GOED
Government- Opportunists-Embezzlers- Defrauders
Realizing that Everything is a Scam is like putting on a pair of glasses after years of declining eyesight. I’ve not been “blackpilled”, my friends, I’ve been “clearpilled”. I see it now. I see the scams through the BS. They’re everywhere!
Any time I hear a news bit about our governor, mayor or what have you “proposing” to spend our money on some project, like this»>
…from Gov Rhoden’s budget speech a couple days ago… …my first thought is “Who benefits from this?” Now I promise you that I DO honestly try to be charitable to the motives, and steelman their arguments in my head before getting to the ultimate conclusion that there is indeed corruption at the heart of it. This SD Public Broadcasting expenditure, for example. Proponents will tell you that out there on the prairie somewhere, there are children and adults of no means to speak of who would otherwise be condemned to a life of ignorance and boredom without the government-funded SDPB providing most valuable and totally non-biased news and entertainment. Except this isn’t the 1970’s. Today every single person in SD has a smartphone, (who wants one) that is wide open to the World Wide Web of infotainment. Modern people have nearly unlimited access to every piece of media that has ever been produced, and a lot of it is there free for your viewing enjoyment. On top of that, there are now over 200 streaming services in the world that offer literally millions of hours of programming, more than anyone could possibly consume in a lifetime. No, we don’t need “public broadcasting” anymore, other than for nostalgia. Heck, go buy a Samsung tv & you’ll get over 700 free channels showing all kinds of nostalgia, and the best part is you aren’t forcing your neighbor to pay for it.
Anyway there’s something creepy about a State financed news outlet anyway. Let the free market do its thing, and leave our tax dollars to the rightful owners. We’ll take that $300k back where it came from, thank you very much. Now, it’s always a difficult thing when people lose their jobs, and we have sympathy for them that do. But difficult decisions come with leadership, and a true leader must prioritize the taxpayers who are financing these projects. Our taxes aren’t “donations” freely given, they are taken by force, under penalty of monetary fines & imprisonment. Great care - much greater than what we currently bear witness to - must be taken when spending people’s hard-earned income.
GOED (the real definition)
From Grok: “GOED stands for the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development. It is the primary state agency responsible for promoting business growth, job creation, and economic development across South Dakota. Established in 2003 (reorganized and renamed under Gov. Mike Rounds), GOED operates directly under the Governor’s office.”
Oh, so Mike Rounds is to blame for this enormous transfer of power to the governor’s office. Unaccountable, with very little oversight, this GOED scam is used to buy favor and reward friends (the Donor Class) of whoever happens to be the current governor. Let’s let Mike know we don’t appreciate his signature move by NOT re-electing him in next June’s primary. Thank you for your service Mike, but actually no thank you.
The good news is that whatever is made by man can be undone by man.
FUTURE (SLUSH) FUND
Here’s another scam I recently found out about: The FUTURE FUND
From Grok: “The Future Fund is a special state fund in South Dakota, established in 1987 under then-Gov. George Mickelson, that supports research and economic development initiatives. It is primarily financed through a dedicated fee paid by South Dakota employers as part of their unemployment insurance payroll taxes. Unlike many other state funds managed by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), the Future Fund is under the governor’s direct and exclusive control, allowing the executive branch to award grants, low-interest loans, and other funding without requiring approval from a citizen advisory board or the state legislature’s appropriations process.”
Here we have another mechanism for one person in our state - the governor - to control massive amounts of money. “Direct and exclusive control” Wow! Let us pause for a moment, dear reader, and imagine what you or I would do with such power over millions/billions of other peoples’ dollars. How important would we instantly be to the most powerful and influential people and organizations in our state. Everyone would want to be our friend. Many would fear displeasing us. How good and noble would we feel about ourselves when we are able to throw a lifeline to a group of people who understand deep down that they provide no real value in the marketplace and thus are completely dependent on our largesse. What an ego boost it must be to daily host an adoring audience that bestows their gratitude upon you. And, best of all, this “Future Fund” is at your disposal to use as you see fit to help ensure that your life as a career politician will continue on smoothly (as it always does) on its upward trajectory to…who knows where! But I’m sure at least some of you reading this are thinking “Oh no, not me. I would NEVER abuse my sacred duties in such a self-serving manner! Purely for the good of the people would I act, ever and always.” But we must be honest with ourselves, and ask this question: When is the last time that SD was blessed with one of such infinite goodness and wisdom?
