Peter Schweizer, author of Throw Them All Out, had some very interesting things to say in an interview about rampant corruption throughout government in America.
One of the many facts he presented was that 7 of the 10 richest counties in America surround Washington, DC. Here’s a list of them from late 2010.
And here’s a closeup of the DC area:
Any devil’s advocate care to explain how this isn’t perfect evidence that there’s just too much damn government in the U.S. in 2011?!
I must share this. HOW DO I SHARE THIS?!
America should change its name to Chicago
So the entire political class,support staff, friends and family manage to drink each others bath water and you wonder why your not getting ahead?
Yes well corruption is a very profitable business!
Maybe they should sell shares in corruption futures on the NYSE.
Short Corzine, Blagojevich and buy “Madoff book futures”. Hey a winning combination.
Fire. Them. All.
Cheers
Hans Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
A few questions immediately spring to mind:
(1) how did these counties vote in presidential and other federal elections?
(2) what is the main source of income in these counties; ie private enterprise or government?
(3) are these the people that Obozo plans to tax heavily in his shake-down the rich proposal?
(4) how many of the OWS protesters are progeny of people who live in these counties?
(5) what would happen to the US economy if by some freak of nature a large meteor obliterated Washington DC and these counties?
(6) how many Tea Party members are there per/capita in these counties compared to other areas of the US?
(7) in terms of trust in the “political class” what fraction of the population of these counties trust them in comparison to the widespread national distrust of this parasitic entity?
I’m sure the answers are available to anyone with a search engine but it’s late and I’ll see if anyone has a stronger urge to find the answer to these questions than I do over the next 24 hours.
Now I know why the City of Ottawa expanded to include Carleton County…
Did anybody tell the OWS where all the money in the USA is going? They were at the wrong place.Next time go where all the money is.
Drive around rural Quebec across the river from Ottawa if you want to admire a lot of new country mansions and estates, so many rich people…
Mark Steyn makes the extent of gov’t corruption pretty clear in his book “After America”. And it is so much more than just the hapless, and in many cases, helpless, politicians. Think – a huge, growing (like a cancer) bureaucracy, that feeds on itself, makes its own rules, and yes, lives a really entitled life. Those people won’t see the size of big gov’t reduced anytime soon – far too much at stake. Same in Canada I am sure.
You can give the boot to the politicians – but how do you change the unelected power behind the throne? I don’t know.
Tax the rich? Let’s practice on the 7 counties clustered around DC.
feel free to google ‘halliburton untendered contracts dick cheney’ to start your paper trail search.
“Did anybody tell the OWS where all the money in the USA is going? They were at the wrong place.Next time go where all the money is.
Posted by: a@c at December 9, 2011 7:40 AM”
soooo despite the whining here about personal hygiene and pickpockets, the OWS bunch is right after all….
No they were wrong. They blamed wall street. It’s the gov. that is the problem. Oby didn’t charge anyone after the crash. He just took the money they gave him and run.
The situation around Washington, DC probably dwarfs Regina, Saskatchewan, but the area around the legislature has the highest per capita income in the province of Saskatchewan. I have no link for this, but it was a media item a couple of years ago. No doubt similar situations exist around the various provincial and state capitals across North america.
In regards, to the comments at 9:23 and 9:26. No doubt voting for Hugo Chavez or van Jones and Saul Alinsky will fix it, like it did in the USSR.
What happened to my favourite county, Marin County, north of San Francisco. Oh, I forgot, California has committed suicide. I think the average house price in Marin County during the recession was $1.2 million. I see it’s now 20th.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States
This explains why candidates spend millions of dollars on their campaign to get a job that pays a bit more than $100,000 per year.
Insider trading IS legal for legislators. (hundreds of)Thousands of times lawmakers in Washington have called their broker to make trades right from inside the in camera committee rooms. Disgraceful, but legal and all sides do it.
soooo despite the whining here about personal hygiene and pickpockets, the OWS bunch is right after all….
Posted by: I should vote for who? at December 9, 2011 9:26 AM
Interesting observation.
