$16 Muffins. A Story of Government Waste

[xile]

I may be wrong on this, but a using tax money to receive tax (unless it isn't tax money and then just ignore this) seems more like kicking yourself. Tax coming from the % of revenue the company receives, and so making up random numbers, spending $16 to yield $3 in taxes, ultimately you'll be gaining less and less.

As for the $16 costing more labor and such, you'll be surprised at how little the food cost of baked goods are.

Using tax money to produce revenue via employment is one of the few ways the government can actually produce jobs. The reason why right now there aren't more jobs is because there is already more than enough supply for our demand. If we raise our demand (via job production) we would hopefully raise our supply in turn causing more people to be hired. That being said, i have no clue how it would work out in the end as far as which would be more cost efficient in terms of the baked goods, i don't really know the actual ingredients of these things, all the things it took to get them to be edible. Maybe the 4 dollar muffins are mass produced in a factory where 2 ppl are employed, and maybe the 16 dollar muffins are hand made by a group of 20 chefs. I have no clue obviously

[Deleted]

U.S. paid $1 million to ship two 19-cent washers
The U.S. Defense Department said on Thursday that a flawed system designed to rush supplies to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan let a small-parts supplier improperly collect $998,798.38 to ship two 19-cent washers

(http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/...38072120070816)





Leaked Audit: Boeing Overcharged Army Up to 177,000 Percent on Helicopter Spare Parts
$644.75 for a small gear smaller than a dime that sells for $12.51: more than a 5,100 percent increase in price. $1,678.61 for another tiny part, also smaller than a dime, that could have been bought within DoD for $7.71: a 21,000 percent increase. $71.01 for a straight, thin metal pin that DoD had on hand, unused by the tens of thousands, for 4 cents: an increase of over 177,000 percent.

(http://www.pogo.org/pogo-files/alert...0110623-2.html)

[Jerion]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/...38072120070816

U.S. paid $1 million to ship two 19-cent washers

That's fraud, not wasteful spending... big difference.

[Deleted]

That's fraud, not wasteful spending... big difference.

That's often the point of wasteful spending, it's supposed to make those in bed with the government rich.

[Remilia]

Using tax money to produce revenue via employment is one of the few ways the government can actually produce jobs. The reason why right now there aren't more jobs is because there is already more than enough supply for our demand. If we raise our demand (via job production) we would hopefully raise our supply in turn causing more people to be hired. That being said, i have no clue how it would work out in the end as far as which would be more cost efficient in terms of the baked goods, i don't really know the actual ingredients of these things, all the things it took to get them to be edible. Maybe the 4 dollar muffins are mass produced in a factory where 2 ppl are employed, and maybe the 16 dollar muffins are hand made by a group of 20 chefs. I have no clue obviously

Well, for the 1st point, whether it can produce jobs, my issue is that, even though they are still redistributing money, employers still need to actually open up jobs, even if the demand is there, now since the government can't force that, I don't see how its exactly predictable in anyway. It may work, but I don't see it as a reliable method.

As for the $16 muffin, you only need 1 person handmade to make it. Cost of like a batch of 12 muffins can potentially cost you less than $5, lets put it that way (restaurant / production prices, not our retail customer prices). It depends on what kind of ingredients and what not, but it only takes 1 or 2 people that know what they're doing so the labor cost isn't that high to begin with. Starch based products are VERY cheap in production. Pasta, potatoes, bread, and a lot of desserts are cheap in food cost. For desserts it varies on what type and how elaborate the design may potentially be, not the food cost itself. For muffins though... they're really not that special to deserve that attention.

[Lockndrop]

i wonder how much they spent on cupcakes :O 20 dollar cup cakes <3

[Ulgrim]

I don't care why the muffins cost $16, but why are my tax dollars paying for them? Buy your own damn food.

[Zumacrume]

This is a bias article as it looks for wasteful government spending in places you consider GOVERNMENT. How about looking at misordered supplies or failed experiments in labs at universities around the country? I'm an immunologist and i've waste thousands of taxpayer dollars on experiments that didn't work. Once when we meant to order a roll of tin foil, we ordered a case by accident. That could all be considered 'wasteful' spending as well. But this article just focuses on foodstuffs bought by people working for the GOVERNMENT. omg! wasteful! /facepalm

[Catta]

thats a spicy meataballa

[Caiada]

Know a guy that worked on Air Force One and saw them being given away. Guess you know more than someone that was on the plane/saw them given out?

