I get it when an organization outsources something when they don't have enough work to sustain a team. Like a small town government isn't going to operate their own roof repair division just to repair government roofs (rooves?), you instead would hire a local contractor that has plenty of private work to keep their crew busy.

But some things the government does all the time and it doesn't make sense to outsource, like most office work. Of course outsourcing some temp staff can be practical if one can anticipate things like seasonable demand, but hiring local students if the job and time frame fit (summer job) is better still.

At the end of the day an organization can pay an employee, work out benefits, etc. Or it can pay a for-profit business to take a cut for management, owners, etc and try to cut corners on quality or benefits for the employees. I know how the neoliberal "third way" think, and they'd rather reduce the number of government employees, even if that amounts to giving taxpayer dollars to a private owner and gutting good paying union jobs in the community. It's no wonder the working class is struggling under skyrocketing housing prices, high tuition, and low wages. It's all symptoms of an unhealthy economic system that is the direct result of our political shift in both parties in the US. (and a general trend in much of the West with neoliberalism, especially the anglosphere)

The shift toward massive trucks and SUVs in the U.S. is not a conspiracy as you stated, but it's not purely consumer preference either. It's a direct, documented, and mathematically verifiable consequence of how the U.S. government rewrote fuel efficiency regulations in 2011.

Prior to 2011, CAFE standards were simple: a car company’s entire fleet of "light trucks" had to average a certain MPG number (e.g., 24 mpg). It didn't matter how big or small the individual trucks were. The Obama administration reformed these rules to close loopholes... but they inadvertently created a new one. They switched to a "footprint-based" standard.

And the curve is very steep. If you build a truck or SUV with a small footprint (like the old Ford Ranger or Chevy S-10), the government mandates an incredibly high MPG target, often close to what a high efficiency sedan would get. As the vehicle gets bigger, the MPG target drops significantly.

This means that if a manufacturer tries to build a small pickup or SUV today (about the size of a 1990s Ranger), the CAFE formula might mandate a target of ~40-50 MPG. Achieving such a high MPG requires expensive hybrid technology and advanced lightweight materials. This adds at least $10k to the cost which makes those vehicles virtually unsellable.

Why the U.S. government didn't fix this issue 10+ years ago is a mystery to me. The result has actually been hugely increased gas consumption and CO2 emissions, rather than the desired effect of lower gas consumption and CO2 emissions.

Signed, someone who would love a small AWD SUV, but they're just not economically justifiable (in the U.S.)

Of the dozens and dozens of anti-consumer and terribly damaging mega-mergers over the last 40+ years, this is the one that people absolutely lose their shit over.

I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry.

I think I will cancel a few streaming service and Amazon prime to compensate.

He'd like to but he's constrained by being a weenie. He never hits at anyone who can hit back. And he's already fired a lot of the cyber cops we did have. Something about keeping his minder in the Kremlin happy and some future deal with Xi from which he expects to profit handsomely. He isn't hard to figure out.

Now, now. There's no need to bring in the ability to believe la Presidenta into this. Anyhow, we need to check the fine print to see where the trail of bread crumbs leads back into his pockets.

The amount of Trump dick sucking surprises me, too. It certainly felt more intelligent 20 years ago.

Speaking of Trump dick sucking, did you figure out yet if he sucked off a CEO, a president, or a horse yet?

He's just being a typical American MORE BIGGER FASTER tool. I drive an 08 Versa with a 1.8l with 122hp and I have absolutely no problem being one of the fastest people on the road, because even a slow ass car by modern standards can do all the things. I never have trouble getting up to speed on a ramp or whatever.

Putin is so smart he outsourced his destroy America plan to Trump

Do these people really think they're hiding Directive 4 from us?

"You really think the region ruled by Hamas would end up being better for both the Jews and the other residents? After all their acts from Oct 7th on?"

You don't seem to be paying attention to the actions of Israel from October 7 on. Or before it for that matter. Why is that?

By stay away do you mean stop funding it? If so, how do I subscribe to your newsletter?

I wonder if it was supposed to be used in lost PLA casting and then wasn't, or if they were just very very stupid

We are only a year out from the murder of a health-insurance executive, so the police are more on edge than usual.

Then we need to threaten such things much more often, so that the cops will eventually get used to it, and relax. ;-)

Debian never tried to kill me through my computer. I'd appreciate it if my car manufacturer made their car as safe as my computer.

Fuck it, I just want a Debian car. Then I won't need to extract bloody vengeance from beyond the grave, as my zombie revenant tracks down the CEO of Subaru, and the rotting flesh of my hands tightens around his throat as payment for the time a popup distracted me.

Legally that makes sense. Although, I really think AI's paying content producers for providing access to their information is the right way to go, long term. If NYT is going to hire reporters to go places and find out stuff somebody has to pay for it. AI is great partially because it bypasses the horrendous mess the Web has become, but that's too good to last.