Tractors and (upcoming) tariffs?

[jyoutz]

Sometimes a fresh set of eyes from outside looking in spurs positive change...

During the lockdown hospital regulators were no where to be found yet hospitals stepped up to meet the extra ordinary demands.

There is a lot of material waste plus trash generated in a Hospital setting from outdates, single use items, etc...

During the lockdown the supply chain was disrupted and reprocessing single use, extending outdates and doing more with less became the norm.

One of our well seasoned combat docs said it best when he said supplies that outdate in the civilian world don't in the military world...

We had thousands of N95 masks that outdated... normally they would be discarded but in a worldwide mask shortage they were not.

The rationale behind the expiration date is the elastic straps on the mask may loose tension over time...

It's not rocket science to stretch the elastic and check for yourself...

Optimal storage is a far greater variable as opposed to a date stamped on a box...

A fresh set of eyes with a reasonable scope of focus such as an agency or department could provide valuable insights because they could drill down and understand the legally directed missions, funding, objectives and operations. This could facilitate meaningful recommendations for improving efficiency. But when the scope of an advisory committee is to look at the entire executive branch departments and agencies, it’s obviously going to only be possible to do a superficial overview that will result in uniformed recommendations that are impractical or inconsistent with congressional intent.

 

[ultrarunner]

A fresh set of eyes with a reasonable scope of focus such as an agency or department could provide valuable insights because they could drill down and understand the legally directed missions, funding, objectives and operations. This could facilitate meaningful recommendations for improving efficiency. But when the scope of an advisory committee is to look at the entire executive branch departments and agencies, it’s obviously going to only be possible to do a superficial overview that will result in uniformed recommendations that are impractical or inconsistent with congressional intent.

I've seen local officials run into problems even with the best of intentions...

Councilman prioritized roads and sidewalks and was incensed with the money bring spent on bike lanes in his city which he saw as a low priority if even that.

He learned quickly the bike lanes we're mostly funded as a regional and even some federal money for renewable and green transportation infrastructure projects.

So even while the roads could greatly benefit and a priority it was the reality the money was earmarked for something else.

Contracting with the government and public works projects are very different than private sector... and those from the private sector often don't have a clue...

A very successful electrical contractor told me that if he had to build government projects as bid the company would be bankrupt.

He understood he needed to be awarded the contract first and then the flood of change orders us where his profit came from.

Years ago in a class I was taking the professor mentioned the trump organization citing a basic premise of the development part is to avoid change orders at all cost... it cost more than a few contractors big time...

 

[edgarrian]

DOGE is a ridiculous concept; it's self-contradictory, replicating what already exists.

Everyone i talk to says the government wastes money. But not nearly as much is being wasted within our own borders as it is being wasted outside of our borders. There absolutely needs to be changes with how our government operates fiscally. We should all be on board with this. This is no different than a company hiring a consulting firm to find waste. Elon built a car factory that makes EVs. I think he is capable of seeing waste. Its why Tesla is the only EV manufacturer thats currently profitable in the US

 

[Hay Dude]

Doing away with all income taxes would result in much higher sales taxes and fees for just about everything. Nothing is free.

I’d rather the fees be collected as sales taxes than direct confiscation of my income by the gubmit.

At least with sales tax, I can see the sales tax added directly to my purchase.

With income tax, it’s a “best guess” as to what I own on my income by an accountant.

This could be off by an amount that opens me up to a young, stupid, armed IRS agent camping out at my house for days farting in my office and using my bathroom, looking for something to burn me on.

Yeah, gimmie the tariffs and the sales taxes over your unconstitutional income tax anyday.

 

[tradosaurus]

The IRS didn’t hire 85k enforcement officers. They hired people to process returns and provide customer service. And some auditors. More nonsense rumors. But you believe what you want, I’m not playing the game. People are acting like agencies don’t have congressional oversight. They do.

Oversight huh?

Pentagon Admits It Can't Account for $2 Trillion - AGAIN

Only 39% of the $3.5 trillion in Pentagon assets are accounted for, leaving a deficit of about $2.2 trillion in assets unaccounted for.

thepoliticalinsider.com

 

[Hay Dude]

Oversight huh?

Pentagon Admits It Can't Account for $2 Trillion - AGAIN

Only 39% of the $3.5 trillion in Pentagon assets are accounted for, leaving a deficit of about $2.2 trillion in assets unaccounted for.

thepoliticalinsider.com

Kind of helps you realize where all the money is going.

2 TRILLION !!!!!

 

[Hay Dude]

A representative republic is a form of democracy. Representative democracy.

Not really. A democracy is different from a representative republic.


The best part about tariffs or national sales taxes, is if they can be used to eliminate federal income taxes, we can dump all the income tax preparation hassles & expenses and get the IRS gubmit BS off our backs.

When you realize how many billions are spent defending ourselves against the IRS, it’s easy to see why a tariff or a national sales tax is so much better.

 

[LouNY]

lol a sensitive one I guess. I worked one summer for local government and knew it wasn’t for me.

I don't think so but their is no sense in talking to a beneficiary of an over grown and bloated bureaucracy about the faults of the bureaucracy as they will see no faults and have spent years protesting how they are not the issue..

 

[jyoutz]

Not really.

Umm yes. People directly elect their representatives.

