Can Any Dem/lib Tell Us What Agency The Govt Has Run Efficiently?

[Sallow]

ROFL! Holding up the Constitution is your argument? Really? Now it's unpatriotic to criticize the Post Office?

Here's a clue for you, moron: The Constitution allows the federal government to run the Post Office. It doesn't require it to run the Post Office. It also doesn't require the federal government to grant a legal monopoly to the Post Office.

Even if the Constitution did require the federal government to run the Post Office, that doesn't make it a good idea.

BTW, Saudi Arabia has a government run Post Office, just like the USA.

Your argument couldn't be more wrong, irrelevant or downright stupid.

I would argue that the federal government MUST operate the post office.


If you read the COTUS it lists certain powers of the federal government and then says all other powers belong to the states or the people. Meaning the POST OFFICE MUST remain with the federal government.

Of course if you read the COTUS that specifically, you must wonder how states are empowered to build roads at all, clearly postal roads are the responsibility of the federal government.

Nope. A "power" is the legal authority to do something. It's not a requirement to do anything.

Oh really? So if I were to say do a little digging around I wouldn't find any postings where you are bitching about Obama not doing anything to defend our southern border?

MMMM I think I would find that you HAVE been bitiching about that.....

That's not a power. It's a legal requirement. Obama swore an oath to uphold the laws of the United States. That includes our immigration laws.

Did you seriously just say that?

Here is the text in reference to both the Postal roads

Section. 8.

The Congress shall have Power

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

Now if you would be so kind, please point me to the section of the cotus requiring the federal government to prevent people from entering this country.

It doesn't, but Congress passed a law requiring the federal government to do so. Obama is required to enforce all the laws Congress passes.

It's hard to believe anyone could be as stupid as you. These are simple concepts that any retard can understand.

Here's a link to the various immigration laws passed by Congress

List of United States immigration laws - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Feel free to show me which laws the federal government is ignoring and not enforcing.

Oh and before you go around calling anyone retarded, maybe you should reread and that that I never said the federal government wasn't required to do anything about illegal immigration. In fact I said the opposite you idiot. I said the federal government is required both to control immigration AND to run the post office.

In your haste to "prove me wrong" you revealed your illiteracy. Now THAT is funny

You're an even bigger moron than I thought. The federal government is required to obey and enforce all laws passed by Congress. Congress is not required to use a power granted by the Constitution. You don't seem to understand the difference between a Constitutional power and a law passed by Congress. The Postal monopoly is legislation passed by Congress. The Constitution does not require Congress to pass legislation.

It's as simple as that, dumbass.

Now go away because I'm tired of instructing you.

Wait what?

Obey?

The government is not a subject of a piece of paper.

The paper outlines how the government operates. It endows that government with powers to fulfill it's functions. Additionally it is not written in stone, is subject to change and for all intents and purposes? Is a work in progress.

The Congress can make laws. And? This is going to blow your mind. It can CHANGE the Constitution. By DESIGN!

The Constitution isn't a bible. It does not recognize religion as supreme over the laws of men.

Your Anarchist/Monarchist dream isn't going to come true here any time soon.

 

[ShaklesOfBigGov]

Yeah..that Silly Constitution.

You really are in the wrong country.

Saudi Arabia might be more to your liking.

ROFL! Holding up the Constitution is your argument? Really? Now it's unpatriotic to criticize the Post Office?

Here's a clue for you, moron: The Constitution allows the federal government to run the Post Office. It doesn't require it to run the Post Office. It also doesn't require the federal government to grant a legal monopoly to the Post Office.

Even if the Constitution did require the federal government to run the Post Office, that doesn't make it a good idea.

BTW, Saudi Arabia has a government run Post Office, just like the USA.

Your argument couldn't be more wrong, irrelevant or downright stupid.

Except Saudi Arabia is a monarchy.

Which is, to you, is a perfect government.

The rich rule there.

Everyone else? Is fucked.

A perfect government where the rich rule. Really?

Oh, so President Obama and other Democrat politicians have each chosen NOT to place their kids in private schools in FULL support of public education?

Last time I checked, DEMOCRATS were against parents choosing for themselves the best education for their kids ... while Republicans opened the door to "choice" through vouchers. So we have Democrat politicians that are allowed the free luxury opportunity of choice for their kids.

Everyone else? Is fucked.

