Amazon: Government Has an Ongoing Problem Issuing Monopoly, Crony Contracts

April 19, 2018

Seton Motley | Less Government | LessGovernment.org

In Perpetuity

We’ve oft noted the government’s inability to do well…just about anything.

It’s why our Founding Fathers drafted our Constitution to severely proscribe what the federal government is supposed to do. And why they highly recommended all other levels of government follow their limited prescription.

We less government types see our $4-trillion-per-year federal government – and are rendered nauseous. The Feds are doing countless things the Constitution says they shouldn’t be doing.

So we less government types look for any way of which we can think to minimize the government’s role in any of them. As we look to for any way possible to compromise with the unyielding Government-Should-Do-Everything types.

One of the “half-loaf” ways we have attempted to minimize ever-so-slightly government doing quite so much – is to have the government contract out things to the private sector.

Our thinking being: The private sector does everything better than government (and it absolutely does) – so having the private sector handle something for the government will improve the performance and price of that something. More

The ‘Russia Collusion!’ Nonsense Employed to Smear a Republican by…Qatar

April 6, 2018

Corpse Abuse

There are a great many ridiculous ancillary results of the Left-Media’s ridiculous “Russia Collusion!” assault on now-President Donald Trump.

Perhaps chief amongst them: If your political opponent is a Republican, the Left-Media will help you tie them up for months on end with charges of foreign “collusion” – with zero evidence whatsoever necessary to back the claim.

And why would any evidence be necessary? None has thus far been needed to knot up Trump for nearly two years and counting.

Almost as offensive to the Left-Media as Trump himself – is anyone who supports Trump. Behold Elliott Broidy – who had the audacity to like then-candidate Trump. And the ongoing audacity to like him still. More

Cronyism: Having Your Ex-Employees Award Government Contracts…

April 5, 2018

He Gets By with a Little Help
from Government Friends

…makes it much more likely you’ll get government contracts.

We have said it many times before – and we will keep saying it until The Purge finally occurs:

President Donald Trump’s far-and-away biggest mistake as chief executive – was not making MANY more people depart the government upon his taking over its top spot.

Trump is currently in the midst of an additional round of small-bore house cleaning. But the Deep State is very, very un-shallow and inordinately un-narrow – and oh-so-much-more culling needs to be done.

To give but two sub-departmental examples:

Behold the United States Digital Service (USDS). And the Defense Department’s portion thereof: The Defense Digital Service (DDS).

The Trump Administration has left these government nooks and crannies nigh completely un-cleansed. So they remain entirely populated by Barack Obama Administration holdovers. More

Defense Dept Gives Trump Enemy Bezos Ten-Year, Monopoly Cloud Contract

March 22, 2018

Bezos Having a Laugh –
at Our Exorbitant Expense

Most of us know the expression “Stop biting the hand that feeds you.”

Republicans have a long history of flipping that script – and feeding the hands that bite them.

We’ve had various times during the past several decades where Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and the Presidency – and yet Republicans continue to have government fund the Leftism that seeks to destroy them.

The list is long: Non-essential government personnel, government unions, Planned Parenthood, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, environmentalist whack job groups, ridiculous colleges and universities and their ridiculous studies, and on, and on, and….

Thankfully, a few of these nonsensical government-money-recipients only receive relatively small grants. Too many receive huge wages and extravagant benefits.

But the hugest government coin – is in contracting. But most Leftists are completely incapable of doing anything useful – and therefore can not qualify for these most massive dollar deals. More

Does Amazon’s Bezos – the Richest Man Ever – Need So Much Government Cronyism?

January 12, 2018

All Hail the King of Cronyism

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – is doing ok.

Jeff Bezos Is the Richest Person in History: “The Amazon CEO’s net worth reached $105.1 billion Monday, according to Bloomberg’s billionaire tracker. That eclipses the record previously held by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.”

#1 All-Time – is pretty good.

To be clear: This is not a criticism of Bezos achieving the previously unachieved. I like money. I agree with actor Christopher Plummer’s screen-written portrayal of J. Paul Getty in the movie “All the Money in the World.” The real Getty was then the richest person in the world. And in the flick, the fictitious Getty is asked how much money it would take to make him feel secure. His answer: “More.”

Exactly.

But there is a crucial difference between Getty then and Bezos now – the size of government. At every level – federal, state and local.

Just about every single government in America is – adjusted for inflation, etc. – demonstrably much larger now. More

Piecemeal Obamacare Repeal: Up Next, Please – the Medical Device Tax

December 15, 2017

End It – Permanently

Obamacare is an unmitigated disaster.

