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No. If I were on contract with the government I'd be billed around $110/hr last I looked at some of our schedules. I would see probably ~$30-40 of that money. If I were working for a company that didn't have contracts to the government I would make much less. I don't know many programmers that are worth $110/hr (and I'm simply talking about code-monkeys... not engineers or senior programmers)... It's not about getting more revenue, it's about being smart with what you have and making it go as far as possible.

Companies that contract with the government are bleeding it dry because the government let's them. There are several favorites that the government pours funds into, including but not limited to Harris, Booz Allen, Lockheed, Seimens, SAIC. These companies have bench stock of individuals (some qualified, some not) that they can bid on proposals. Because these high-asset companies can throw money and people at a problem the government will award them contracts. This is a problem with things like the GSA schedule because the government will upfront five years of funding to whomever looks the best on paper... and that doesn't even get into bonuses for performance and there isn't much repayment if the company fails to deliver. Unfortunately, the rates the government will pay is partly established by the high-end companies demanding that money. This means a lot of smaller contractors (who could do the job just as well in terms of that AF software I spoke about earlier) don't really get a dog in the fight.

I think if the government were to say, "Sure, we'll award this contract to you but each of your programmers isn't going to make $100/hr... instead, we'll give pay $50/head" then I wonder if that'll help bring down the cost of contracts. The way I see it, the government contracts make it really hard for there to be a level playing field... the big companies survive while the smaller contractors (who would be willing to work for less) don't get work because they lack the reputation. It's almost like government is sorta driving up the cost of operation because they're willing to pay a stupid amount of money for things like Battle and I have mentioned? Why? Because we can keep taxing everyone, of course... we're all super happy paying %60 of Eturnal's government contracted price to the mega-corps.

Disclaimer: My problem isn't with companies making money but more with how the government will waste it and not stretch our tax dollars as far as they can go.

PS: Like Fanta and Azelma, I hope Tuhl and Mayo will realize the err of their ways when they actually get jobs and have to pay a sizable chunk in taxes. Then maybe they'll get pissed when it costs the tax payer over $300,000 just to have a photoshoot of Air Force 1 over NYC.

The notion that I am supportive of or affiliated in any way with the tea party is laughable.

Mayo. Be reasonable for just a minute, but don't hurt yourself trying..stop if you need a break, and try again later.

Let's say you pay an electrician to wire your home and install an extra telephone jack in your bedroom. Let's say the price of this comes to total $20,000. This is a service the electrician has provided, and he is paid by you. Wouldn't you question why the fuck a service that should cost a few hundred dollars ended up costing $20,000?

Apply that concept to the government, spanning many, many uses of taxpayer money over multiple projects for multiple branches, divisions and subdivisions.

Yes, taxes that are collected by the government are not other people's money per se, but they have the potential to become other people's money in the form of lower taxes or equal taxes due to increased government efficiency and competent management of funds.

Why are you so adamantly opposed to reducing wasteful spending by the government? I am not proposing to eliminate spending on programs and projects that provide benefits that outweigh the costs. I am proposing simple consideration of what could be done better.

Brawlsack

Taking an extended hiatus from gaming

I like how you're talking about the government pouring tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars annually into ridiculous defense projects, state you have no problem with them, and then talk about a one-time photo shoot that costs peanuts compared to these contracts like its an international travesty.

RETIRED.
[armory loc="US,Bleeding Hollow"]Mayonaise[/armory]
[armory loc="US,Bleeding Hollow"]Jerkonaise[/armory]

You must have skipped over the part where I wrote essentially the same thing. Thanks for the thinly veiled insult though.

Brawlsack

Taking an extended hiatus from gaming

nvm, didn't realize you were referring to Eturnal. Quoting is helpful.

Brawlsack

Taking an extended hiatus from gaming

international travesty =/= solid example any idiot can grasp.

well, almost any.

Let's say you were a single guy with no kids working a job that earned 60K/yr before taxes. Not sure if my quick number crunching is right, but I think you'd pay about $9000/yr in total income tax (I think that's with all the money withheld by your employeer) and that's without counting any deductions, retirement plans, state taxes, etc.