 

[rightwinger]

Yeah..that Silly Constitution.

You really are in the wrong country.

Saudi Arabia might be more to your liking.

ROFL! Holding up the Constitution is your argument? Really? Now it's unpatriotic to criticize the Post Office?

Here's a clue for you, moron: The Constitution allows the federal government to run the Post Office. It doesn't require it to run the Post Office. It also doesn't require the federal government to grant a legal monopoly to the Post Office.

Even if the Constitution did require the federal government to run the Post Office, that doesn't make it a good idea.

BTW, Saudi Arabia has a government run Post Office, just like the USA.

Your argument couldn't be more wrong, irrelevant or downright stupid.

Except Saudi Arabia is a monarchy.

Which is, to you, is a perfect government.

The rich rule there.

Everyone else? Is fucked.

Oh, so President Obama and other Democrat politicians have each chosen NOT to place their kids in private schools in FULL support of public education?

Last time I checked, DEMOCRATS were against parents choosing for themselves the best education for their kids ... while Republicans opened the door to "choice" through vouchers. So we have Democrat politicians that are allowed the free luxury opportunity of choice for their kids.

Everyone else? Is fucked.

Who has ever advocated banning private education? Not the Democrats

Democrats have just opposed the taxpayer funding private schools. So do I

 

[Sallow]

Yeah..that Silly Constitution.

You really are in the wrong country.

Saudi Arabia might be more to your liking.

ROFL! Holding up the Constitution is your argument? Really? Now it's unpatriotic to criticize the Post Office?

Here's a clue for you, moron: The Constitution allows the federal government to run the Post Office. It doesn't require it to run the Post Office. It also doesn't require the federal government to grant a legal monopoly to the Post Office.

Even if the Constitution did require the federal government to run the Post Office, that doesn't make it a good idea.

BTW, Saudi Arabia has a government run Post Office, just like the USA.

Your argument couldn't be more wrong, irrelevant or downright stupid.

Except Saudi Arabia is a monarchy.

Which is, to you, is a perfect government.

The rich rule there.

Everyone else? Is fucked.

A perfect government where the rich rule. Really?

Oh, so President Obama and other Democrat politicians have each chosen NOT to place their kids in private schools in FULL support of public education?

Last time I checked, DEMOCRATS were against parents choosing for themselves the best education for their kids ... while Republicans opened the door to "choice" through vouchers. So we have Democrat politicians that are allowed the free luxury opportunity of choice for their kids.

Everyone else? Is fucked.

You do know what non-sequiturs, right? Because you just engaged in one.

But lets get down to brass tacks.

This thread is yet another one of those "code-talking", smoke screens conservatives love to engage in.

The less government, government is corrupt, government is bad thing really just means you don't want "other people" getting stuff you don't think they should have.

And it's generally folks you deem "unworthy".

Meanwhile, folks with much to much are eating your lunch.

Literally.

They are putting up laws to block Democracy from happening, break labor and keep folks stupid. Why? They don't want regulations or taxes..and they want all the marbles.

They very accurately assume we are all like Rats in a cage, content to fight each other.

And for the most part? They are right.

 

[NYcarbineer]

You guys keep ranting about turning all of medicine over to the government. What has the government ever run efficiently? the post office? DOD? Social security? medicare? welfare? border security? the budget?

Why would you want to turn more of our economy over to them?

What's inefficient about Social Security?

Anyone?

 

[ShaklesOfBigGov]

I would argue that the federal government MUST operate the post office.


If you read the COTUS it lists certain powers of the federal government and then says all other powers belong to the states or the people. Meaning the POST OFFICE MUST remain with the federal government.

Of course if you read the COTUS that specifically, you must wonder how states are empowered to build roads at all, clearly postal roads are the responsibility of the federal government.

Nope. A "power" is the legal authority to do something. It's not a requirement to do anything.

Oh really? So if I were to say do a little digging around I wouldn't find any postings where you are bitching about Obama not doing anything to defend our southern border?

MMMM I think I would find that you HAVE been bitiching about that.....

That's not a power. It's a legal requirement. Obama swore an oath to uphold the laws of the United States. That includes our immigration laws.

Did you seriously just say that?

Here is the text in reference to both the Postal roads

Section. 8.

The Congress shall have Power

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

Now if you would be so kind, please point me to the section of the cotus requiring the federal government to prevent people from entering this country.

