“Sheer” Waste?
When it comes to public service, we always hear about “waste” of public funds. But we could well go the extra mile and say there is no such a thing as “waste”: if we define waste as a loss without any gain, then the truth is that such a thing as a waste of resources may even exist, but certainly such a thing as a waste of funds does not exist at all. Indeed any “waste” implies that some take a loss. It’s just a marginal note that the same “waste” implies that some profit – someone else.
Let us have a look at an example by comparison. The mainstream media apply a constant pressure to manipulate us into believing that the fates of us all are decided upon the altar called stock exchange, where from time to time human sacrifices are required by unknowable gods, so let’s shed some light between sacrifices and losses. A farmer has a barn full of hay, and a fire destroys it: no more barn, no more hay. This is the basis for comparison outside the stock exchange: that was an actual loss. Then that farmer wants support to rebuild his barn, so he writes on a piece of paper “I owe you half my next harvest” and brings it to the stock exchange, where he sells it to Mr. A for 100 units of medium of payment. 100 units from Mr. A to the farmer, an IOU (acronym of I Owe You) from the farmer to Mr. A. To keep it simple let’s say the farmer now leaves carrying his 100 units, commits himself to rebuilding his barn and forgets about the stock exchange. As to us, we stay in the stock exchange to see what happens; we do not question herein about the causes, but we know prices here do fluctuate. Forgive the overstated differences, for sake of clarity, and here we go: Mr. A sells that IOU to Mr. B for 200 units. Mr. A’s profit is certain, Mr. B’s bargain is questionable. Then Mr. B sells that IOU to Mr. C for 500 units. Again, Mr. B’s profit is certain, while Mr. C’s bargain is questionable. And then guess what? Something happens so that the value of that IOU collapses, so Mr. C decides to sell it to Mr. A for 10 units. The mainstream media hail that collapse as a loss, and tell us a fire at the stock exchange has taken away the barn of poor Mr. C.