottom line... you either supported the bailout or you didn't. If you didn't, then be mad at the bailout as a whole. If you did, wake up. You should have known it would be spent on stupid stuff. Everyone who supported the bailout should be looking long and hard at how the government is "simulating" the economy and use that to think about how bigger government is... good?
 
kjr_trig

kjr_trig

Active Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3012522
Bottom line... you either supported the bailout or you didn't.
I didn't think I supported the bailout....But I guess I must have as Obama is raising my taxes to help pay for it.....Yeah....I guess I do support it

Not so much

But I suppose being from Seattle I know how much Bill & Paul have done for the city and the world frankly....I just hate the government a little more every day.
 
darthtang aw

darthtang aw

Active Member
Originally Posted by TheClemsonKid
http:///forum/post/3012513
It's actually a public bridge on public land if I'm nost mistaken. And I believe that Microsoft footed half of the 22 million to build the thing. So why not lay off a little...
Plus a job created is a job created, right?
This is the first (and I hope the last) time I was going to post something you did word for word.
Darth (I need a stiff drink now) Tang
 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
Originally Posted by VinnyRaptor
http:///forum/post/3012490
your crying bout 11 mil? Bill will pay ten times that in taxes right back to the Fed. and he'll donate 100 times more to charity. it will probably reduce traffic and create some jobs. atleast its not a bridge to nowhere, lol.
In the same area there is a bridge that is used by the public with a safety rating of 4. Wouldn't you suppose the paultry 11 mill would have been better spent there?
 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3012522
You are correct.
The bridge is also connecting public roads. Microsoft is paying for 50%, and it's estimated that their employees will account for 40% of it's use. Seems like a pretty good deal for the taxpayers.
Don't believe everything you read, guys. The media is loving the ratings and subscribers they get by stirring up the public over this bailout stuff, and spin up wealth envy.
Bottom line... you either supported the bailout or you didn't. If you didn't, then be mad at the bailout as a whole. If you did, wake up. You should have known it would be spent on stupid stuff. Everyone who supported the bailout should be looking long and hard at how the government is "simulating" the economy and use that to think about how bigger government is... good?
Feel free to look up Microsoft on Google earth. This project is for the benefit of Microsoft. The "public" road is NE 31st cir which originates in Microsoft's "Campus" and the proposed extension ends in their Tech Center other side of the freeway. This is a benefit to Microsoft and very few others, perhaps those making deliveries and such to the Microsoft campus.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefraff
http:///forum/post/3012739
Feel free to look up Microsoft on Google earth. This project is for the benefit of Microsoft. The "public" road is NE 31st cir which originates in Microsoft's "Campus" and the proposed extension ends in their Tech Center other side of the freeway. This is a benefit to Microsoft and very few others, perhaps those making deliveries and such to the Microsoft campus.
I'm not saying I support this (or any bailout related nonsense for that matter).
I'm saying that all is not as it seems in this case, it's not so cut and dry as "we are using bailout funds to buy a bridge for Microsoft."
I'm also advocating the disdain for anything bailout related. We can get upset about stupid spending project here and stupid spending project there, but honestly... how could the government have spent (or invested as the Obamabots call it) the money that wouldn't have upset someone? The bailout is the cause. Stupid spending projects are merely a symptom.
 
stdreb27

stdreb27

Active Member
Originally Posted by prime311
http:///forum/post/3012458
It sounds like exactly the way the stimulus money is intended to be spent. Construction work that puts people without jobs to work.

Originally Posted by VinnyRaptor
http:///forum/post/3012490
your crying bout 11 mil? Bill will pay ten times that in taxes right back to the Fed. and he'll donate 100 times more to charity. it will probably reduce traffic and create some jobs. atleast its not a bridge to nowhere, lol.

Originally Posted by TheClemsonKid
http:///forum/post/3012513
Plus a job created is a job created, right?
This is where you guys are missing the boat. I'm not going to debate the validity of spending money for an overpass of a freeway. Mainly their so the folks at Microsoft don't have to drive as far. That is not that big of a deal. It is common practice for cities to help facilitate traffic flow in high traffic areas.
But this "stimulus" or "job created." The problem is two fold. Job create (a term I will use for communication purposes only, as you will see I don't think this actually creates jobs on a whole) in this sense, isn't sustainable, or a long term job.
Think about it, what is the benefit of this bridge. Do you really think this will provide long term revenue for the government? Not really. So this money is basically sunk. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I'm just saying it isn't stimulus. ESPECIALLY when you think about the amount of money is wasted while it gets approved and implemented by the bureaucracy.
To top it off the money is coming from probably two different places, a tax base, or seniorage. So if it came from the tax base. Do you think Microsoft would hire more people if it didn't pay any taxes? Would you buy more stuff it you didn't' have to pay taxes?
It is more efficient to spend the money at the private level than at the government's level. Think about the government as an internal combustion engine. 90% of the energy produced, is lost in heat. It is the same in government, a good portion of your $$ is lost. Money that could have been more efficiently allocated by you as the individual.
When the private sector makes a good hire. There is a snow ball effect. The hire directly generates them more money to allow for more company growth.
When the government hires, they are doing the opposite, they are spending money they have confiscated. And it doesn't generate revenue that will allow for more hires.
Second the reality is inflation is very closely linked to changes in the money supply. So every time the government prints money money, or "releases more money into the money supply (which at this point means they printed more money) it is basically a tax, your dollar just got a little weaker. Your purchasing power just dropped.
So one way or another this isn't a stimulus like it was proposed. It is just another way to get their grubby little fingers into your already lighter wallet.
 
sickboy

sickboy

Active Member
stdreb,
While I agree with some of what you wrote, I disagree with the job creation part.
When our economy is losing jobs like crazy, aren't gov't jobs a good thing? I say so b/c the gov't is very efficient at creating jobs, which is why conversely they are cost inefficient. The private sector is too efficient to be good at creating jobs quickly, but better over the long term. The Dept. of Roads estimates that 41,000 jobs are created per $1 million spent. Granted most of these jobs don't have longevity of more than a couple years, but that is all you need until there is a rebound, correct? And with proper counter-cyclical budget constraints it would not be a burden on future generations (of course this does not/has not existed in our country for 50 years).
Plus, with our marginal propensity to save so low, the money multiplier is very high (of course that is probably to keynesian for you, huh?). Unfortunately a lot of this is skewed through pay off of debt.
 
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