Insurance premiums have skyrocketed – year, after year, after year. Insurance deductibles have skyrocketed – year, after year, after year. More and more insurance providers have left Obamacare – year, after year, after year.

And year, after year, after year – Republicans promised us a full repeal of the very awful Obamacare. They won House and Senate majorities – in no small part because of said promise.

Then We the People delivered DC the final piece in the puzzle – a Republican President. Donald Trump was sworn in in January.

And then the Republican Senate – couldn’t pass even their minimalist semi-pseudo repeal. More

Because Congress Has Accomplished So Much: A Mixed Martial Arts Hearing

November 9, 2017

Yet Another Fabulously-Attended-by-Congressmen Congressional Hearing

Presidential candidate Donald Trump ran for two years on several key legislative components. The big three were Obamacare repeal, tax-cuts-and-code-reform and a monstrous, massive infrastructure bill.

Full disclosure: I think the latter idea – is absolutely terrible. The states with the roads in them – should themselves take care of the roads in them. I-95 runs north-south Maine-Florida. Why should citizens in the likes of Kansas and Alaska pay for any of it? This states-level approach – leaves The Feds spending zero dollars on infrastructure.

Congress’ majority Republicans had themselves for years and years championed Obamacare repeal. And for decades and decades championed tax-cuts-and-code-reform. And they have always been huge fans of spending hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure.

So all of these Trump agenda items – were right up their alley. More

Uber-Left Amazon Set to Get Uber-Cronyism – From Republicans

November 9, 2017

Our New Republican-Created, Government-Purchase Monopoly Robber Baron…?

We spent nigh the duration of the very awful Barack Obama Administration chronicling in-depth the in-depth cronyism they serially, unilaterally shoveled at the Silicon Valley.

That rampant corruption – was a primary reason the Donald Trump Administration was chosen to succeed the Barack Obama Administration. The Trump Administration – has set about undoing much of the Obama Administration’s Silicon Valley cronyism.

But as we’ve so often noted: Trump’s biggest mistake upon arriving in DC – was not making many, MANY more people leave DC. There are many Swamp Creature-holdover holes still to fill in the Executive Branch – which the Valley continues to exploit.

The Valley has also upped their efforts with the Legislative Branch. Most unfortunately, that Republican-led body is weak in (oh-so-many) spots – and amenable to the Valley’s crony overtures.

Monster online retailer (and increasingly just about everything else) Amazon (market cap: $540 billion) – is on the verge of striking huge crony gold. More

It’s Time to End the Swamp’s Bad Government Contracting

November 8, 2017

Also Should Be Targeted
for Swamp Drainage

We’ll say it again – because it remains empirically true, and vitally important going forward.

The biggest mistake Donald Trump has made and continues to make – is allowing so many Barack Obama and other assorted Swamp Creature holdovers to remain in Washington, D.C.

It’s tough to Drain the Swamp – with so many remainder Creatures plugging the holes you’re drilling to do so.

We wrote last week praising Trump and Congress for undoing an awful new massive private-sector-assault regulatory scheme. But it was a new massive private-sector-assault regulatory scheme – that was imposed by the Trump Administration. By an agency overseen by an Obama holdover – that bizarrely still has the job under Trump.

As we all know – and as this example yet again demonstrates – personnel is policy. The Trump Administration is the most deregulatory administration in decades and decades. More

Credit Due: To Congress and the President for De-Litigating Financial Contracts

November 3, 2017

Indeed We Should

One of the very many problems in the festering Swamp that is Washington, D.C. – is the inert posture most of its denizens so often strike. Too many pose and preen – but never actually do anything.

Which we rightly, roundly, routinely criticize.

So when DC does something well and good – we are obliged to call attention to and praise it, and them.

One of those magical moments just transpired. The good DC did – was to undo another of the very many problems in the festering Swamp that is DC.

Some of the so rampant awfulness an unelected, unaccountable bureaucracy unilaterally, so incessantly foists upon us.

As those of us who didn’t succumb to government schools know, the way DC is supposed to work is – the Legislative Branch legislates, then the Executive Branch executes. If the first thing doesn’t happen – the second thing isn’t supposed to either.

WAY too often, the Executive Branch does all sorts of things the Legislative Branch never granted it legislative permission to do. It’s been going on for decades – and the Barack Obama Administration raised it to a heinous art form. More

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