 

[jyoutz]

I don't think so but their is no sense in talking to a beneficiary of an over grown and bloated bureaucracy about the faults of the bureaucracy as they will see no faults and have spent years protesting how they are not the issue..

There are plenty of faults and inefficiencies in the executive branch, but it’s incorrect to say that agencies don’t implement congressional direction and spend as Congress directs. Agencies don’t invent their own mission direction, objectives, and funding.

 

[jyoutz]

I’d rather the fees be collected as sales taxes than direct confiscation of my income by the gubmit.

At least with sales tax, I can see the sales tax added directly to my purchase.

With income tax, it’s a “best guess” as to what I own on my income by an accountant.

This could be off by an amount that opens me up to a young, stupid, armed IRS agent camping out at my house for days farting in my office and using my bathroom, looking for something to burn me on.

Yeah, gimmie the tariffs and the sales taxes over your unconstitutional income tax anyday.

Congress is given the constitutional authority to enact laws. Rather or not we like income taxes (and nobody does), there’s nothing unconstitutional about it. And really who has IRS people camping at their house? Do you?

 

[Hay Dude]

Congress is given the constitutional authority to enact laws. Rather or not we like income taxes (and nobody does), there’s nothing unconstitutional about it. And really who has IRS people camping at their house? Do you?

No, and thanks for yet another personal insult. But my dad did once.
All they ended up getting him on after an 8 hour audit was my dad writing off work shoes, which he thought was a perfectly acceptable uniform or safety equipment expense.
I remember them being their all day looking for something to get him on. Our accountant was there all day, too which wasn’t free of charge. I had to help him find records all day.
Damn A-hole wouldn’t leave till he found something. Our accountant just advised my dad to let them find something small to get them and their terrible smelling after shave out the door.

 

[jyoutz]

I've seen local officials run into problems even with the best of intentions...

Councilman prioritized roads and sidewalks and was incensed with the money bring spent on bike lanes in his city which he saw as a low priority if even that.

He learned quickly the bike lanes we're mostly funded as a regional and even some federal money for renewable and green transportation infrastructure projects.

So even while the roads could greatly benefit and a priority it was the reality the money was earmarked for something else.

Contracting with the government and public works projects are very different than private sector... and those from the private sector often don't have a clue...

A very successful electrical contractor told me that if he had to build government projects as bid the company would be bankrupt.

He understood he needed to be awarded the contract first and then the flood of change orders us where his profit came from.

Years ago in a class I was taking the professor mentioned the trump organization citing a basic premise of the development part is to avoid change orders at all cost... it cost more than a few contractors big time...

Construction contracting is a different animal than most contracting. It’s weird how they have negotiated rates reviewed by engineers and there are a lot of opportunities for waste, fraud and confusion in that whole process.

 

[jyoutz]

No, and thanks for yet another personal insult. But my dad did once.
All they ended up getting him on after an 8 hour audit was my dad writing off work shoes, which he thought was a perfectly acceptable uniform or safety equipment expense.
I remember them being their all day looking for something to get him on. Our accountant was there all day, too which wasn’t free of charge. I had to help him find records all day.
Damn A-hole wouldn’t leave till he found something. Our accountant just advised my dad to let them find something small to get them and their terrible smelling after shave out the door.

Personal insult??? You’re the one who brought up that topic.

 

[Hay Dude]

Personal insult??? You’re the one who brought up that topic.

Ummm, you asking me if the IRS is camping out at my house implies I am a tax cheat, which you have implied over and over again for several years now.

 

[kenhar]

Tariffs sound good but so do politicians when campaigning. Before ****** became into complete control of Germany, his speeches sounded like Thomas Jefferson or John Kennedy. The rich will get richer and the poor will lose more buying power. History somewhat repeats itself. Taxes, a flat rate of 5% on ALL income less expenses is said to more than double the taxes currently collected. My hope is that everyone happy with our elected officials today is just as happy two years from now.

 

[Hay Dude]

National sales tax to replace income tax.
Put all the tax oversight gun-toting IRS on the companies we buy from and get the gubmit out of our personal lives.

 

[jyoutz]

Ummm, you asking me if the IRS is camping out at my house implies I am a tax cheat, which you have implied over and over again for several years now.

Once again you brought up the odd scenario. Who would talk about that unless they experienced it?

 

[Hay Dude]

Once again you brought up the odd scenario.

If you think tax audits are an “odd scenario”, then you are really scary-naive.
Americans spent 1/2 trillion defending against IRS audits.

Do you really see the need for such waste of money, when there could be tariffs or a national income tax?

Then we don’t need 85,000 rookie IRS agents running around packing heat?

 

[jyoutz]

Tariffs sound good but so do politicians when campaigning. Before ****** became into complete control of Germany, his speeches sounded like Thomas Jefferson or John Kennedy. The rich will get richer and the poor will lose more buying power. History somewhat repeats itself. Taxes, a flat rate of 5% on ALL income less expenses is said to more than double the taxes currently collected. My hope is that everyone happy with our elected officials today is just as happy two years from now.

A flat tax would be a better idea, or maybe national sales taxes. But congress won’t consider these because there is a huge lobbyist community of interested parties that benefit from the current system: CPAs, tax preparers, non profits, churches, etc…