“The people…will never, never find a better job…”: U.S. government shenanigans, November 2017

Incomplete (i-e ‘Tip of the Iceberg’) list of U.S. Federal/State/Local Government self-destruct announcements for November 2017:

Alligations of sexcrimes by your ‘elected’ officials not only revealed a now no longer secret federal taxpayer funded hush fund (Congress paid $17 million in settlements. Here’s why we know so little about that money), but even State’s have their own state taxpayer funded sexcrimes hush funds (“State governments’ practice of spending taxpayer funds to settle sexual harassment lawsuits against legislators and staff has created an uproar…”)!

Alabama: A U.S. Army Reserve officer from The Heart of Dixie spending four years in prison, and forced to pay-up $4.4-million USD, for selling Chinese made caps and backpacks to U.S. Army Recruiting Command which requires such items to be made in the United States. According to the court documents, the officer got three federal government contracts worth $6.2-million for the recruiting items, which he falsely claimed were made in the United States.

Alaska:  According to the Rain Coast Data/Southeast Conference, state government jobs declined by 720 from 2014 to 2017.

California:  “We have rapists in this building. We have molesters among us. There are perpetrators, enforcers and enablers in this building, and … a lot of us know who they are. We find out through that whisper network. People do talk, they just don’t come forward.”-Christine Pelosi, California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus, talking about The Golden State’s government system

California’s electricity rates are still 50% higher that the national average, despite claims that mandating renewable energy sources would bring costs down.  This as the state Public Utilities Commission predicted that Southern California Gas Company will fail to meet customers’ needs this Winter.

Colorado:  State agencies warning people getting healthcare assistance for their children from a federally funded program to prepare to get nothing, because the federal government halted funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Connecticut: According to U.S. Government Spending, state government tax spending has outpaced the state’s gross domestic product (GDP), since the 1990s!

Florida:  Federal taxpayers giving The Sunshine State at least $615-million USD to help recover from Hurricane Irma. Local news media pointed out that there is currently no plan on how to distribute the money and predicted most of the money won’t get to those who need it.

Georgia:  The gov’na announced that taxpayers are being forced to pay an additional $35-million (on top of the $58-million) USD for a massive cyber security/cybercrimes unit campus in Augusta.

Idaho: Recently appointed (not elected) state-level senator from Idaho Falls, Tonny Potts, was revealed to have gone chapter 7 bankrupt busted back in March. Potts was appointed to his senator job by Right to Work (you over) gov’na Butch Otter in October.  Current state level representative Ryan Kerby got a slap-on-the-wrist for committing a criminal act while he was superintendent for School District 372 (aka New Plymouth School District).  According to the Professional Standards Commission’s review, Kerby “willfully or deliberately” submitted a falsified teacher qualification report.  Kerby can challenge the slap-on-the-wrist letter of reprimand.     More court proven cases of voter fraud as a man who lost his ‘right’ to vote (due to being on criminal probation) somehow voted in this month’s elections.  Ada County elections employees warning that the three years old Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program doesn’t work, for a simple reason: “We learned the hard way that there are many people who share names and birth dates across the country.”-Phil McGrane, Ada County chief deputy clerk

Idaho Statesman: Idaho is sharing your private voter data (even though it promised not to)

Illinois: Cook County’s new budget calls for the elimination of 321 jobs due to a failed tax on soda-pop, starting in December: “The people should really wonder what kind of government we are when we are laying off this many people at this time of year. The people losing their jobs will never, never find a better job than the one they’ve lost.”-Larry Suffredin, county commissioner

Louisiana: The state’s First Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that the gov’na cannot issue an executive order protecting homosexuals working for state government from discrimination, harassment and firing based on their sexual thing.

Michigan:  Local taxpayers in the Evart area are pissed about Switzerland based Nestlé’s request to increase its use of local water to 794-million liters (210-million U.S. gallons) yearly.  The water is then sold as bottled water under various Nestlé brands at huge profits.

Mississippi: The state administered SNAP (commonly called food stamps) is under federal investigation for submitting fake food stamp claims.

Missouri: The current federal tax bill might save state taxpayers  $1-billion USD by affecting something called ‘rolling conformity’ of standard deductions at the state level.  State tax collection officials refused to comment to local news media as to what the state government would do to make up the difference.

Montana: The Treasure State could lose $30-million USD in federal taxpayer funding if the current federal tax plan becomes law.  The loss would come from changes to ObamaCare-ACA and mining royalty payments.  To offset the possible loss Montana politicians are thinking about jacking-up state taxes.

New Jersey: A taxpayer funded Bergen County animal shelter had a Catholic bishop bless the animals, and is now facing a lawsuit over 1st Amendment violation.

