For all the people I know in social media world that dictate what appears to be almost all aspects of their lives on "feels" without even bothering to look into what it is they are angry about, they were outraged, i mean outraged! That the current administration wanted to cut the $17 million government grant that is given to the Special Olympics.
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Of course this was mostly because it gave them an opportunity to point the finger at Trump for something and of course the media just loves to do that. This is nothing new.
Also, because of what the Special Olympics is, it is very easy to create the false equivalency that someone who is opposed to government funding of this of being heartless and uncaring about the less fortunate on this planet... they, and many other people like the aforementioned "feels" people did, predictably, precisely that.
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The media wolves came out of the woodwork to call Betsy DeVos a "monster" and "morally bankrupt" for her proposition to defund the Special Olympics but as expected, the truly morally bankrupt people are in the media, who depending on how they want to spin this, left out certain key elements of the equation that would allow people to make a more informed opinion on the matter such as.
- Betsy actually donates a large portion of her salary (I think it is 25%, whatever, a lot) to the Special Olympics every year
- The Special Olympics isn't entirely altruistic when you look at the fact that the top executives receive big bonuses and make over $250,000 / year (highest is nearly a half-million a year) receive a large per diem, and have all travel expenses reimbursed (PRO TIP: "travel expenses" can mean almost anything, and the people involved normally travel in a far more luxurious fashion than they would do if spending their own money.)
- The Special Olympics have lobbyists working in Washington and to me, this is the only reason I need to want them defunded. If you have enough resources to bribe congresspeople, you don't need government grants.
- They have assets of $295 million on the books
- This is the biggest one they leave out: The Special Olympics have an operating surplus of around $30 million a year (i don't know if you are a mathematician like me, but 30 is bigger than 17), mostly from private tax-deductible donations (including one from DeVos). They are able to cover their expenses without the US Federal grant.
- The Special Olympics organization is classified as a charitable organization and therefore pays no tax on the money they make
Here is the way I look at this, and every other organization in the USA, if not the world. If you can stand on your own legs, you should. The United States is 20 trillion dollars in debt and if everyone is going to whine any time anything gets cut, this is never going to change. The system, the way it is now, doesn't work and if people are going to cry that the sky is falling every time someone tries to make cuts, the hole will only get dug deeper.
I honestly believe that the Special Olympics doesn't really need the government grant in order to exist. If it was going to collapse without this money, I would say that they need to scale it back a bit just like any other project. I would love to have a Lamborghini but I can only afford a Toyota. I will never agree with taking money via taxes and then redistributing it for various projects, especially if those projects are capable of existing without the handout.
I gotta say, as a Liberal who believes Trump’s reign is disastrous and corrupt, I couldn’t agree more with your points here. I’m sick of people foaming with rage at headlines. It’s counter-productive and distracts from where the focus should really be (tax cuts, corporate welfare, etc).
The Left too often takes the bait and nothing substantial is achieved other than the ‘rage glow’ (or ‘feels’ as you put it) of loosing an ill informed outburst complete with self-righteous spittle; which rarely hits a target, except an ally closer to the center of the liberal coalition.
Trumpism is dangerous. The house is on fire and too many so-called Liberals are worried about appearing properly concerned instead of grabbing a hose.
My two cents.
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what a magnificent response. One of the best I have seen to any post in the past... i dunno how long. I am neither a trump supporter nor a hater... i am more of an indifferent person in the middle that is sick of the entire system.
Well done pal.
I appreciate that as well as the upvote. I don't blame you for being indifferent and sick of the system. I suppose it depends on your perspective. Sometimes I'm ready to just ignore it all and keep my head down while I do my own thing. Then I get angry and it occurs to me to do nothing is as equally absurd as action.
I agree with what you are saying but you made one slight mistake the debt is now 22 trillion not 20 trillion so it is even worse than thought about. We definitely need more budget cuts and fast.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Oh no. Worse than I thought
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You make total economic sense. They have $30 million surplus every year and lost a $17 Million grant then it doesn't mean they have to shut down. They are still raking in over a $1 Million a month and that is paying for the event themselves.
They defunded the Special Olympics to create more funding for the Oppression Olympics lol
lol. In this day and age, it wouldn't surprise me at all if precisely that happened.
What the shel is this why peoples shares fake news on social media. I hate those peoples. Hopefully government take some stick action in those peoples.
Greetings my dear friend good is to read you early interesting information something different to vary the weekend ... I love ... my respects.
Controversies are only created through addition of fake news into the actual matter.
I agree on your point of view though.
Keep flourishing.
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