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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by Poppa_Zit [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by up829 [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by Poppa_Zit [quote]QUOTE: Private enterprise is not much better. I've seen plenty of department managers in large corporations spend like crazy at year end because there's money left over in the budget and they don't want next years budget cut.[/quote] You are correct, but private enterprise isn't wasting MY money. THAT'S the difference here. It costs you every time you go to the store. Almost every large bureaucratic organization has internal politics and waste. A major difference is it's largely hidden from public scrutiny until something really big like Enron or Worldcom occurs. How much are banks loosing on credit card fraud, why are they unwilling to talk about it, and what does it cost the public in higher interest rates and fees? And corporations aren't involved in bribery and kickbacks, especially to foreign interests???? [quote]QUOTE: Plus I don't think we can dismiss the health care companies and defense contractors role in government waste.[/quote] Correct again, but why are you trying to put the blame on private business? It ultimately is the government's responsibility -- and fault. Don't blame government contractors for not being closely monitored by those doling out our money. That's ludicrous.. [quote]QUOTE: The 'problem' with Amtrak and the USPS might be not enough lobbying $$$ coming back to DC. If Amtrak were privatized, would it be any different than Haliburton? Who really ends up getting the money from those earmarks?[/quote] Maybe. Maybe not. This scenario is pure speculation based on speculation. Not salient to this discussion. One ethics reform measure that received brief coverage on CNBC before it quietly died was a ban on a form of insider trading by elected representatives and their staff(trading on knowledge of pending legislation). This can't happen with public agencies like Amtrak, but when a contractor is involved our elected reps can and do make a lot of money. According to the CNBC story, the Senate as a whole got a 12% better return than the S&P 500, beating most mutual fund managers. Quite a number of Congressional staffers, based on their IP addresses, are active online traders. Another huge loophole for abuse is attorney client privledge. Want to bribe a politician who has a law firm or get a zoning change passed? Hire the 'right' firm and have them do some 'legal work' and send the bill. The problem with most corruption investigations is we only see the small time players who are stupid enough to get caught, the others have their behinds well covered. [quote]But since the topic is Illinois, IMO it's entirely likely that increased Amtrak service to Springfield is a bone to downstate in order to increase metro area funding. Illinois is a lot like DC, with 3 principle players who don't trust each other but do shift alliances as it suits them. The 3rd player is the collar county moderate pro-business Republicans. Both the CTA and Metra are looking for more funding, so the collar couties would ally with Chicago for funding. Adding something for downstate gets the downstate conservative Republicans onboard and doesn't hurt the Democratic governor either. [/quote] Interesting opinion, but again more unbased speculation. You seem to believe there is some sort of complex conspiracy here, but there isn't even any hearsay to back that up. I live in the western suburbs of Chicago. I wonder where you live, based on your interesting theories. I ask this because when I lived Downstate for four years, nearly every native I met was convinced that all of their tax dollars were being hijacked and sent straight to Chicago. And even if I showed them documentation to the contrary, they went on to insist that the conspirators also were cooking the books, and therefore my state reports were falsified to cover up the hijacking. That is where I learned you cannot use reason and facts to change some people's minds, which is one of the ultimate goals of any debate/discussion.[/quote] Generally if you asked the same question of DuPage county residents you'd get the same answer, until they want a new Metra station or expanded PACE service. Likewise for Chicago when it comes to school funding. The relationships between the various factions over RTA funding and service are extremely complex, but I'm not suggesting a massive conspiracy, just politics as usual in an election year where everyone has to get something. I lived in Chicago and suburban Cook for about 10 years and saw it from that side, Downers Grove for 10 years and saw it there to, Unincorporated DuPage for about 15 now and it's almost as bad as Chicago. One party rule so strong that the Dems don't even bother to slate candidates. A major difference is there's not a very active press when it comes to investigating corruption. True, there was the DuPage County 7 case, but the main player in that is currently running for Lt Governor. IMO Ryan went way over the line with voters over selling CDLs and indrectly getting people killed. He hasn't been prosecuted for that, and I don't know what legal charge would even be appropriate, but I won't be a bit surprised if politics as usual prevails and he doesn't spend a day in jail. Maybe we should just skip these corruption trials and plea bargain these guys to 1 month in the presidential suite of the Drake hotel[:)] [/quote]
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