New York:  Voters in The Empire State overwhelmingly voted against a Constitutional Convention.  Such a thing could end the United States as we know it.  British empire United Kingdom owned, U.S. taxpayer funded, Luxfer Magtech halting its manufacture of U.S. Department of Defense Meal Ready to Eat ‘flameless’ ration heater at its factory in Riverhead, 60 jobs gone by February 2018 due to production being moved to other factories.

North Carolina:  After several years of ‘mistakes’ the state is now accused of owing federal Medicaid $41-million USD due to overpayments.   It’s been revealed that the Office of State Human Resources does not keep records of government employees disciplined for sexual crimes.  The state Department of Health and Human Services took-over mental health provider Cardinal Innovations for giving former executives millions of dollars in taxpayer funded severance.

Ohio:  An audit revealed that over the past ten years $3.4-million USD in payments to the state government never made it into government accounts, because of criminal taxpayer funded government employees: Time and again rogue employees have successfully robbed governments because they were entrusted with total, unchecked control over fiscal operations. It’s time for more administrators to take up shields and involve themselves in the defense of their financial resources.”-David Yost, state auditor

Oklahoma: State taxpayers have been paying for politicians to buy promotional items like key chains, stress balls and T-shirts, up to $58-million USD worth every year!  It’s called ‘swag’ by insiders and gov’na Mary Fallin issued an executive order banning it.

Pennsylvania: Evil for-profit prison operator The Geo Group laid off 51 people at the Coleman Hall prison.

Puerto Rico:  The island territory, which provides relatively little in national tax revenues, wants $94-billion USD in national taxpayer funding to deal with the unprecedented damage caused by Hurricane Maria. Hell, even the States are struggling to pay for things with both state and federal taxpayer funding, so where is all this extra natural disaster recovery funding coming from?

Tennessee:  Developers working for Japan’s Toyota and Mazda want taxpayers to fork-over an additional $72-million USD to complete the Memphis Regional Megasite, which has already cost $144-million in state taxpayer funding!  Toyota and Mazda claim they’ll hire 4-thousand people once the Megasite is finished!  At what point does state taxpayer funding outweigh tax revenues created by jobs in an industry that no longer provides steady long-term employment?

Texas:  State Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) spending at least 60-thousand tax dollars to get rid of an estimated several hundred sewer rats at their Austin HQ.  The Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) questions the payment because state agencies are supposed to go through the TFC with any building maintenance problems, which the HHSC did not.  Veteran Texas cops began operation Government Crime Stoppers, aimed at politicians!  Whistleblowers can get up to $10-thousand USD for ratting-out politicians who commit crimes: “We’re looking for corrupt government officials, which has been a problem throughout the state. ….Twenty-five years ago I was hoping for something like this.”-James ‘Perry’ Huckaba

Utah: A state resident was sentenced to two years in federal prison after he was caught stealing $3.4-million USD in U.S. Army equipment at Dugway Proving Grounds.  The stolen medical equipment and vision devices ended up with U.S. wholesalers and retailers.   Youth suicide in the Mormon dominated state approaching record levels, four times faster than the national average according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The CDC study also indicated that the three official anti-suicide programs in Utah are not working.

Washington: King County Superior Court ruled that Seattle’s left-wing-liberal income tax solely on wealthy people is illegal: “The city knowingly violated several laws in imposing this tax.”-Brian T. Hodges, attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation

It should be noted that the tax system in Washington is considered the most repressive in the United States for poor people, meaning poor people pay a higher percentage of tax than rich people.

Washington DC: The federal government admitted that a U.S. citizen is being detained in Iraq by the U.S. Department of Defense, without legal recourse!

West Virginia: China Energy is making a 20 years $84-billion USD investment into petroleum operations within the state, and state and federal (Team Trump) government leaders refuse to give any details about it, or how it came to be.  The state Division of Corrections shutdown a 34 years old prisoner work-release center supposedly due to fire code violations.  Kanawha County Magistrate Jack Pauley pled guilty to charges of making court decisions that resulted in two men dying!  Judge Pauley told the court he made the decisions in haste in an effort to expedite court cases.  His punishment could be a slap-on-the-wrist 45 day suspension!

Wisconsin:  After spending years driving away good paying jobs, Right to Work (you over) Scott Walker now wants taxpayers to spend $7-million USD to bring good paying jobs back

Governing.com: Sexual Harassment Investigations Are Kept Secret in Wisconsin, and That’s How Lawmakers Want It.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Government Shenanigans, October 2017: “WHO’S PROFITING…?”

ObamaCare ACA Death Spiral, November 2017: “SEVERAL SYSTEM AND CONTROL FAILURES”

Dumbing Down the U.S. of A., November 2017: “CLOSING WAS THE ONLY OPTION.”