The gov't starts donating to itself?

#1
utvolpj

utvolpj

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#1
GM donates $41,000 to lawmakers' pet projects

When General Motors went through bankruptcy last year, it suspended its political donations. Now that it's owned by the U.S. government, it's donating to lawmakers' pet projects again.
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at first glance it appeared questionable but after reading it again I'm confused how GM sees nothing wrong with it.

"We've always given to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation as far back as anyone can remember," said Greg Martin, GM spokesman. "Our commitment remains unabated, and we continue to be a proud supporter of their work to advance economic development in communities throughout the U.S."
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guess he doesn't realize his company is a bit different than a few years ago and this isn't just business as usual

General Motors has not reactivated its political action committee, which can give to election campaigns, according to the latest reports with the Federal Election Commission.
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one kind of scary point IMO was that this is being considered

The U.S. government now has a 60 percent stake in the reformed company.
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just for a reminder
 
#3
#3
and what exactly are you laughing at? I guess it is funny that the gov't takes money from taxpayers and then uses it for personal gain.
 
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#5
#5
This isn't new. The Dems have a long history of giving money to groups who then turn around and not only support their pet projects but also give them donations- Planned Parenthood, various civil rights groups, teacher's unions, community groups like ACORN,...

This is very much business as usual for the crooks.
 
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sjt18 said:
This isn't new. The Dems have a long history of giving money to groups who then turn around and not only support their pet projects but also give them donations- Planned Parenthood, various civil rights groups, teacher's unions, community groups like ACORN,...

This is very much business as usual for the crooks.
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I wouldn't say this type of situation is exclusive to democrats. Politics has very much become of lobbyists. $$$$$$$$$$$$!
 
#9
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KiffinKiller said:
I wouldn't say this type of situation is exclusive to democrats. Politics has very much become of lobbyists. $$$$$$$$$$$$!
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I don't know about exclusive... but certainly overwhelming. Both sides get donations from businesses who get special treatment and such... but those businesses are usually involved in delivering a product or service of real value to the economy.

The Sierra Club makes a good example of Dem/liberal corruption. By law passed by liberals, the environmental advocacy groups can sue the gov't at the gov't's expense over environmental enforcement.... predictably they make large donations almost exclusively to Dems... who right the laws by which they sue the gov't.

Who pays? The taxpayer, business, workers, home owners, etc.

These lawsuits are sometimes "nitpicking" just for the sake of getting to trial and making some cash.
 
#10
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Trial lawyers are another group that donates heavily to Dems... who create laws that ensure lawsuits... by which trial lawyers make loads of money for contributing NOTHING to the economy or society.
 
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sjt18 said:
Trial lawyers are another group that donates heavily to Dems... who create laws that ensure lawsuits... by which trial lawyers make loads of money for contributing NOTHING to the economy or society.
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And big business donate heavily to conservative judges, justices, etc.

It goes both ways.
 
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KiffinKiller said:
And big business donate heavily to conservative judges, justices, etc.

It goes both ways.
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What's wrong with making it big in business? Is earning a profit frowned upon these days? Should that render a company as unworthy to participate in the political process?
 
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J-P said:
What's wrong with making it big in business? Is earning a profit frowned upon these days? Should that render a company as unworthy to participate in the political process?
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I wrote that in direct contrast to the trial lawyers comment. You're a little naive if you think Big Business are completely innocent of the exact thing trial lawyers do.
 
#15
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KiffinKiller said:
I wrote that in direct contrast to the trial lawyers comment. You're a little naive if you think Big Business are completely innocent of the exact thing trial lawyers do.
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You mean big business makes political donations in an attempt to get favorable treatment from the government? Sure they do, but I don't see this as the root of the problem, just a symptom of the fact that we have allowed the Constitution to be changed in a way that bastardized (can I post that here?) our senatorial selection process and facilitated this sort of politics, and then the voting public re-elects and re-elects the politicians that are playing the crooked game because those politicians are the ones with all of the campaign donations that can buy the sharpest re-election campaign.

It's become trendy in our country to speak badly of rich people and big business as if capitalism and making a profit from one's invested effort and capital are evil things, so I guess that's what I keyed on in your comment. Now that I see what you were saying, I don't disagree with your comment, I just say that is a symptom of the deeper illness.

We need to repeal the 17th Ammendment so that Senators are again selected by the locally elected state officials and answerable to them, rather than to a general public that is easily impressed by expensive campaign tactics. While we're at it, we need to re-clarify that 16th Ammendment to remove the Fed's power to tax income and to withhold from said income before it is even paid to the earner, that would get their hand out of the citizen's wallet and stop them from spending like a sailor on leave in Thailand with Bill Gate's wallet.
 
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KiffinKiller said:
I wrote that in direct contrast to the trial lawyers comment. You're a little naive if you think Big Business are completely innocent of the exact thing trial lawyers do.
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So you're saying that businesses donate money to politicians so that they will make laws and regulations more complex so they must spend more money on compliance and lawyers?

That is true only to the extent that really big corporations donate to BOTH parties and then ask for regs that bar competition from coming in.

Business as in the "rich" guy you know... doctor, small business owner, plant manager, etc contribute to politicians who promise to get gov't out of their way and out of their pockets.... and they contribute money THEY'VE EARNED.
 
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#19
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J-P said:
We need to repeal the 17th Ammendment so that Senators are again selected by the locally elected state officials and answerable to them, rather than to a general public that is easily impressed by expensive campaign tactics. While we're at it, we need to re-clarify that 16th Ammendment to remove the Fed's power to tax income and to withhold from said income before it is even paid to the earner, that would get their hand out of the citizen's wallet and stop them from spending like a sailor on leave in Thailand with Bill Gate's wallet.
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There is no way at all I want the state officials in Washington to elect my Senators, the people here do a bad enough job as it is.

Oh my god, how awesome that would be.
 
#20
#20
it's also been announced that GM is going to spend $500 million on a plant in Mexico.
 
#21
#21
MG1968 said:
it's also been announced that GM is going to spend $500 million on a plant in Mexico.
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Good to see our government motors investing in its country. Again, I wonder if the same rhetoric Dems used a few months back can be used against our president.
 
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