Saturday, July 23, 2011

Government, a.k.a. "Gubmit" as in 'get your mits off me!'


Gubmint and How Gubmint  Works 

Once upon a time the government had a vast  scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, "Someone may steal  from it at night."  
So they created a night watchman  position and hired a person for the job. 
 
Then  Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job  without instruction?" So they created a planning department and  hired two 
people, one person to write the instructions, and one  person to do time studies. 
 
Then Congress  said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks  correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department  and hired two people. One to do the studies and one to write  the reports. 
 
Then Congress said, "How are these  people going to get paid?" So They created the following  positions, a time keeper, and a payroll officer, then hired two  people. 
 
Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable  for all of these people?" 
So they created an administrative  section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a  Legal Secretary. 
 
Then Congress said, "We  have had this command in operation for one Year and we are  $18,000 over budget, we must cutback overall  cost." 
 
So they laid off the night  watchman. 
 
NOW slowly, let it sink  in. 
 
Quietly, we go like sheep to  slaughter. 
 
Does anybody remember the reason given for  the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY..... during the  Carter  Administration? 
 
Anybody? 
 
Anything? 
 
No? 
 
Didn't  think so! 
 
Bottom line. We've spent several hundred  billion dollars in support of an agency...the reason for which  not one person who reads this can  remember! 
 
Ready?? 
 
It was very simple...and at  the time, everybody thought it very appropriate. 
 
The  Department of Energy was instituted on  
 8-04-1977, TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN  OIL. 

Hey,  pretty efficient, huh??? 
 
AND NOW IT'S 2009 -- 32  YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY" DEPARTMENT IS AT  $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND  APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; AND LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE  DONE! THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY, "WHAT WAS I  THINKING?" 
 
32 years ago 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports.  Today 70% of our oil consumption is foreign imports. 
 
Ah, yes -- good ole  bureaucracy. 
 
AND, NOW, WE ARE GOING TO TURN THE BANKING SYSTEM,  HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY OVER TO THE SAME  GOVERNMENT?
HELLOOO!     Anybody Home?

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Share your unique economics experiences. What did you have to give up to gain that which at the moment seemed so necessary to you? Imperfect information spanked you and now diminishing marginal utility smacks you upside the head, eh?