Article II Clause 8 Actually

The President must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed."

Now my question for you. According to the United States Constitution which branch has been given the power and ability to establishes laws - the executive, the legislative, or the judicial. Contrary to liberal belief, their is only one correct answer, as the Constitution and it's framers CLEARLY do state and delegate a separation of powers.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Anyone?

Are you serious?



Besides the fact that the money comes from the general fund which has a massive deficit? Is that what you folks call efficiency?

 

[NYcarbineer]

Anyone?

Are you serious?



Besides the fact that the money comes from the general fund which has a massive deficit? Is that what you folks call efficiency?

The money doesn't come from the general fund the money comes from payroll tax revenues and interest earned on those revenues.

You have fallen victim to a myth.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Are you high, or really that stupid? There is no assets to support the program. The treasury handles these insurance bonds like any other. They borrow money off from the faith of the federal government. Nothing more.

Lets help the dullard out a bit on this one.

Trust Fund Data

Money flowing into the trust funds is invested in U. S. Government securities. Because the government spends this borrowed cash, some people see the trust fund assets as an accumulation of securities that the government will be unable to make good on in the future. Without legislation to restore long-range solvency of the trust funds, redemption of long-term securities prior to maturity would be necessary.

Far from being "worthless IOUs," the investments held by the trust funds are backed by the full faith and credit of the U. S. Government. The government has always repaid Social Security, with interest. The special-issue securities are, therefore, just as safe as U.S. Savings Bonds or other financial instruments of the Federal government.

Many options are being considered to restore long-range trust fund solvency. These options are being considered now, well in advance of the year the funds are likely to be exhausted. It is thus likely that legislation will be enacted to restore long-term solvency, making it unlikely that the trust funds' securities will need to be redeemed on a large scale prior to maturity.

 

[Sallow]

Anyone?

Are you serious?



Besides the fact that the money comes from the general fund which has a massive deficit? Is that what you folks call efficiency?

The money doesn't come from the general fund the money comes from payroll tax revenues and interest earned on those revenues.

You have fallen victim to a myth.

Of course they have.

They hold that the US, itself, has no real "value".

They talk about "fiat" currency.

It's all doomsday bullshit, as if pegging anything against gold, a metal which is basically worthless, is something better to do.

The world pegs IT'S currency against the US dollar. Why? Because it does have value. It has value because the US economy is the strongest in the world.

The world doesn't peg against the Euro, the Yuan, the Pound or the Yen.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Both accounts are anecdotal and irrelevant.

And the notion of 'efficient' is meaningless absent an agreed upon definition.

Moreover, it's a fallacy to attempt to compare public and private sectors, given their different roles, responsibilities, and restraints, just as it's a fallacy to say that 'all' government agencies are 'inefficient.'

In fact it's extremist nonsense.

LOL. Nice try. Most of us live in the real world, been there done that. The fallacy is between your ears, sending packages via USPS and FedEx/UPS are generally not the same in efficiency. Performance rules the private sector, job security rules the public sector. And that IS the fucking point!

No one could afford to send letters at UPS's prices.

And honestly, what is wrong with a little job security. This insanity where we all change jobs every five years isn't really doing us very much good as a society.

ROFL! UPS is forced by law to charge a certain minimum price, so your whine about that is pure idiocy.

UPS is?.....

Yes.

never heard of that.....they can charge whatever they want....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Will either one deliver a letter door to door cross country for 49 cents?

The actual cost is more like 3 bucks, but then the taxpayers have to foot the bill. USPS will be history in short order.

Guy, the USPS pays its own way. and no, people will never be rid of it.

NOw, I Do think the USPS has to make some adjustments. For instance, there's no good reason for Saturday Deliveries to continue, but you can't even get rid of that without an outcry.

yes it does pay its own way.....and yea there is good reason for Sat deliveries......on the inside mail keeps moving forward....and stops at the carriers routs....every monday would be like a day after a holiday....and sometimes it can take the whole week to catch up.....and then it starts all over....the OT involved would kinda eat up much of the savings.....the only way for that to work would be if ALL Mail stops were its at on Friday.....but that will never happen.....

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Of course they have.

They hold that the US, itself, has no real "value".

They talk about "fiat" currency.

It's all doomsday bullshit, as if pegging anything against gold, a metal which is basically worthless, is something better to do.

