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Why We "Can't Afford"

BlueRaiderFan

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Oct 4, 2003
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Healthcare for all...


The US Air Force still can't explain why it spent $1,280 on a coffee cup

Paul Szoldra,
Task & Purpose

Nov. 3, 2018, 9:19 AM
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Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
  • Sen. Chuck Grassley finally received a response from the Air Force about why it was spending exorbitant amounts on coffee cups.
  • The Air Force has been using "hot cups," metal cups similar in size to a French press that cost $1,280 per cup.
  • Over the past three years, the Air Force has spent more than $300,000 on these hot cups.



Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) finally received a response to questions he asked the Air Force on why it was spending more than a thousand bucks on an in-flight coffee cup, and he's not all that satisfied with its explanation.

"While I appreciate that the Air Force is working to find innovations that would help save taxpayer dollars, it remains unclear why it cannot find a cheaper alternative to a $1,280 cup," Grassley said in a statement on Friday.

"Government officials have the responsibility to use taxpayer dollars efficiently. Too often, that's not the case. I intend to pursue this issue further."

Earlier this month, Grassley sent a letter to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson in which he inquired about what the Air Force calls "hot cups," metal cups similar in size to a French press that he said cost the service $56,000 over the past three years.

As it turns out, it's even worse: The Air Force spent more than $300,000 on the cups.

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An airman holds a "hot cup" inside a KC-10 Extender at Travis Air Force Base, California, in June.
Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman/US Air Force Photo
Ironically, the exorbitant price tag caught Grassley's eye soon after the Air Force published a public-affairs story lauding a 3D-printing innovation one of its squadrons made to develop a cheaper solution to the problem of the cup's handles breaking off.

In the past, if an airman dropped

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-...mOdH1LPmh3HWRku_AHOlZJ4acaijJaTfOYTrPtH5FOCwk
 
BRF,

I don't get your point...when I read about the Air Force paying over $1000 per cup not sure how this makes me what to support a government run healthcare system.

"Government officials have the responsibility to use taxpayer dollars efficiently. Too often, that's not the case".
 
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I hope there is continued scrutiny to budget line items like this. How this even passes in the first place is beyond me.
 
Lynn, that was one incident and we've had decades of Medicare and Medicaid without further incidents. There is no pattern of poor behavior on the part of the government. Nice try though.
 
Mike,

I can think of several reasons, not the least of which is you can be certain that the staff et al at the Pentagon will be keeping a close eye on it. The second they spot something like this, they'll be all over it and demanding less money for healthcare and more for war. There is also the issue of patient advocacy because there won't be any extra in the budget for healthcare that needs to be spent under the threat of losing it in next year's budget. I'm certain you know how budgets work. In other words, there won't be any excess left to dispose of in an expanded healthcare budget because of it's expense. This is just one more sign that the military is over funded, but the bubba brigade must SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!, so we continue down the same dumb road. I would rather risk events like this for healthcare than for more war, regardless. Thank God for Russian and Chinese intervention in Venezuela, or we would be at war there by the end of the year.
 
The ole misdirection, nice one BRF - Thank God for Russian and Chinese intervention in Venezuela, or we would be at war there by the end of the year. I don't even know what you mean by this statement.

Venezuela, a once prosperous nation is now crumbling due in large part to policies and ideals you support.

Meanwhile, back to healthcare - when has any govt really controlled the cost. You realize the way it happens is rationing and limiting care. So when the money runs low healthcare is delayed, research funds are cut.

A lot of our cost issues are impacted by demographics and a litigious society. After all, Medical/Medicaid are programs run by the govt, thus payment is controlled by the govt, why is the cost rising faster than inflation?

If you think you are going to get the quality you want and the choices you want under a single payer system, you're not living in reality. There is no free lunch.
 
A couple of things. I have never supported a democratic socialist system where the vast majority of the money to support it comes from oil revenues. That's the functional equivalent of me saying that you support Somali war lords because they had almost no gun laws and no market regulations. It's just idiotic of you to say. As far as the single payer system, it depends on how you model it, but I'll say this; what most of you guys don't understand is that if you get sick and can't work, your only option that doesn't include losing everything you own, is cobra and it's around $1500 per month for a family. You can probably afford that, but most of us can't. The rest of us have to lose ALL of our 401k...ALL of the equity in our home etc. Even if the care was rationed out, it's a way better option than that crap. I know you are trying desperately to not have a system like single payer, Mike. You're making that big money and just hate to let go of some of it. Don't worry about the rest of society, Mike, just take care of yourself...
 
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The Pentagon Blew $22 Million of Taxpayer Money on Lobster Tail Last Year

In the same period, government agencies also spent $17,118 on “various sweet sauces” including honey and white chocolate sauce.
By Jelisa Castrodale
|
Mar 12 2019, 12:02pm
1552403577092-lobster-tail.jpeg

Photo: Getty Images

  • would eliminate a program that cancels the federal student loans for not-for-profit and government workers.


    The budget would also increase the Pentagon’s spending power to an eye-watering $750 billion—an increase of 4.7 percent over last year’s defense budget. But according to an oversight report recently published bygovernment watchdog organization OpenTheBooks.com, neither the
https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/art...3X_mIU2P7Yv-EzPyh3AZAi7NVaS8I9Dv_dalg_OnAP7jw
 
BRF,

Half the time I am not following you...you literally praised China and Russia and how they are intervening and helping prevent war in Venezuela. Your words - Thank God for Russian and Chinese intervention in Venezuela, or we would be at war there by the end of the year.

Then you finish trying to be critical of me and what you think you know about me and how I don't care...whenever one takes this path of not debating and attacking the guy your debating with you've lost the argument.
 
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Are you having comprehension issues, Mike? Exactly which part of my payp do you take issue with and why. Be more specific.
 
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