Because 'I know a guy' is a solid source.

[Wells]

Because 'I know a guy' is a solid source.

If you're looking for muffins I know a guy

[Deleted]

As to the OP, this is nothing new. Government overspending is a commonplace occurrence.

Maybe that's a good reason not to let government have control over so much of the people's money? Maybe they shouldn't have 3.5 trillion budgets.

[stabetha]

wait wait wait
how is charging $16 a muffin wasting money on the gov'ts end? maybe its how they're gonna get out of the 14 tril worth of debt

they're not charging $16 a muffin they're paying $16 a muffin

---------- Post added 2011-09-21 at 04:09 PM ----------

Hey look another prepubescent immature asshat hating on the president. So original.

As to the OP, this is nothing new. Government overspending is a commonplace occurrence.

that's why we have such a huge defect "it's commonplace so we'll just keep spending as usual"

and actually it's people under 30 that support Obama

[zealous]

Only thing I find 'wat' is the cookies and muffins.

$76 per person restaurant isn't that unheard of, is it expensive? Yes, however it isn't that unheard of in the restaurant industry. If you want a very good example, go to Las Vegas, you can see $100-200 per person there.

However, this being a 'conference' however doesn't necessarily make it necessary to go to a 4-5star restaurant though, there is no need for that.

Considering they can potentially come in at $18-20 per pound for the tenderloin its not that unheard of.

Is it a waste of money? Well if its for a conference, maybe. However for those special night outs for your family, the prices aren't that awkward. (except for the cookie / muffins, thats just weird). Now the biggest issue is that this isn't 'their' own money. That's what bothers me the most. If this is coming out of their own pocket then I wouldn't give a damn.

You kind of refuted your own point there.

The issue isn't a 16 dollar muffin. I mean would anybody judge you or me for buying one if we did it on our own cash? No.

But these people are spending extravagant sums or at least wasteful sums from a budget that was meant to be spent on a "necessity only" basis.

They haven't earned it, they are keeping their own salary for themselves and spending tax-produced money on their personal capricious cravings.

You have to earn comfort and luxury, not create it by taking money that was given to you out of trust.

[Wells]

I would love to see the buyers from walmart put in charge of the goverments money. Shit would be fixed real quick because of how shrewd they are.

Think of all the dead when they stampede for the newest helicopter.

[I No I FeaR I]

For $16 a muffin, those better be space muffins with a gram of dank in each one!

[Dacien]

Government should only use food the government grows itself.

I'm just talking about large companies and corporations. That is, spending money on them. My own blanket statements will be my undoing.

[zealous]

He actually didnt refute himself. You just need to learn to read.

I didn't say his point was invalid, I just meant he started out saying the prices weren't that outrageous and then saying the prices aren't the issue.

I merely supported the second part of his post.

Perhaps I wasn't clear on that.

[I No I FeaR I]

It is commonplace and it is pathetic. That is what happens when you allow politicians to spend money. They are politicians, not businessmen. Government spending should be handle by people who have had a great deal of success in business. I would love to see the buyers from walmart put in charge of the goverments money. Shit would be fixed real quick because of how shrewd they are.

As to your Obama statement I could seriously care less. The kid who I quoted is obviously an immature moron with no idea what he is talking about. Probably just another bigot hating on the president because he is black. Either that or he is another moron that thinks a new president is supposed to be a reset button. Not my problem if people are too stupid to realize there is NO MAN in the world able to fix the shitstorm Bush left behind in one term in office.

---------- Post added 2011-09-21 at 11:20 PM ----------



He actually didnt refute himself. You just need to learn to read.

Some people like to blame Obama, some people will go back and blame Bush....but in reality....they all suck. All politicians suck. Even though Bush fucked things up, Obama has only been making them worse, not better.

[Judge Malthred]

These stories are generally quite misleading (I don't know enough about this particular story). Gov't usually grants procurement contracts for a certain amount (since they have to stick to a budget) but the final needed delivered amounts are not known in advance. Generally speaking, given the uncertainty for quantities needed the benefit of the doubt is given to the suppliers so that they won't lose money on gov't contracts and refuse to bid in the future.

Well that goes a long way to explaining why we are trillions of dollars in debt then. Why spend 1 million on something when you could spend 5 million "just in case".