No, there are no angels among men. As Machievelli noted, men are “driven by unlimited ambition, deceiving even themselves, always corrupted by power”. As true now as it was in Italy 1532 AD.
The lesson we must learn from this is not that our times are cursed with people of a particularly unique degree of greed and avarice, but that ALL men & women in history are susceptible to unlimited ambition and corruption. Focusing on the personalities of today is wasted emotional energy. It is the SYSTEMS we must dismantle and, where necessary, adjust.
This “Future Fund” system is corrupt by definition, because the funds are taken (by force) from businesses to be used for “unemployment benefits”, which one can argue is a useful & essential service as a short-term handout (yes it is a handout) to those who are truly in between jobs. If this fund is used FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE, it has been corrupted. Back in 1987, Gov Mickelson one day looked at all that money - which was not his to “invest” or otherwise fiddle with - and thought “Huh, I’ll bet I can do some really cool scams with this pile of Other People’s Money”. And so he did! And every governor since has applied their grubby little hands to this pile, as they see fit.
Maybe now we gain some understanding why more than one candidate is willing to spend $7 million on the current governor’s race. Wow, it must be really awesome to be Governor of South Dakota!
Lastly, I want to take a moment to say how much I appreciate all you who take the time to read these posts, and for any new subscribers. Even this guy>>>
JAKE JOHNSON became a new subscriber last week after my clapback column aimed at Governor Larry, in which I took umbrage with his calling some of us “anti-business”. I mean, I’m certainly not against some good ol’ fashioned name calling, but being slurred as anti-business from a career politician is more than I can stomach. I’m so pro-business that I believe that only the strong, efficient, necessary & ethical businesses should survive. Any business who “needs” government subsidies/handouts shouldn’t be thinking of expansion, they should be thinking of better ways to make profits.
JAKE JOHNSON, a totally real name for this person, left some very emotional - some would say unhinged- attacks in the comments, which is cool. I welcome all comments and critiques, even from the losers & haters. However, I do want to address an important point here, which I will direct personally to this new subscriber who thinks my “website sucks”, whatever that means. “JAKE”, my rather harsh judgements offered throughout my writings are not in any way meant as a personal attack on your da…I mean Governor Larry. I don’t even know him, but I’m sure there’s a heckuva guy under that cowboy hat.
Hopefully, all readers can gather that my frustration is aimed at systems, and not individuals. I do not have any personal animus towards electeds such as Larry, Kristi, Mike Rounds, Mayor Paul, or Joe Kippley (ok maybe I do for kippley) . After all, we all fall short of the Glory of God, even me!
PRIVATE EQUITY MANAGERS
To make any positive changes to our government, we must first identify exactly WHY we have a problem with “E.D.” scams, along with most other non-essential spending. Also, WHY do so many electeds seem to have such a hard time seeing the problem with it? It occurred to me recently that the allure for these politicians & bureaucrats is that they imagine themselves to be Private Equity Fund Managers, but in reality they are acting as Public Equity Fund Managers. They get to enjoy all of the excitement of investing in startups and projects, with absolutely no personal risk. As for the “Why do we have a problem with government-run Economic Development projects”?, the simple answer is that it is unethical to redistribute some people’s wealth/earnings and award them to a particular individual or group of one’s choosing, no matter what they reasoning may be. That practice lends itself to corruption, which all good citizens should be against.
You make a great point about lure of Machiavellian power and targeting the system itself, e.g., ED scams, that politicians being human like the rest of us are tempted to misue for their own ends. I think it was Jefferson that said "bind them down by the chains of the Constitution", otherwise these systems naturally become tools for corruption. I'm becoming more aware that it really is on us, the people, to rein in the elected. One time Rand Paul was asked about separation of powers and Republican form of government. He answered something like, "the founders understood, even the deists, the sin nature and lure for lack of restraint and not to concentrate power in one person or a particular group unrestrained or it would lead to tyranny." So they gave us a Republic, a rule of law, and Not Men. Madison said, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary". So, it's up to us, The People, to rein them in when they're unrestrained.
Seems like Jake Johnson might need to look in the mirror and ask himself some probing questions. Economic Development is the ultimate farce. Take wealth from one person and give it to another (for no other reason than that it can be justified with rhetoric). Historically republics don't last long once this starts happening. Will the U.S. be different?