The Stimulus Package Unleashed

[Conan71]

Lets all take a letter.  I'm taking Rs.

Radio and TV Marti (Español)
Radio Free Asia (RFA)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Railroad Retirement Board
Reclamation, Bureau of
Refugee Resettlement
Regulatory Information Service Center
Rehabilitation Services Administration (Education Department)
Research, Education and Economics (Agriculture Department)
Research and Innovative Technology Administration (Transportation Department)
Rhode Island State, County and City Websites
Risk Management Agency (Agriculture Department)
Rural Business and Cooperative Programs
Rural Development
Rural Housing Service
Rural Utilities Service

There's probably a fair amount of redundancy in the four "rurals" listed at the bottom of that list.

[Gaspar]

This is fun and easy.  Of course I don't have any lobbyists in my lobby. 

[we vs us]

Most transit companies at the turn of the 19/20th century were privately owned.  (At least from my research on real trolleys.)  They had to pay fees to cities for permission to operate. They had to maintain the streets when they operated there.  They became unprofitable and mostly disappeared.  Buses took over for a while.  Buses didn't have to maintain the streets and (I believe) didn't pay any special fees to use the streets.  Eventually even bus companies became unprofitable and were taken over by government units.

They were indeed privately owned, but it was prior to mass production of the car so many more people used buses/trollies.  It's no wonder that private companies got out of the market as personal transportation options got progressively cheaper and more common.  That said, transit is still an agreed-upon good thing, which is why government has subsidized it more and more, rather than allowing it to die out altogether.

[Conan71]

"F" is for:

Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Farm Credit Administration
Farm Service Agency
Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Federal Consulting Group
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Federal Election Commission
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Executive Boards
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
Federal Financing Bank
Federal Geographic Data Committee I would think this should fall under "interior"
Federal Highway Administration
Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight
Federal Housing Finance Board
Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds
Federal Interagency Committee on Education
Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy
Federal Judicial Center
Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Federal Library and Information Center Committee
Federal Maritime Commission
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission I believe I saw some sort of other mine safety commission on the "M" page
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Federal Railroad Administration
Federal Reserve System
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Federal Student Aid
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Federal Transit Administration Not quite sure what this does different under the DOT umbrella
Federated States of Micronesia Home Page
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
Financial Management Service (Treasury Department)
Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, National Commission
Fish and Wildlife Service
Florida Home Page
Florida State, County and City Websites
Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Food and Nutrition Service
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Foreign Agricultural Service
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
Forest Service
Fossil Energy
Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board

[Conan71]

They were indeed privately owned, but it was prior to mass production of the car so many more people used buses/trollies.  It's no wonder that private companies got out of the market as personal transportation options got progressively cheaper and more common.  That said, transit is still an agreed-upon good thing, which is why government has subsidized it more and more, rather than allowing it to die out altogether.

That's one thing I'll agree with you on.  I don't think anyone can appreciate how prohibitively expensive air travel would be if it were not for government subsidies in the form of airports, ATC, coordination of airline regs from country to country.

[Gaspar]

Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services

How will I know what to eat?
What if my fries are too salty?

[Gaspar]

We are kidding ourselves.  Each of these agencies represents the purchase of some voting block. 

[TURobY]

We are kidding ourselves.  Each of these agencies represents the purchase of some voting block. 

Certainly they do. And following that logic through, then police, fire, and protection services are the purchase of some voting block too.

[Conan71]

Certainly they do. And following that logic through, then police, fire, and protection services are the purchase of some voting block too.

They always are.  When are they not an issue, at least in local elections?

[we vs us]

Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs (State Department)

"The Bureau's work lies at the critical nexus of economic prosperity and national security. As the single point where international economic policy tools and threads converge, we help promote a coherent economic policy across the U.S. Government."


Economic Adjustment Office

"OEA is the Department of Defense's primary source for assisting communities that are adversely impacted by Defense program changes, including base closures or realignments, base expansions, and contract or program cancellations."


Economic Analysis, Bureau of

"BEA produces economic accounts statistics that enable government and business decision-makers, researchers, and the American public to follow and understand the performance of the Nation's economy."

