What parts of the federal government actually produce things?

[tangent4ronpaul]

Most of the FedGuv is completely parasitic and actively retards progress and production. What parts still produce something of value? I'll start:

FFRDC's
NIH
NSF
NASA
One remaining mil arsenal that still makes ammunition
GPO
translation and language learning departments and agencies
military schools
Corp of Engineers (what's not contracted out yet, that is)
Intel agencies
LoC
Smithsonian
ARPA/DARPA

All I can think of right now... anyone else?

-t

[Vessol]

Anything that it MIGHT remotely produce would be handled more efficiently in every aspect by the private market.

[ClayTrainor]

NASA.

Although they have restricted better and cheaper production of space products by restricting the privatization of space, and they also spend absurd amounts of cash on virtually every project they've ever been involved in, they do produce the most advanced space exploration equipment, to date.

edit: woops, i didn't realize you already had nasa in there.

[tangent4ronpaul]

NASA.

Although they have restricted better and cheaper production of space products by restricting the privatization of space, and they also spend absurd amounts of cash on virtually every project they've ever been involved in, they do produce the most advanced space exploration equipment, to date.

edit: woops, i didn't realize you already had nasa in there.

And we would not have PC's, ipods, digital watches, etc. today had it not been for NASA - just for starters.

-t

[wormyguy]

I believe most offices of the government produce a great deal of paperwork.

[amy31416]

We used NIST standards for analytical chem work, not sure if they actually manufacture them or just test them though.

[ClayTrainor]

And we would not have PC's, ipods, digital watches, etc. today had it not been for NASA - just for starters.

-t

Sarcasm, i hope, lol.

[low preference guy]

Sarcasm, i hope, lol.

yeah. it's sad when you have to ask people to read "what is seen and what is not seen".

[tangent4ronpaul]

Anything that it MIGHT remotely produce would be handled more efficiently in every aspect by the private market.

Sometimes efficiency is an undesirable goal. Everything ARPA/DARPA does is high risk, high payoff. Try diff approaches till you get something that works and often there isn't a solution - but when there is, well WOW! - just WOW!

It's a business model no business or corporation will touch.

-t

[tangent4ronpaul]

We used NIST standards for analytical chem work, not sure if they actually manufacture them or just test them though.

NIST does a lot of testing and research. They produce standards, as a rule.

-t

[Vessol]

Sometimes efficiency is an undesirable goal. Everything ARPA/DARPA does is high risk, high payoff. Try diff approaches till you get something that works and often there isn't a solution - but when there is, well WOW! - just WOW!

It's a business model no business or corporation will touch.

-t

When it's my money being used, I don't know about you, but I prefer it being used efficiently.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Sarcasm, i hope, lol.

No - http://news.cnet.com/How-NASA-helped-invent-Silicon-Valley/2009-11397_3-6211034.html

-t

[ClayTrainor]

No - http://news.cnet.com/How-NASA-helped-invent-Silicon-Valley/2009-11397_3-6211034.html

-t

http://www.gogaminggiant.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/facepalm.jpg

[low preference guy]

No - http://news.cnet.com/How-NASA-helped-invent-Silicon-Valley/2009-11397_3-6211034.html

-t

What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen (http://www.econlib.org/library/Bastiat/basEss1.html)

[tangent4ronpaul]

When it's my money being used, I don't know about you, but I prefer it being used efficiently.

It's a different kind of efficiency. ARPA/DARPA were created and tasked with the mission of anticipating and preventing surprise. They found that the most efficient way to do that was to drive innovation.

Once upon a time a little agency called ARPA did some of this high risk/high payoff research and came up with this thing called ARPANET, that later became the INTERNET. So you are saying that you would have rather they never did that research?

-t

[Vessol]

Do you think that somehow modern technologies we have now would not exist if it wasn't for the State? Perhaps they would've arrived earlier than they did, or perhaps later?

[Original_Intent]

Dept of Education produce high quality serfs.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Do you think that somehow modern technologies we have now would not exist if it wasn't for the State? Perhaps they would've arrived earlier than they did, or perhaps later?

Yes - they would come - but later. We could have calculators the size of a desk right now, for example and be chatting away (in text - no graphics) using a tube TV hooked up to a Selectric II typewriter as a keyboard at a screaming hot transfer speed of 150 Baud! - that's a real configuration - look up the TV/typewriter cookbook.

-t

[MN Patriot]

The post office sends a letter across the country for 44 cents. Of course the USPS should have been privatized years ago, nothing sacred about shipping letters.

The military has driven technological innovation for most of the history of mankind. Still happening today. I doubt the free market would have been driven to create computers as badly as the military did when it was trying to crack encryption codes.

[low preference guy]

tangent, you made a small mistake:


Yes - they would come - but later sooner

fixed it for ya

[Vessol]

It's good seeing the Statists come out of the clockwork :)

[JoshLowry]

It's good seeing the Statists come out of the clockwork :)

This is a very divisive post. Don't drive wedges on this forum between small government and smallest (self) government supporters.