I am sure over half of that sum ended up into FBI officials' private pocket, one way or another, eventually.
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FBI Paid Upwards of $1.3 Million to Unlock San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone
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Your failure to be aware of the amount of "paper" the aforementioned entrepreneurs possess... reveals more about you than you're aware of. And that's OK, there's millions of you that coexist worry free
Everything before the word "print" is 100% wrong. - GasuE.
Why are you commenting on everything after the word "print"?
$1.3M for this is actually money well spent. This was a very high profile case, which technically involved international policy, foreign relations, terrorism, and domestic issues. It was about one of the most important events of the post 9/11 era.
Can you imagine the uproar if the FBI said that it possessed one piece of the digital equipment owned by the terrorist and didn't try to access it for a mere $1.3M which is a rounding error of a rounding error in the US budget?
Geez, it's because of people complain of these things that tragedies such as the Challenger and Columbia disasters happen. They don't check on the shuttle because they're afraid of spending a couple of millions and not finding anything of interest... then people complain "why did they make a decision based on money?!?"
Can you imagine the uproar if the FBI said that it possessed one piece of the digital equipment owned by the terrorist and didn't try to access it for a mere $1.3M which is a rounding error of a rounding error in the US budget?
Geez, it's because of people complain of these things that tragedies such as the Challenger and Columbia disasters happen. They don't check on the shuttle because they're afraid of spending a couple of millions and not finding anything of interest... then people complain "why did they make a decision based on money?!?"
Okay, so here's what you do the next time you get arrested:
Tell the officers that you might have incriminating evidence on your iPhone, and for "only" $1 million, you'll unlock it for them.
You can also point out that it'll be a bargain, compared to what the FBI paid.
They're terrorists if they're on the other side and "security researchers" if they're on your side.
Double standards and hypocritical much?
You should see how much money they waste on the black budget secret space program. It's in the trillions
You must not be familiar w/ how D.C. works. Two words: revolving door. People take on short term prestige jobs at relatively low pay compared to the responsibilities to land a life of endless "consulting" & speaking fees to gov't & related organizations, accumulating in millions or mega-millions.
Do not feel sorry for them. They are neither starving or as incompetent as you make them out to be.
This is going to be a lengthy reply to what I posted earlier to what I really meant to say about how the FEDS make money out of thin air.
For an example:
The United States government decides it needs some money.
• So it calls up the federal reserve and requests say 10 billion dollars.
• The FED replies saying: "sure, we'll buy ten billion in government bonds from
you".
• So the government takes some pieces of paper, paints some official looking
designs on them, and calls them treasury bonds.
• Then it puts a value on these bonds to the sum of 10 billion dollars and sends
them over to the FED.
• In turn the people of the FED drop a bunch of impressive pieces of papers
themselves. Only this time, calling them federal reserve notes.
• Also designating a value of ten billion dollars to the set.
• The FED than takes these notes and trades them for the bonds.
• Once this exchange is complete, the government than takes the ten billion in
federal reserve notes, and deposits it into an bank account.
• And, upon this deposit the paper notes officially become legal tender money.
• Adding ten billion to the US money supply.
And there it is! Ten billion in new money has been created. Of course, this example is a
generalization.
Now, government bonds are by design instruments of debt. And when the FED
purchases these bonds with money it essentially created out of thin air, the government
is actually promising to pay back that money to the FED. In other words, the money was
created out of debt.
And now, ten billion dollars sits in a commercial bank
account. Here is where it gets really interesting. For, as based on the fractional reserve
practice, that ten billion dollar deposit instantly becomes part of the banks reserves. Just
as all deposits do. "Under current regulations, the reserve requirement against most transaction accounts is ten percent". This means that with a ten billion dollar deposit, ten percent, or one billion, is held as the required reserve. While the other nine billion is considered an excessive reserve, and can be used as the basis for new loans. Now, it is logical to assume, that this nine billion is literally coming out of the existing ten billion dollar deposit. However, this is actually not the case. What really happens, is
that the nine billion is simply created out of thin air on top of the existing 10 billion dollar
deposit. This is how the money supply is expanded.
As stated in "Modern Money Mechanics": "Of course they" (the banks) "do not really pay
out loans for the money, they receive as deposits. If they did this, no additional money
would be created. What they do when they make loans is to accept promissory notes"
(loan contracts) "in exchange for credits" (money) "to the borrowers transaction
accounts." In other words, the nine billion can be created out of nothing. Simply because
there is a demand for such a loan, and that there is a 10 billion dollar deposit to satisfy
the reserve requirements.
Now let's assume that somebody walks into this bank and borrows the newly available
nine billion dollars. They will then most likely take that money and deposit it into their
own bank account. The process then repeats. For that deposit becomes part of the banks
reserves. Ten percent is isolated and in turn 90 percent of the nine billion, or 8.1 billion
is now available as newly created money for more loans. And, of course, that 8.1 can be
loaned out and redeposited creating an additional 7.2 billion to 6.5 billion... to 5.9
billion... etc... This deposit money creation loan cycle can technically go on to infinity.
