OH **** IT'S POLITICS TIME!!!!!!!
For what it's worth, as someone who works for a government contractor, the government wastes so much ****ing money I think we'd be better off drastically cutting spending across the board and reducing taxes for everyone. There are so many superfluous organizations and people with their hands in the money pot it would shock most people who haven't seen government contracting first hand. I don't mind because it pays my bills... but the first project I worked on out of school (Secure Border Initiative in Arizona) I watched Boeing rob the government blind on a daily basis. I'm talking charging $500 for a $2 weld and other things that would befuddle the common taxpayer.
Boeing robs the government because we need it. The "military-industrial complex" is not fashionable to say, because it sounds like a conspiracy theory, but there's a lot of truth to it.
Two reasons.
One: the DoD and their top contractors (Boeing, Lockheed, etc...) have gained enormous political clout by spreading themselves out across the country. They use jobs as the ultimate leverage to get votes their way in congress (especially the house.) It was sickening to watch the city of Chicago bend over backwards to get Boeing to move their headquarters here.
Two: Military technology has gotten so complicated that it's impossible to acquire when needed. In WW2 when we were attacked by the Japanese, no problem. We drafted a couple hundred thousand soldiers, turned every manufacturing plant into a weapons maker and saved the world. These days, a car factory (if it still existed in the US), could never produce an F-35 or a nuclear aircraft carrier or any of those new goodies. We need to keep the companies who know how to make that stuff alive any way we can, because we might need them someday. This means turning a blind eye while they rob us, which is what you saw.
Also, $250k for a family should not be considered "wealthy." At least not where I live. You can barely afford a house making that much if you've got children.
First off, 250K is a misleading line. The tax cuts were only scheduled to expire for people making over 250k. Since it's a progressive tax system, people making 250k would still have gotten their entire cut extended... you would have had to have been making 500K to see your taxes rise by 4% on half of your income.
Second, 250K might not feel rich in your neighborhood, but it's a huge salary if you go by the national average. It's very tough to sympathize with people living in Winnetka or Greenwich or Manhattan when they pull the 250k is practically poor where I live card. If it's not considered very much... congratulations... you live in a very very nice neighborhood. Consider moving to Evanston or Old Saybrook or Brooklyn if you can't pay your bills.
Lastly, extending unemployment benefits is the worst idea I've ever heard and a total waste of money. Jobs are out there, people just have over-inflated perceptions of self-worth and aren't willing to accept pay cuts in most cases. Cut unemployment benefits and you'll start seeing some real job growth.
This just speaks to my point of GOP vs conservatives. If you believe this, fine, the point makes sense. Is it a good one? Not when the Army stopped accepting infantry enlistments for a period of a few months during the middle of two wars, but the idea makes sense. How long did the GOP stand up for this idea? Right until the point they got their tax breaks.
