In full disclosure, I had a work/study position with the EPA back in my college years. I worked in the water survey group, and we had a fleet of small boats. On day I noticed they were all being hauled away, but the next day a new fleet replaced them. When I asked about it, it was explained that this was done each year even though some of the boats had never been used. It was to protect the budget, "because if we use less money, we will get less money".
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While I do agree with you in principle may I also point out .... because of the "waste of money", as some would term it, look at the literally thousands of jobs it creates in the private sector just to fill the contract for the those boats. That contract probably caused the boat builder to buy new equipment, hire designers, builders, admin staff, order raw materials and maybe even contract with other companies to build new manufacturing space who in turn had to order raw materials and products from other suppliers who also probably bought new equipment, hired designers, builders, admin staff and depending, may have contracted with other companies to build new manufacturing space and on and on. Not to mention the secondary businesses such as the myriad restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, gas stations, home and apartment builders, even down to doctor and lawyers offices that were able to be created and survive because of the employment generated by the primary and secondary contractors.
I write of this because of having worked for Bethleham Steel Shipyard in Baltimore. There were literally thousands of very good paying jobs created because of the industrial and supporting capacities that have all collapsed or moved/relocated overseas. I say that because cargo ships of all types are still being built, somewhere, with billions of tons of goods still being transported to these shores for sale but we, the nation, don't build or benefit from the building of those ships. In this one specific industry, unfortunately, our Merchant Marine industry is virtually disappearing. According to: Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Hearing on “The Status of the Merchant Marine” dated September 10, 2014, over the last 35 years, the number of U.S. flagged vessels sailing in the international trade has dropped from 850 to less than 90. Less than two percent of the world’s tonnage now moves on U.S. flagged vessels. In the same period, we have lost over 300 shipyards and thousands of jobs for American mariners. For the sake of our national and economic security, we need to reverse this trend." I believe the same applies to the textile industries, the steel industries, appliance, and now electronics manufacturing / assembly industries and so forth .... good, steady, training, skill building, career and family supporting, community building jobs and salaries gone!!
Yes, American labor is expensive so is living in America! When one earns a good salary, one spends it in their local and regional communities and the companies they support spend for their own growth in the local and regional communities. BUT .... cut that persons/employees salary and he or she subsequently cuts his or her spending and the supporting companies then reduce or cut their ordering, manufacturing and spending, resulting in reductions to their employees who then tighten or cut their spending and so on and so on!! It's a crazy, globally, interdependent circle of life / survival but it seems like if one cuts out any one portion (i.e. "wasteful" government spending, primary contractors, workers, gas stations, even to the bottom rung .... lawyers, etceteras) and the whole thing (the economics of society) deteriorates or at worse catastrophically collapses!!
Topic: Got this from the AMA today (Read 11433 times)