Economic Development Administration

"This year, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) marks 45 years of public service, with a mission of leading the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. EDA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce that partners with distressed communities throughout the United States to foster job creation, collaboration and innovation.‪"

Economic Research Service

A Dept of the USDA, researching food, farming, natural resources, and rural america.

Economics & Statistics Administration

Umbrella organization in the Dept of Commerce that coordinates the aforementioned Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, and STAT-USA, an online statistics project

Election Assistance Commission

"The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). EAC is an independent, bipartisan commission charged with developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. EAC also accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, as well as audits the use of HAVA funds."


I just took a handful of your recommendations, went to their websites, and looked at their FAQ's.  Here's what they do:

-- standardizing economic and security policy
-- helping communities that lose military bases
-- compiling economic statistics for good policy making
-- job creation in "distressed communities"
-- coordinating statistics-gathering organizations
-- economic research focusing on food, farms, natural resources for the USDA
-- election group tasked with helping communities organize and monitor elections (enacted by Bush admin after the 2000 elections)

Some redundancy?  Yes.  Some probably good redundancy and some bad.  Some just exist as management orgs.  Given the size of the gov, that's not an inherently bad thing.  Some exist for a very specific purpose (helping communities where military bases close up). 

Why do you think these things exist?  Why do we need an org that helps communities where military bases close up?  Why would it be worthwhile for the USDA to have its own office dedicated to economic research (on food, farms, and natural resources) when the BEA collects economic data of its own?  Why do we need an org dedicated to making sure localities can put on credible elections?

These are the national equivalent of parks and transit.  They may not benefit the nation as a whole but they definitely help constituencies which our country have decided are worth governmental attention.  This is the problem with the "starve the beast" approach to killing off government programs:  the government programs that die first aren't always the most corrupt (*koff* the Pentagon *koff*) but are the ones whose constituencies are the weakest politically. 

[Red Arrow]

They were indeed privately owned, but it was prior to mass production of the car so many more people used buses/trollies.  It's no wonder that private companies got out of the market as personal transportation options got progressively cheaper and more common.  That said, transit is still an agreed-upon good thing, which is why government has subsidized it more and more, rather than allowing it to die out altogether.

Can you even imagine a city like New York City without public transit?  I can't.

[we vs us]

We are kidding ourselves.  Each of these agencies represents the purchase of some voting block. 

What's a Democracy, then? 

[Conan71]

These are the national equivalent of parks and transit.  They may not benefit the nation as a whole but they definitely help constituencies which our country have decided are worth governmental attention.  This is the problem with the "starve the beast" approach to killing off government programs:  the government programs that die first aren't always the most corrupt (*koff* the Pentagon *koff*) but are the ones whose constituencies are the weakest politically. 

Wevus, do you have even the slightest idea how many bureaucrats are sucking a check off each of these agencies and committees?  How is any redundancy a good thing unless you are referring to aircraft safety systems?  Each agency requires it's own support staff of administrative assistants, accountants, IT professionals, managers to manage managers.  Out of the agencies you investigated, how many of those are truly essential to our every day lives? 

[we vs us]

Can you even imagine a city like New York City without public transit?  I can't.

In cases like that, I think of transit as a major economic necessity.  Work literally would come to a standstill if people couldn't take a train/bus to work.  

It's different here in T-town, of course.  It's definitely a social good, but it's certainly not a necessity for economic activity.  

[we vs us]

Wevus, do you have even the slightest idea how many bureaucrats are sucking a check off each of these agencies and committees? 

No.  Do you?

How is any redundancy a good thing unless you are referring to aircraft safety systems?  Each agency requires it's own support staff of administrative assistants, accountants, IT professionals, managers to manage managers.  Out of the agencies you investigated, how many of those are truly essential to our every day lives? 

This is what I meant by constituencies. 

No, my life is very much not affected by these agencies.  On the other hand, I can guarantee you that some people ARE affected.  Just because I don't need the particular service doesn't mean that someone doesn't. 

I know, I know, how liberal of me. But it's less about my expansive love for my fellow man as recognizing that we have a huge nation and that people need our government for different things.