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24 Million US Government Employees? Steve Ballmer's new website: USAFacts

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  • 24 Million US Government Employees? Steve Ballmer's new website: USAFacts

    Here's the article describing it:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/17/b...pgtype=article

    On Tuesday, Mr. Ballmer plans to make public a database and a report that he and a small army of economists, professors and other professionals have been assembling as part of a stealth start-up over the last three years called USAFacts. The database is perhaps the first nonpartisan effort to create a fully integrated look at revenue and spending across federal, state and local governments.

    Want to know how many police officers are employed in various parts of the country and compare that against crime rates? Want to know how much revenue is brought in from parking tickets and the cost to collect? Want to know what percentage of Americans suffer from diagnosed depression and how much the government spends on it? That’s in there. You can slice the numbers in all sorts of ways.
    Here's a link to the website:

    http://usafacts.org/

    Try to be in bed by 11.

    fwiw,
    guacamole

    ps:

    “How many people work for government in the United States?” he asked, with the excitement of a child showing off a new toy, before displaying the answer. “Almost 24 million. Would you have guessed that?”

    “Then people say, ‘Those damn bureaucrats!’” Mr. Ballmer exclaimed, channeling the criticism that government is bloated and filled with waste, fraud and abuse. “Well, let’s look at that. People who work in schools, higher ed, public institutions of education — they are government employees.” And they represent almost half of the 24 million, his data shows.

    “And you say, O.K., what are the other big blocks?” Mr. Ballmer continued. “Well, active-duty military, war fighters. Government hospitals. Really? I didn’t know that.”

    Suddenly, he explained, the faceless bureaucrats who are often pilloried as symbols of government waste start to look like the people in our neighborhood whom we’re very glad to have.
    "Down in the lowlands, where the water is deep,
    Hear my cry, hear my shout,
    Save me, save me"

  • #2
    who thinks of a soldier or teacher as a government bureaucrat?
    "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths." Isaiah 3:12

    There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.

    Comment


    • #3
      more info can't be bad. As long as it is accurate.

      Comment


      • #4
        "nonpartisan"

        Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

        Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
        sigpic
        I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
          "nonpartisan"

          There is an old joke that goes "How do Democrats define ‘non-partisanship’? It’s when a Republican agrees with them."

          This is as "nonpartisan" as MTV's "Rock the Vote" is. Back in October of 2000 Eric Schmittt, a reporter for the New York Times wrote:
          "Rock the Vote, a non-partisan, non-profit voter registration organization with close ties to Democrats, has produced several new public service announcements that … show young people confronting a political system dominated by special interests or biased law enforcement officials."

          A "non-partisan" organization "with close ties to Democrats"?

          In 2004, MTV’s Rock the Vote campaign, which still described itself as a non-partisan organization trying to increase voter turnout among the youth, sent out obviously fake draft cards to nearly 640,000 people via email with the headline: "You’ve Been Drafted." The email warns recipients that, "real cards may be in the mail soon if the situation doesn’t improve." This charge was based upon a demonstrably to the point of laughable bogus email campaign that claimed George W. Bush had a secret plan to reinstate the draft, a charge the Democrats had repeatedly tried to exploit. A Rock the Vote spokesperson insisted that the e-mail blitz was nonpartisan[1].

          Also in 2004, the activist group Voices for Working America was also described as a "nonpartisan" organization, yet it is funded by Democrats to get out the vote in Democrat areas with slogans like “We Will Not Let What Happened in 2000 Happen Again,” when canvassing for voters in Florida.















          1. They still describe themselves as
          "a nonpartisan, 501(c)3 tax exempt organization dedicated to building political power for young people. Rock the Vote does not support or endorse candidates, nor do we advocate for one political party over another."

          although Wikipedia is far more accurate (and honest) when they describe them as "a non-profit organization, progressive-aligned group in the United States."

          I'm always still in trouble again

          "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
          "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
          "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

          Comment


          • #6
            so how is this partisan?

            Comment


            • #7
              None of them work at the DMV.
              I checked.
              Actually YOU put Trump in the White House. He wouldn't have gotten 1% of the vote if it wasn't for the widespread spiritual and cultural devastation caused by progressive policies. There's no "this country" left with your immigration policies, your "allies" are worthless and even more suicidal than you are and democracy is a sick joke that I hope nobody ever thinks about repeating when the current order collapses. - Darth_Executor striking a conciliatory note in Civics 101

              Comment


              • #8
                "The database is perhaps the first nonpartisan effort..."

                Yeah, right. Pretty sure Ballmer is a quintessential limousine liberal.
                Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                Than a fool in the eyes of God


                From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                Comment


                • #9
                  I feel like it's hard for statistics to be "partisan" without offering interpretation. The site only raw numbers, as in "total US government spending:" $5,385,587,977,000.

                  fwiw,
                  guacamole
                  "Down in the lowlands, where the water is deep,
                  Hear my cry, hear my shout,
                  Save me, save me"

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by guacamole View Post
                    I feel like it's hard for statistics to be "partisan" without offering interpretation. The site only raw numbers, as in "total US government spending:" $5,385,587,977,000.

                    fwiw,
                    guacamole
                    I had a professor who used to say, "Figures don't lie but liars figure."
                    Actually YOU put Trump in the White House. He wouldn't have gotten 1% of the vote if it wasn't for the widespread spiritual and cultural devastation caused by progressive policies. There's no "this country" left with your immigration policies, your "allies" are worthless and even more suicidal than you are and democracy is a sick joke that I hope nobody ever thinks about repeating when the current order collapses. - Darth_Executor striking a conciliatory note in Civics 101

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                      so how is this partisan?
                      For starters, equating peoples' claim of bloat with teachers/policemen, et al. seems highly disingenuous.
                      Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

                      Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
                      sigpic
                      I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
                        For starters, equating peoples' claim of bloat with teachers/policemen, et al. seems highly disingenuous.
                        But if the data is accurate, either side can make any comparisons they want. How you present the data is what would be partisan. But the database would not be (unless it is falsified) or they make it so that certain data is harder to find than other data.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                          But if the data is accurate, either side can make any comparisons they want. How you present the data is what would be partisan. But the database would not be (unless it is falsified) or they make it so that certain data is harder to find than other data.
                          Bingo. I've learned you have to be wary when a liberal claims he's giving you the facts.
                          Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                          But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                          Than a fool in the eyes of God


                          From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
                            For starters, equating peoples' claim of bloat with teachers/policemen, et al. seems highly disingenuous.
                            It's in the article, not in the database section.

                            fwiw,
                            guacamole
                            "Down in the lowlands, where the water is deep,
                            Hear my cry, hear my shout,
                            Save me, save me"

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                              But if the data is accurate, either side can make any comparisons they want. How you present the data is what would be partisan. But the database would not be (unless it is falsified) or they make it so that certain data is harder to find than other data.
                              True. So I suppose the point here is to figure out a way to cross check enough of the stuff to see if it is correct. I have no idea how to determine if someone is making certain data harder to find than other data.

                              fwiw,
                              guacamole
                              "Down in the lowlands, where the water is deep,
                              Hear my cry, hear my shout,
                              Save me, save me"

                              Comment

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