The world pegs IT'S currency against the US dollar. Why? Because it does have value. It has value because the US economy is the strongest in the world.

The world doesn't peg against the Euro, the Yuan, the Pound or the Yen.

You're understanding of economics is so lack luster, having you go on a rant is amusing, but nothing more Shallow. I dubbed thee Shallow for a reason. Your incredible lack of knowledge in any subject matter.

Poor thing.

 

[ClosedCaption]

Tens of thousands of babies in the 1950s-'60s were born with deformities like this from Thalidomide:​

Happened all over the world in over 40 countries. Didn't happen in the U.S.

Why not? Because the FDA put up a stop sign. And they were right.


This is Frances Kelsey of the FDA who put up that stop sign receiving the President's Award for Distinguished Citizen Service for doing that. She just turned 100 years old this summer.

​

I'm not sure what that has to do with "the economy" but there ya go.

Additionally?

The safety record of American Airliners are remarkable. That's not because the captains of industry wish Americans to safely travel by air. That's because the Government has rigorous regulations in regards to air travel.

another dem/lib that does not know what "efficient" means. Yes, american airlines are pretty safe compared to those of maylaysia and kenya. But is the FAA efficient in its regulation of airlines? Is TSA an efficiently run agency? How about the border patrol? are we getting efficient effective border security from that govt agency?

Apparently YOU DON'T know what it means.

Efficiency in regards to running a government agency MEANS provisioning the right amount of RESOURCES to EFFECTIVELY get the job done.

If you DO NOT do that. Then you are NOT efficient.

Idiot.

You really don't know what the word means do you.

efficient = capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy.

Now, which goverment agency fits that definition?

Redfish says: "I'm going to move this over here...no over there...."

 

[candycorn]

Tens of thousands of babies in the 1950s-'60s were born with deformities like this from Thalidomide:​

​

Happened all over the world in over 40 countries. Didn't happen in the U.S.

Why not? Because the FDA put up a stop sign. And they were right.


This is Frances Kelsey of the FDA who put up that stop sign receiving the President's Award for Distinguished Citizen Service for doing that. She just turned 100 years old this summer.

​

I'm not sure what that has to do with "the economy" but there ya go.

Additionally?

The safety record of American Airliners are remarkable. That's not because the captains of industry wish Americans to safely travel by air. That's because the Government has rigorous regulations in regards to air travel.

another dem/lib that does not know what "efficient" means. Yes, american airlines are pretty safe compared to those of maylaysia and kenya. But is the FAA efficient in its regulation of airlines? Is TSA an efficiently run agency? How about the border patrol? are we getting efficient effective border security from that govt agency?

Apparently YOU DON'T know what it means.

Efficiency in regards to running a government agency MEANS provisioning the right amount of RESOURCES to EFFECTIVELY get the job done.

If you DO NOT do that. Then you are NOT efficient.

Idiot.

You really don't know what the word means do you.

efficient = capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy.

Now, which goverment agency fits that definition?

Redfish says: "I'm going to move this over here...no over there...."

Has there ever been a program of any scale that has been run perfectly? No.
The thread and the author are both abject failures.

 

[NLT]

50 Examples of Government Waste

represented in the examples of government waste below:

