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IRS Spent $60,000 Producing Star Trek Parody

Posted by timothy on from the but-they're-stimulating-the-economy dept.

An anonymous reader writes According to the AP, the IRS is being "scolded for spending $60,000 dollars on an elaborate parody video that played at a 2010 conference. 'The video features an elaborate set depicting the control room, or bridge, of the spaceship featured in the hit TV show. IRS workers portray the characters, including one who plays Mr. Spock, complete with fake hair and pointed ears. The production value is high even though the acting is what one might expect from a bunch of tax collectors. In the video, the spaceship is approaching the planet 'Notax,' where alien identity theft appears to be a problem.' You can find the hilarious and/or nausea-inducing video on YouTube."

6 of 280 comments (clear)

  1. Good PR by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Look at the Star Trek cosplay, not the firearms we're stocking up on!

    The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to purchase sixty Remington Model 870 Police RAMAC #24587 12 gauge pump-action shotguns for the Criminal Investigation Division. The Remington parkerized shotguns, with fourteen inch barrel, modified choke, Wilson Combat Ghost Ring rear sight and XS4 Contour Bead front sight, Knoxx Reduced Recoil Adjustable Stock, and Speedfeed ribbed black forend, are designated as the only shotguns authorized for IRS duty based on compatibility with IRS existing shotgun inventory, certified armorer and combat training and protocol, maintenance, and parts.

    (not that it's much compared to the DHS)

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  2. It was funny !!!! by dgharmon · · Score: 1, Interesting

    It was funny !!!!

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    AccountKiller
  3. Re:Wrong... by wisnoskij · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The porno version had that problem as well.

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    Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
  4. Re:Who gives a shit? by joe_frisch · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Right - what has the government done for us.... (insert monty python quote here)
    education , sanitation, roads, police,

    Seriously, try to imagine what the US would be like without a government, or if people had to pay specifically for the services they wanted. You may not like the police but would you prefer Blackwater hiring out as private security? No public education for the poor? Private roads closed to non-members? No water systems? It would be a hell on earth - a scaled up Somalia.

    Sure, there is out of control government spending but its a lot better than no government at all.

  5. Re:A manufactured controversy by Nimey · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The low-information voters in the Republican base don't care about the truth, they want to reinforce their faith that the government is wasteful and can do no right.

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  6. Re:Who gives a shit? by Gimric · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The three largest expenses of the US Federal government are Social Security, Healthcare and the military. If defense was handled at the state level it would be difficult to prevent some states being free-riders, particularly land-locked states. Healthcare and social security could possibly be handled at the state level but the costs would still exist and would result in a great deal of duplication. Also, big business would love to be able to play individual states off against eachother for the best tax deal. It would be a very different country - in fact each state would operate much more like an individual country with all the potential for internal conflict that that entails.

    This doesn't excuse waste, but it is extremely naive to think that large corporations are intrinsically any less wasteful and bureaucratic than government departments once they achieve a certain size.