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| Oh, yeah. Our Tax Dollars at Work. Oh yeah. |
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Graham-Rudman-Hollings and its detritus |
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This is Dark Cloud on Wednesday, February 05, 1986. Graham-Rudman-Hollings, the bill made famous by being the first bill Congress has admitted it passed in error, doesn’t understand, and hopes that the Supreme Court will declare unconstitutional. What a bunch of lunch buckets. At least with President Reagan, you know he doesn't have clue one what he's doing, but isn't it ironic that he may have put the large caliber gun to the Legislative Branch long overdue. A gun with large bullets, soft lead, copper coated dum-dums made of depleted uranium, or something. Because if or, actually, when the effects of GRH slap into gear, you're going to see what a gaggle of repulsive cowards we've sent East over the years. It is difficult to believe that our federal government couldn't drop its budget by 10% or more without diminishing the value of the work it does. For example, did you know that Nixon's famous revenue sharing program, the one that goes to cities, includes giving billions of dollars to the likes of Palm Springs, Dallas, and other affluent cities? Eh? Or how about $30 billion annually in what amounts to corporate subsidy? This covers everything from travel agents to aircraft merchants. Get rid of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Without question the most outdated department in government. It neither kept the peace, served the Indians, nor did anything but provide the biggest pork barrel for dishonest office seekers. Its services can be taken over any number of redundancies that permeate the federal government. Charge for government services. Like the Coast Guard, and rescue services for dilettante explorers whose preparation for trips across mountain or ocean are often based on the assumption of free and quick rescue. It is possible to be for free school lunches and still abhor the current waste. Like much government expense, much can be attributed to the fear of offending lousy parents, who can both sue and breed, contrary to logical supposition. For example, a decent school lunch could consist of hot, vegetable soup and a sandwich. But since it would contain no sugar, or taste not at all like pizza, the kids might not eat it. This would bring up, in a society that cares about children, the need to instruct and enforce nutrition in our children. But no. Just read the newspapers’ coverage of the school lunches, and remember that Boulder is far ahead of other places. How much is thrown away? And the government regulatory agencies suffer the same syndrome. How many remember a few years ago when certain crib products were recalled, including, I think, babies' clothing. It was all because the products contained health dangers. And why? Because they had to be fire retardant. Why? Unstated, because their parents smoke in bed. Imagine the money spent to solve this problem, the research, the enforcement. All this, long before we get to the old punching bag, the Pentagon, or the bloated bureaucracy itself. Even conservatives estimate 10 to 20 billion annually can be cut from the military. But Congress will do nothing unless they are forced to, and Reagan and Graham-Rudman may force the open discussion of our financial priorities decades overdue. Pay attention. |
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