178
In case you wanted to visualize the inefficiency of US military/contractors: Upper image is what the US built in Gaza for $320 million. Lower image is what China built in Guandong for $220 million. (hexbear.net)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by to c/main@hexbear.net
61 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The United States has such a large GDP because 1/3 of it is the private healthcare industry. Another massive chunk is the government throwing tax dollars at a shell company of a shell company of a shell company that moves a government contract for construction around to each other 4 times, all subsequently increasing GDP.

top 50 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 81 points 2 years ago (1 child)

The US economy is just a collection of banks and insurance companies in a trench coat.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] [S] 56 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    And they are loaning each other $1000000000 over and over again (with interest)

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 60 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    And yet Yanks will mock China for struggling to build a 3nm chip while their own country struggles to build a pier. As if one isn't cutting edge high tech and the other isn't maritime technology that's been "solved" for two hundred years.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] [S] 59 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    The argument I’ve seen Americans using is “well only the US would try/ could build a pier in a war zone halfway across the world” which is entirely untrue.

    First, almost every country at war does this.

    Second, China regularly builds piers all over the world at a fraction of the cost and multiple times the capacity of this one.

    Third, the US didn’t really build a pier at all if it is unusable and breaking after just a week.

    But that’s the point anyway. It never had to work. The US just had to pretend to be doing something.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
    •
    • load more comments (1 reply)
  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago

    Two economists are walking in the park. The first economist sees a pile of dog shit and says to the other, "I'll pay you $50 to eat that dog shit." So he does and gets paid $50. Later on, the second economist sees a pile of dog shit and says to the first, "I'll pay you $50 to eat that pile of dog shit." So he does and gets paid $50.

    The first economist says, "I can't help but feel we just ate dog shit for nothing." "Nonsense," says the second economist, "We just contributed $100 to the economy."

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
    • [–] 61 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Wait, what the fuck? That rickety piece of garbage cost three hundred and fucking twenty million dollars? I knew it was pathetic, but not in this particular way as well lmao

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] [S] 47 points 2 years ago

    It’s so pathetic that it’s almost like the military/military contractors are the biggest single kleptocratic scheme on earth to funnel government money into the hands of private capital.

    It’s so pathetic that it’s almost like Israel didn’t want the United States to interrupt their ethnic cleansing process, so the United States built a pier that never was actually supposed to work all that well in the first place.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
    • [+] 59 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)
    [deleted]
  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
    • [–] 56 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    everyone going on about 'but muh warzone,' as if the United States could have built the permanent Chinese pier in peacetime for less than billions

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 29 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I will grant them that it is very dangerous for them to build in Gaza due to the high probability of friendly fire from their allies indiscriminate bombing.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
    • [–] 52 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Holy fuck, that really is it

    Are you shitting me?? I've been on fucking boat docks on shitty midwest lakes that have been better built than this

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] [S] 47 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Well… that WAS it until it broke a few days ago

    And then started sinking almost entirely yesterday

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 22 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Yeah I did see that, which is part of what spurred the 'better built docks in the middle of nowhere' bit

    I guess they couldn't afford to properly account for it being in the ocean with that 320 mill, maybe they just need another 500 mill to make one that doesn't sink due to choppy water

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 32 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    Temporary floating docks are literally just a common thing that you use on offshore construction, what the fuck ohnoes

    Seriously, they could have just hired Bubba Joe's Floating Dock Company to install this for like $750k. They install shit like this all. the. time. And in fact, I'll bet they did do just that and just pocketed the rest.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
    • load more comments (1 reply)
    • [+] 50 points 2 years ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 child)
    [deleted]
  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
    • [–] 29 points 2 years ago

    There's a reason 3 of the top 5 wealthiest counties in the US are in Virginia.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
    •
    [–] 25 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I want to emigrant to China or Cuba.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
    load more comments (1 reply)
    [–] 21 points 2 years ago

    wonder what the PLA pays for a trash can in one of their planes, I bet it's not $52,000

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
    •
    [–] 20 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Literally just a Minecraft bridge lol

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
    load more comments (1 reply)
    [–] 17 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    OP can you please make a meme from this pic? It's a very memable comparison

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
    • load more comments
    view more: next ›