en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/273486 Comments by Langej http://biggovernment.com/sahiller/2010/03/09/us-census-form-letter-uses-fair-share-of-federal-money-as-bait/#IDComment61470290 Sorry - $400 Billion mean $1,333 per person per year, or $13,330 until the next census. (Had a senior moment there.) Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:27:24 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/sahiller/2010/03/09/us-census-form-letter-uses-fair-share-of-federal-money-as-bait/#IDComment61470290 http://biggovernment.com/sahiller/2010/03/09/us-census-form-letter-uses-fair-share-of-federal-money-as-bait/#IDComment61469002 Here&#039;s the deal. We pay taxes and the government gives some of that money back to the communities that paid it. (The rest they use to pay for essentials like national defence and interest on the national debt or piss away on the federal bureaucracy and congress.) They do not give it back in proportion to the tax payers in a community or in proportion to the amount of tax paid by a community - that would just build pockets of rich getting richer and poor getting poorer, They give it back in proportion to the number of people who live there and use the federal, state and local government services (roads, police, parks, libraries etc.) If we use the $400 billion cited above, Every person counted (legal or illegal) means about $1500 per person - or $15,000 between now and the next census - to the state and local government. Since we will pay this money in taxes anyway, it is in our own best interest to ensure that every possible person in our community is counted so that the maximum amount comes back to our community. PS: Hispanic background Americans are about 15% of the population. German background Americans are about 17%. Why is there no question about Germanic background? .... They have no lobby. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:18:12 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/sahiller/2010/03/09/us-census-form-letter-uses-fair-share-of-federal-money-as-bait/#IDComment61469002 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13675640 Because every non-iconoclast with any experience in the CIA and intelligence community has hands dirtied either by the 9-11 or WMD intelligence failures Tue, 6 Jan 2009 18:27:09 +0000 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13675640 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13671806 Ask not what your country can do for you.... Tue, 6 Jan 2009 16:53:27 +0000 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13671806 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13655319 Ihr Gedicht ist sehr interessant. Leider ist es in einer Sprache, die ich nicht verstehe. Es w&uuml;rde n&uuml;tzlich sein, wenn Sie eine &Uuml;bersetzung auf Amerikanish bekannt geben konnten. Tue, 6 Jan 2009 04:32:37 +0000 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13655319 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13654984 The Hansen carbon tax is not a bad idea, but it is a blunt instrument for getting at the real problem. The reason we generate so much greenhouse gas is that there are too many of us human beings and most of us want a lifestyle with more things in it. No amount of carbon capping will succeed in the facing of ever incresing populations with ever increasing expectations. Here is a question for the Obama team: &quot;What will you do to reduce the number of people on the planet?&quot; Tue, 6 Jan 2009 03:52:24 +0000 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13654984 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13654773 I have now read it. Seems like alarmist propaganda to me. It implies that it would have been better to allow Citi, AIG and the rest to go belly up, wipe out the savings of all their depositors and send many of their their business customers to the wall. losing another 1 million jobs. The article implies CITI and AIG were evil to spend $5m on lobying. The American Cancer Society get some government funding and spent $10m on lobbying in 2006 - I wonder if that makes them evil too?. Tue, 6 Jan 2009 03:41:23 +0000 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13654773 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13507434 It sems that the GLATite (Gay, Lesbian And Transgender) lobby feel that anyone who disagrees with them should not be able to speak on any public platform - or hold any position in government or private industry. Disagreement means neither wrong nor evil. Welcome Warren to the fold and work to change his mind - do not try to ban him, lest you want to make &quot;all the people&quot; a very small group indeed. Fri, 2 Jan 2009 23:42:25 +0000 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13507434 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13506621 Why are Democratic Senators threatening to align themselves against the rule of law and against democracy by refusing to seat the legally appointed junior senator from Illinois? Fri, 2 Jan 2009 23:36:55 +0000 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_challenges_new_opportunities/#IDComment13506621 http://change.gov/open_government/entry/21st_century_right_to_know/#IDComment12246477 Dustin, I appreciate that there is always a logical reason why someone wants something classified. <br /> I, as a member of the public, want to be able to find out who is accessing what. <br /> I will most unhappy with an FOI system that allows this information to be kept secret from me.<br /><br /><br /> James C Lange<br /> langej@msn.com<br /><br />US UK<br /> 650 SE 6th Avenue 23 Addisland Court<br /> Pompano Beach, FL 33060 London W14 8DA<br /> Phone/Fax 954 781 8228 207 603 3058<br /> Sun, 7 Dec 2008 18:48:27 +0000 http://change.gov/open_government/entry/21st_century_right_to_know/#IDComment12246477 http://change.gov/open_government/entry/21st_century_right_to_know/#IDComment12238661 One suggestion in the report disturbs me: &quot;Access to records or meetings should not require people to provide name, address, or purpose for seeking access except in specific and narrow circumstances;&quot; It seems odd that people requesting freedom of information should wish to keep their identities secret. Surely the purpose of FOI laws is a public, not a private, purpose. I think that the public have a right to know who is requesting what. Sun, 7 Dec 2008 11:50:58 +0000 http://change.gov/open_government/entry/21st_century_right_to_know/#IDComment12238661 http://change.gov/open_government/entry/latino_leadership_report_to_congress/#IDComment12187613 The report states, but does not document that &quot;Hispanics are the only underrepresented minority group in the federal government.&quot; It does not show, or even discuss, rates for other linguistic minority groups (Haitian, German, Laotian, Somali, etc.) Any policy that is designed to favor minorities must do so equitably - i.e. not favor one linguistic minority over another. What is good for Hispanics must also apply for Africaans - else we are simply institutionalizing discrimination Sat, 6 Dec 2008 15:41:16 +0000 http://change.gov/open_government/entry/latino_leadership_report_to_congress/#IDComment12187613 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/join_the_discussion_daschles_healthcare_response/#IDComment12038010 In Japan there is a nationwide system of fixed prices for each drug and procedure, negotiated yearly with the providers (80+% private) to ensure fair compensation for their efforts. Japan&#039;s health system costs 30% less than ours (in terms of % of GDP) and has equal or better health outcomes. If all health care yieded the same fee, whether provided to Medicaid, Medicare, insured patient or private patient, the problem of physicians accepting patients disappears. Wed, 3 Dec 2008 07:36:46 +0000 http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/join_the_discussion_daschles_healthcare_response/#IDComment12038010