The Russias aren't coming...they're already here, and they already took over.

I wish they were wrong. I wish I could find a couple things in this Russian story that I could point to that would demonstrate that they're wrong.

See if you can.

We can't keep "deficit spending"? Says Obama?

Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’

You don't say! Wow. Obama said that? Of course, millions of economists and level-headed conservatives have said that for a long time, but when I saw the headline, I said, "Okay, what's the catch?"

Here's the catch:

1) He co-opted the idea that we're spending too much to take the wind out of the easily-confused House Republicans' sails
2) He's ignoring the fact that the spending was his idea in the first place.
3) He's pretending that it's MEDICAL SPENDING that's driving inflation and not the trillions of extra dollar bills the treasury department is printing.

Not a bad piece of politicking. Frustrating for those of us whose brains work and don't worship the ground he walks on, but for everyone else, how wonderful.

WA Dept of Labor & Industries & Waste & Overpayments & Bureaucracy & Half-Wits

..and any number of other negative descriptors.

I was asked to sterilize under some asphalt for a project in Asotin County for a government agency. Great! We have our processes down so well, we keep our costs extremely low. This is great for our customers, and great for their customers.

Now, 2 weeks after the project is finished, the state government (Department of Labor & Industries) is requiring I fill out forms indicating that I intended to pay prevailing wages (and send them $40 for the privilege of filing the paperwork), and another one saying that I did pay prevailing wages (and send them another $40 just for good measure).

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If it weren't for state and federal jobs, we would have more halfway houses than we'd know what to do with. Seriously! Where would these simpletons work?

Wanna know what the prevailing wage for a jackhammer operator is? It's $39.19 per hour. For a fat guy with a cigarette and a beer belly to run a jackhammer, you have to pay him $40 per hour (and extra Socialist Security, taxes, etc).

It's as though the state has said, "How can we raise the prices on the projects we'd like to get done? Ooh! I know! Let's make the people who will do the work pay their employees ridiculous wages!"

That costs the taxpayers LOTS more for each project, which leads to higher taxes, which leads to more bloated government and inflation.

Why do we allow our state and federal governments to get away with this level of waste? If you don't contribute to the economy, you don't belong here.