The average mathematical result is that about 90 billion dollars can be created on top of
the original 10 billion. In other words: For every deposit that ever occurs in the banking
system, about nine times that amount can be created out of thin air.
For the more money there is the more debt there is. The more debt there is the
more money there is. To put it a different way. Every single dollar in your wallet is owed
to somebody by somebody. For remember: the only way the money can come in to
existence is from loans. Therefore, if everyone in the country were able to pay off all
debts including the government, there would not be one dollar in circulation.
For an example:
The United States government decides it needs some money.
• So it calls up the federal reserve and requests say 10 billion dollars.
• The FED replies saying: "sure, we'll buy ten billion in government bonds from
you".
• So the government takes some pieces of paper, paints some official looking
designs on them, and calls them treasury bonds.
• Then it puts a value on these bonds to the sum of 10 billion dollars and sends
them over to the FED.
• In turn the people of the FED drop a bunch of impressive pieces of papers
themselves. Only this time, calling them federal reserve notes.
• Also designating a value of ten billion dollars to the set.
• The FED than takes these notes and trades them for the bonds.
• Once this exchange is complete, the government than takes the ten billion in
federal reserve notes, and deposits it into an bank account.
• And, upon this deposit the paper notes officially become legal tender money.
• Adding ten billion to the US money supply.
And there it is! Ten billion in new money has been created. Of course, this example is a
generalization.
Now, government bonds are by design instruments of debt. And when the FED
purchases these bonds with money it essentially created out of thin air, the government
is actually promising to pay back that money to the FED. In other words, the money was
created out of debt.
And now, ten billion dollars sits in a commercial bank
account. Here is where it gets really interesting. For, as based on the fractional reserve
practice, that ten billion dollar deposit instantly becomes part of the banks reserves. Just
as all deposits do. "Under current regulations, the reserve requirement against most transaction accounts is ten percent". This means that with a ten billion dollar deposit, ten percent, or one billion, is held as the required reserve. While the other nine billion is considered an excessive reserve, and can be used as the basis for new loans. Now, it is logical to assume, that this nine billion is literally coming out of the existing ten billion dollar deposit. However, this is actually not the case. What really happens, is
that the nine billion is simply created out of thin air on top of the existing 10 billion dollar
deposit. This is how the money supply is expanded.
As stated in "Modern Money Mechanics": "Of course they" (the banks) "do not really pay
out loans for the money, they receive as deposits. If they did this, no additional money
would be created. What they do when they make loans is to accept promissory notes"
(loan contracts) "in exchange for credits" (money) "to the borrowers transaction
accounts." In other words, the nine billion can be created out of nothing. Simply because
there is a demand for such a loan, and that there is a 10 billion dollar deposit to satisfy
the reserve requirements.
Now let's assume that somebody walks into this bank and borrows the newly available
nine billion dollars. They will then most likely take that money and deposit it into their
own bank account. The process then repeats. For that deposit becomes part of the banks
reserves. Ten percent is isolated and in turn 90 percent of the nine billion, or 8.1 billion
is now available as newly created money for more loans. And, of course, that 8.1 can be
loaned out and redeposited creating an additional 7.2 billion to 6.5 billion... to 5.9
billion... etc... This deposit money creation loan cycle can technically go on to infinity.
The average mathematical result is that about 90 billion dollars can be created on top of
the original 10 billion. In other words: For every deposit that ever occurs in the banking
system, about nine times that amount can be created out of thin air.
For the more money there is the more debt there is. The more debt there is the
more money there is. To put it a different way. Every single dollar in your wallet is owed
to somebody by somebody. For remember: the only way the money can come in to
existence is from loans. Therefore, if everyone in the country were able to pay off all
debts including the government, there would not be one dollar in circulation.
I agree that the hypocrisy is common and it surprises me that more people don't see it. I feel unusual for noticing so much hypocrisy and double standards every day.
But the US government is in a league of their own, and particularly its military and foreign policy arms. It acts like it's still fighting a war of independence.
I'm sure you're upset over the $0.01 that was yours in that transaction.
Nah, it's about $0.003
The decimal point is where they screw you.
But for that price they might "assume" it is at a National Security level and drop you into a deep dark hole.... and confiscate all of your possessions under the DOJ suspect rule leaving you with literally nothing; possession or monetary, when they let you out.
Treasury doesn't need the Fed to make money. And as I (and someone else) said, they don't need air or paper either. They just need a couple of bits here and there.
"Some bits here, some bits there, and suddenly we're talking about real money."
My answer to this is: If my daughter was being held captive, and you asked me if money should be spent on unlocking a phone, I would punch you as hard as I can.
You are showing a most disgusting and un-Christian attitude.
And anyway, I'd rather they spend a million dollars on police officers searching for her than giving the money to hackers to unlock a phone that doesn't have the slightest chance of containing any useful information.
Yep... I bet the hacker was all to pleased to hack this phone..
Except when the IRS wants their taxes paid
[doublepost=1461276541][/doublepost]
Not at the level of decision and operation making you need to do. While I don't think it qualifies to earn a million, I would say 320-500k would get better talent.
