Posts in "Government spending"

By Stacy Litz at 4:54PM

Jul 8, 2011

Government Funds More than Just NASA

Today marked a moment in history -- the 135th and final space mission of NASA.

I find it ironic that the United States government spends approximately $663 billion a year on overseas military endeavors, yet NASA is the cut they choose to make in the budget. While the government should not be involved with other countries' affairs or pointless wars, it should not be funding a space program either, to be consistent. The aggressive acts of violence and murder in other countries vs. taxing and spending on NASA shows differences in degree of government involvement, but both are inherently immoral and unconstitutional. Atlantis Launch

Many seem to assume that this will be the final trip to space, but in fact, it may open doors to private entities taking the initiative for space exploration in the future. Also, there may not be as much typical waste in funding as seen in most government programs if a private company or individuals fund space travel. For example, we might we see a Google space program in the near future.

Hopefully the end of NASA will raise more awareness to the US government's budget problems, including the wars overseas, being the world police and the domestic war on drugs, rather than being a period of mourning for, most likely, wastefully funding space exploration.

Here's to the future of liberty and privately-funded science!

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By Brian Beyer at 2:40PM

Apr 5, 2010

Commercial Real Estate -- the Next Industry to Be Nationalized?

As I discussed in my earlier post, the sugar high is finally wearing off from the commercial real estate bubble. Not to fear, the government is here! Crushing last year's purchases in just one quarter, the federal government is using some clever tricks to artificially "stimulate" the slumping market:

At the same time, federal leasing activity is expanding, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, the real estate firm representing the government. The government signed deals for 750,000 square feet of space in the District in the first quarter of 2010, compared with 670,000 square feet in the city for all of 2009.

The money will go to good use, however:

Expansion of the government's role in the nation's financial markets, increased defense spending and the new health-care law are driving its demand for more space. The government is expected to increase its Washington area payroll by as many as 100,000, according to Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group that helps the federal government find workers.
"The government spent 2009 planning for the growth. We're going to see the growth materialize in 2010," said Scott Homa, research manager for Jones Lang LaSalle.

What's an extra 100,000 on the payroll going to do? Why worry? The taxpayers can handle the tab.

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By Adam Fowler at 9:32PM

Apr 2, 2010

Recount?

Coincidentally, on the official "Census Day," my household received a second 2010 Census form to fill out. Not a different one, the same form. I had already filled the original form out a few weeks ago and returned it; you know, because I didn't want that fine.

The Census Director explained why on his blog:

... for areas of the country that have traditionally returned the mailed form at lower rates, we will mail a replacement questionnaire ... in some areas, we will mail a replacement form to every address, whether they returned a form or not.

That's typical government efficiency for you. Makes me wonder what would happen if I filled it out again. Would my community get even more federal government money that is supposedly our "fair share" (read: money from other taxpayers for activities and programs not authorized by the U.S. Constitution)?

Perhaps I should have some fun this time by returning it with a note attached quoting Art. 1, Sec. 2 of the Constitution, which authorizes the "actual enumeration" of people, not their race or ethnicity and definitely not other information that is included in the longer form known as the "American Community Survey." Then again, why waste money to mail it back and have it go through the system again? Enough money has already been wasted on these questions and the dubious government activities they enable.

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By Elliot Engstrom at 10:46PM

Jun 29, 2009

This is nothing new...

Faith in government spending has existed for much longer than any of us has been alive. However, so has the resistance to it. In 1946, Henry Hazlitt was already warning the world of the dangers of government spending, based on the arguments of still others who came before. In his book Economics in One Lesson, he writes:

There is no more persistent and influential faith in the world today than the faith in government spending. Everywhere government spending is presented as a panacea for all our economic ills. Is private industry partially stagnant? We can fix it all by government spending. Is there unemployment? That is obviously due to “insufficient private purchasing power.” The remedy is just as obvious. All that is necessary is for the government to spend enough to make up the “deficiency”...

Read the entire chapter on government spending via taxes here. The entire book, here available for FREE, later deals with such issues as massive government borrowing and the printing of money to fund such public works.