In a way yes. They have an inchoate sense that something is seriously wrong, for sure. Inchoate, being the key word. They were also swindled by the universities that sold them unrelenting hard left indoctrination instead of marketable skills, a tragedy they pass over in silence.
What’s wrong of course is fiat money and unlimited credit expansion compliments of the Gubment+Bank cartel.
BUT: These OWS folks are ALL IN on the welfare state.
However, the welfare state is enabled by fiat currency and no-limit credit expansion which robs savers through inflation.
In summary: the OWS “protesters” hate the banks which enable monster government and the welfare state they love so much.
In fairness, Fairfax County, VA also has a thriving high-tech industry, though of course most of this arose from defense spinoffs.
Let us see now,
About everyone who want to know, knows that corruption is a matter of everyday business in Asia, Africa and just about everywhere outside of the white trash influence.
Though never fear, the ivy clique have learned that corruption may be a good way to get into big money, since their study of feminism, social engineering and other such useless subject does not qualify for actual real life work, they have created other ways to scam the proles.
Proles, being busy with everyday struggle of producing the wealth and making a living don’t have much time to watch what’s happening to them. That is just too bad.
So, now they, the ivy clique, are on the path of destruction of those that create wealth, they figure that if the total collapse comes after they hit the dirt, that would be ok.
If somebody gets on their scam, they will demagogue about the children, the women, the old and sick and the proles being polite lot will calm down and submit to dummbing down.
After all, those that are the socialist aristocracy, went to the best schools to learn how to string together an impressive sentence without any meaning what so ever.
It will take a person with real guts to confront and get rid of the media and politics mutual intercourse (being polite here) and corruption in the governments of today.
It is interesting to note that Harper may be on the right track, even if the optics are not always the best.
Well, rich people have to live somewhere, and why not near DC? They can be close to other elites like themselves; and enjoy the wonderful views, cultural attractions, great weather, low crime and easy traffic.
Or they could just be corrupt grifters. I’m with Occam.
My theory is that Michael Moore spreads out over those seven counties.
MarkD – “Well, rich people have to live somewhere, and why not near DC? They can be close to other elites like themselves; and enjoy the wonderful views, cultural attractions, great weather, low crime and easy traffic.”
They only thing positive about living NEAR DC is that you aren’t living IN DC.
Ken K:
No doubt similar situations exist around the various provincial and state capitals across North america.
I wouldn’t even know where to get the data, but here’s a few thought examples: (state/prov, capital, city I think has the counties with highest income)
Quebec, Quebec City, Montreal
Alberta, Edmonton, Calgary
BC, Victoria, Vancouver
Maine, Augusta, Portland
Vermont, Montpelier, Burlington
New Hampshire, Concord, Manchester
Connecticut, Hartford, Greenwich
NY, Albany, NYC
Penn., Harrisburg, Philly
Ohio, Columbus, Cincinnati
Michigan, Grand Rapids, north Detroit burbs (Grosse Point, Auburn Hills, Farmington, etc.)
Illinois, Springfield, north Chicago burbs
Washington, Olympia, Seattle area (Boeing, M$)
California, Sacramento, and you can argue LA, SF, Silicon Valley but it sure ain’t Sacramento
Florida, Tallahassee, Miami
Texas, Austin, Dallas or Houston
Missouri, Jefferson City, KC or StL
Louisiana, Baton Rouge, N’awlins
Kentucky, Frankfort, Louisville
Wisconsin, Madison, Milwaukee
I don’t think it’s fair to include jurisdictions where the largest city is also the capital in the comparison (Ontario/Toronto, Mass/Boston, Idaho/Boise, etc.) Toronto and Boston are rich for reasons that have little to do with where the state capital is.
So, I don’t think your point holds in the general case, though it may in specific ones.
I’m from Montgomery County, directly north of DC. While there is a point to be made about direct government income, John made a good point about Fairfax County and work directly related to government.
Among the occupations in the area, DC and suburbs have a significant lawyer presence. You have highly paid lobbyists everywhere. Montgomery County has a significant biotech presence (doctors/researchers/scientists). Lots of defense companies in MD and VA (engineers/computer scientists). Nonprofits are all over the place.
The bottom line though: if the US Government left this area, this whole area would be abandoned.