Posted on 08/16/2006 3:22:36 AM PDT by IrishMike
"Greed is not the product of one particular economic system, but something that all economic, political and social systems have to cope with one way or the other." So asserts economist Thomas Sowell, the Rose and Milton Friedman senior fellow on public policy at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
According to Marxist ideology, "greed" in a capitalist system would inescapably deliver a lower level of overall well-being -- economically, morally, and politically -- than a collectivized "people's" system with more elevated and nobler goals than crass acquisitiveness, unbridled individualism and gross profit-making.
Instead, as was demonstrated in the Soviet Union and elsewhere, we saw that "greed" for political power can be more harmful to a population's overall well-being than the capitalist "greed" an entrepreneur might have for a larger market share or the "greed" a worker might have within capitalism for a larger income.
In fact, either system, capitalism or socialism, can be corrupted and degraded by way of an overall weakening of the ethics of its general population. And within capitalism, neither the private sector nor the government sector is structurally inoculated against immorality and dishonesty if its members are immoral and dishonest.
As a case in point, recent disclosures about the level of corruption and fraud related to the relief efforts involving Hurricane Katrina show a pattern of dishonesty and "greed" among all sectors, among businesses, government and the general population.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
These people saw an opportunity to steal and scam as soon as Bush allowed himself to be politically outmanuevered by the left and announced 200 billion to rebuild Nawlins. The chickens have come home to roost. What makes this newsworthy?
I guess the scale.................
* An estimated 1,100 prison inmates across the Gulf Coast collected in excess of $10 million in rental assistance and disaster-relief money. Crime pays! FEMA, in addition, distributed millions of tax dollars to people who used names and Social Security numbers belonging to state and federal prisoners.
* A hotel owner in Sugar Land, Texas, has been charged with submitting $232,000 in invoices for evacuees who allegedly never stayed at his hotel, billing FEMA for purportedly empty rooms or rooms occupied by paying guests or hotel employees.
* An Illinois woman who was living in Illinois at the time of the storm sought relief benefits by claiming she had watched her two daughters drown in the flood waters of New Orleans. The children never existed.
* A Department of Labor employee in Louisiana, appropriately named Wayne Lawless, has been charged with handing out nearly 100 falsified disaster unemployment benefit cards in exchange for kickbacks of up to $300 per card.
* In New Orleans, two FEMA officials have pleaded guilty to pocketing $20,000 in bribes in exchange for inflating the count on the number of meals a contractor was serving to relief workers.
* With the $2,000 debit cards distributed by FEMA for disaster relief, an estimated 5,000 people have double dipped, receiving both the $2,000 plastic card and a second $2,000 by check or electronically.
* Two men, one a representative of the Army Corps of Engineers, have pleaded guilty to taking kickbacks in exchange for approving payments for removal of nonexistent loads of hurricane debris. In contrast, with loads of debris that were not nonexistent, a councilman in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, has been charged with attempting to extort $100,000 from a debris-removal contractor.
* One creative scam artist is charged with collecting 26 federal disaster relief checks totaling $139,000 by using 13 Social Security numbers and fake claims of damage at bogus addresses. Others collected and pocketed hurricane relief donations by posing as Red Cross workers.
I don't really think Bush allowed himself to be politically outmaneuvered- that would imply that he wasn't all for the growth of government in this thing.
He's simply not a conservative on domestic spending issues like this.
I guess Newt forgot the part where he appeared on television criticizing the President for the slow response and advocating a domestic Marshall Plan.
How did people who collected the $2,000 PROVE they were affected by Katrina?
This has bothered me as I have reason to believe someone I know went down there from Ohio and collected. (no proof...just a sneakin' suspicion)
Anyone from anywhere probably could have collected.
There were no residence records, taxrolls etc...
Blind stupidity.
The same happened in New York City after 9-11.
The piggy bank vault doors were thrown open.
I wish there were a list of names available of those who "collected".
It was a crisis...a big city DESTROYED, what was Bush supposed to do, sit back and say, "now, just wait, everything wil be fine".....of course not.
The HUGE percentage of people on welfare in LA was a recipe for corruption and greed and theft, but what was he supposed to do??
Aside to conspiracy theorists: How about this? The majority of government workers at all but the most stratospheric levels are Democrats (this truth is supported only by my willing to bet serious money on it) whose natural bureaucratic sloth is aggravated by the hope that if they do their job poorly a Republican administration and Congress will look bad and be voted out.
My mother jokingly suggested I should travel from Atlanta to N.Orleans and get a debit card... just think of all the things I could have spent the money on!... like manicures, gucci bags, jewelry, expensive clothes, the list is endless!
I mean, it isn't important that I move on, get a job, a place to live, food on the table and slowly rise above this disaster while taking care of myself and my family is it?
And, don't I "deserve" the extra help like everyone else does? Isn't it the governement's responsibility to support my lifestyle? Why should I have to work to earn a buck? I mean, others will scam the system, why shouldn't I?
My mother was bitter about the waste. And sadly, in the end, she didn't donate a nickel to the Red Cross, because she believed that the funds would be misappropriated like they were after September 11th. In the end, her decision was appropriate. Because we the taxpayers are funding this misdirected charity-go-round.
The benefits that these people are receiving is astonishing. And remember, when your home floods, and the insurance company doesn't help you, the government isn't going to help you either. Your case is an isolated incident. N.Orleans deserves all of the sympathy. It isn't like they didn't dig themselves into a hole in the beginning, now is it?
My home just DID flood a few weeks ago. Fortunately, we had coverage...unbeknownst to us. Some little clause that if the drains back up we are covered. All for $5 a year.
I know of not one other neighbor that had this coverage and now FEMA is here handing out money. I have mixed feelings about this. For the record, we are not on a flood plain...just a freak overabundance of rain.
Because I live in a liberal area, I'm betting that many are taking advantage of the situation whether they need it or not. On the plus side...FEMA seems to be checking out each and every situation.
I stand corrected, then. But, FEMA arriving in every instance does concern me. In the future will they write checks if a home burns down due to faulty wiring? I'm just being skeptical because I don't trust the government when they just want to throw money at a situation. I feel this way because it is MY money they are spending.
Good luck to you as you put the pieces back together.
I agree with you. On another note...Pres. Bush was here right after the flood for a fundraiser for Blackwell. He called the area a disaster, but that wasn't enough for people. They are LIVID with him that he didn't come "talk to them", yet were P.O.'d because his visit tied up traffic!
It's not enough that they are being handed money, now they want the President to PERSONALLY see their soaking wet carpet!
I like your tag line, Mike. And (in response to your eye-opening reply to my post), we need bigger government because . . . . . . . . ??????
I wonder how they think he was supposed to come talk to them without tying up traffic. What a bunch of goobs.
On the other hand, prayers for you, since that's just a helluva hassle.
They must not understand how many people were effected by Katrina.
The people that wanted him to visit them... I'm astonished! The man is busy. I'd rather he be doing his job than giving me a hug while my life crumbles around me. That's what family and friends are for. I don't want him to be the "comforter in chief"... like Clinton's false sympathy. Bush doesn't pander or patronize.
Plainly put, I wouldn't feel worthy of Bush's attention when he has so many other matters to consider. Are these people without brains? Do they even remember that we are fighting two wars? How self-centered and myopic can they be?
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