Even if my numbers are horribly wrong, you'd have to work and pay taxes for almost 34 years just to pay for that photoshoot. Did we need that photoshoot? Couldn't it have been taken on a runway? Photoshopped? Nah, instead, let's deploy a couple escort F-16s to escort the President's plane around a city because $300,000 is piss in the ocean. (Protip: In the end, it all adds up)

Also, I'm pretty sure I said I had a problem with the government paying programmers $110/hr and that they should make much less... LOL BUT WHO AM I KIDDING DO I REALLY EXPECT MAYO TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING!?

I'm adamantly opposed to people saying that taxes are "other people's money", with the heavy implication that taxing people is a form of theft, which is blatantly ridiculous.

PS: I'd like to think the dealings of the US government are a little more complicated than an electrician wiring my room so I can watch porn.

PPS: I don't understand why you're trying to get me with "gotcha" questions that are so entirely subjective that I either agree with you or look like a retard.

RETIRED.
[armory loc="US,Bleeding Hollow"]Mayonaise[/armory]
[armory loc="US,Bleeding Hollow"]Jerkonaise[/armory]

cut the military budget, don't bother cutting any other wasteful spending.

gotcha.

My old man is the facilities director for some buildings on a base. Comcast and Verizon (I forget which) charge the government $90 per 'drop' inside the building. That means if they need a new porn outlet for a computer in the corner these companies would charge $90 just to cut a hole and fish a low-voltage cable through 10' of wall... could be more now, I don't know for sure. Cost of materials is a small fraction of that but the companies inflate the price of wiring and labor. Actually, I think they charge the government much more than a residential home owner just because they know the government can 'afford it'...

(Oh, and the government told my dad he can't take care of things like that himself even though he knows how... hell, most people on this forum know how to run low-voltage wires! Instead, my old man has to go through the base maintenance and then they have to put in orders to send people out to the job site to assess the situation, then they need to send some guys out to do the work. Bureaucratic bloat at it's best.)

How many generations of single dudes making $60k/year would it take to pay for one 5-year Lockheed contract?


We already have the largest army in the world, bigger than the next 24 (iirc) on the biggest army list combined. The $300,000 photo op is wasteful, sure, but I'm more worried about the $200,000,000 Air Force black list budget (or whatever, you people know I skim, mainly because every post is the same thing).

EDIT: Your father's sob story about how the government didn't let him go Home Improvement on government owned and operated property is probably for legal reasons and the fact that they'd rather pay a professional than, for all they know, has no idea what the hell he's doing.

RETIRED.
[armory loc="US,Bleeding Hollow"]Mayonaise[/armory]
[armory loc="US,Bleeding Hollow"]Jerkonaise[/armory]

"gotcha" questions, you mean like implying that I believe taxation in any form is theft? I believe taxation, whether the rate is 10%, 15%, 40% or 89.7% does not constitute theft, because it is legally mandated. I also have a higher standard of morality than the law. Doesn't mean I'm gonna go around firebombing the IRS, but I have a basic understanding of our country's legal process and ratification of bills and laws that I realize taxation =/= theft, no matter what the tax rate is.

I'm simply advocating for accountability. Nothing more.

Brawlsack

Taking an extended hiatus from gaming

Part of the problem with disclosing the items within a Top Secret budget is it could potentially let our enemies know how much we have in our arsenal. The budgets are broken down to manpower, aircraft, weapons, bases and then they go even further, talking about how many drones of Type X we have, how many missiles of Type Y we have, how much each base has allotted for grounds maintenance and even how many soldiers are at what basses and at what times.

Personally, I think it's bad for defense to lay your cards on the table so everyone (including your enemies) can see what you have.

Here's a gotcha question for you:

"How is me saying that you're implying something a question?"

RETIRED.
[armory loc="US,Bleeding Hollow"]Mayonaise[/armory]
[armory loc="US,Bleeding Hollow"]Jerkonaise[/armory]

imokaywiththis.jpeg



Not this.





/thread

Brawlsack

Taking an extended hiatus from gaming