1. The federal government made at least $72 billion in improper payments in 2008.[1]
2. Washington spends $92 billion on corporate welfare (excluding TARP) versus $71 billion on homeland security.[2]
3. Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties.[3]
4. Government auditors spent the past five years examining all federal programs and found that 22 percent of them -- costing taxpayers a total of $123 billion annually -- fail to show any positive impact on the populations they serve.[4]
5. The Congressional Budget Office published a "Budget Options" series identifying more than $100 billion in potential spending cuts.[5]
6. Examples from multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs.[6]
7. Washington will spend $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.[7]
8. A GAO audit classified nearly half of all purchases on government credit cards as improper, fraudulent, or embezzled. Examples of taxpayer-funded purchases include gambling, mortgage payments, liquor, lingerie, iPods, Xboxes, jewelry, Internet dating services, and Hawaiian vacations. In one extraordinary example, the Postal Service spent $13,500 on one dinner at a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, including "over 200 appetizers and over $3,000 of alcohol, including more than 40 bottles of wine costing more than $50 each and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere and Johnny Walker Gold." The 81 guests consumed an average of $167 worth of food and drink apiece.[8]
9. Federal agencies are delinquent on nearly 20 percent of employee travel charge cards, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually.[9]
10. The Securities and Exchange Commission spent $3.9 million rearranging desks and offices at its Washington, D.C., headquarters.[10]
11. The Pentagon recently spent $998,798 shipping two 19-cent washers from South Carolina to Texas and $293,451 sending an 89-cent washer from South Carolina to Florida.[11]
12. Over half of all farm subsidies go to commercial farms, which report average household incomes of $200,000.[12]
13. Health care fraud is estimated to cost taxpayers more than $60 billion annually.[13]
14. A GAO audit found that 95 Pentagon weapons systems suffered from a combined $295 billion in cost overruns.[14]
15. The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades.[15]
16. Washington will spend $126 million in 2009 to enhance the Kennedy family legacy in Massachusetts. Additionally, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) diverted $20 million from the 2010 defense budget to subsidize a new Edward M. Kennedy Institute.[16]
17. Federal investigators have launched more than 20 criminal fraud investigations related to the TARP financial bailout.[17]
18. Despite trillion-dollar deficits, last year's 10,160 earmarks included $200,000 for a tattoo removal program in Mission Hills, California; $190,000 for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming; and $75,000 for the Totally Teen Zone in Albany, Georgia.[18]
19. The federal government owns more than 50,000 vacant homes.[19]
20. The Federal Communications Commission spent $350,000 to sponsor NASCAR driver David Gilliland.[20]
21. Members of Congress have spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars supplying their offices with popcorn machines, plasma televisions, DVD equipment, ionic air fresheners, camcorders, and signature machines -- plus $24,730 leasing a Lexus, $1,434 on a digital camera, and $84,000 on personalized calendars.[21]
22. More than $13 billion in Iraq aid has been classified as wasted or stolen. Another $7.8 billion cannot be accounted for.[22]
23. Fraud related to Hurricane Katrina spending is estimated to top $2 billion. In addition, debit cards provided to hurricane victims were used to pay for Caribbean vacations, NFL tickets, Dom Perignon champagne, "Girls Gone Wild" videos, and at least one sex change operation.[23]
24. Auditors discovered that 900,000 of the 2.5 million recipients of emergency Katrina assistance provided false names, addresses, or Social Security numbers or submitted multiple applications.[24]
25. Congress recently gave Alaska Airlines $500,000 to paint a Chinook salmon on a Boeing 737.[25]
26. The Transportation Department will subsidize up to $2,000 per flight for direct flights between Washington, D.C., and the small hometown of Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY) -- but only on Monday mornings and Friday evenings, when lawmakers, staff, and lobbyists usually fly. Rogers is a member of the Appropriations Committee, which writes the Transportation Department's budget.[26]
27. Washington has spent $3 billion re-sanding beaches -- even as this new sand washes back into the ocean.[27]
28. A Department of Agriculture report concedes that much of the $2.5 billion in "stimulus" funding for broadband Internet will be wasted.[28]
29. The Defense Department wasted $100 million on unused flight tickets and never bothered to collect refunds even though the tickets were refundable.[29]
30. Washington spends $60,000 per hour shooting Air Force One photo-ops in front of national landmarks.[30]
31. Over one recent 18-month period, Air Force and Navy personnel used government-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400 on admission to entertainment events, $48,250 on gambling, $69,300 on cruises, and $73,950 on exotic dance clubs and prostitutes.[31]
32. Members of Congress are set to pay themselves $90 million to increase their franked mailings for the 2010 election year.[32]
33. Congress has ignored efficiency recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services that would save $9 billion annually.[33]
34. Taxpayers are funding paintings of high-ranking government officials at a cost of up to $50,000 apiece.[34]
35. The state of Washington sent $1 food stamp checks to 250,000 households in order to raise state caseload figures and trigger $43 million in additional federal funds.[35]
36. [36]
37. Congress appropriated $20 million for "commemoration of success" celebrations related to Iraq and Afghanistan.[37]
38. Homeland Security employee purchases include 63-inch plasma TVs, iPods, and $230 for a beer brewing kit.[38]
39. Two drafting errors in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act resulted in a $2 billion taxpayer cost.[39]
40. North Ridgeville, Ohio, received $800,000 in "stimulus" funds for a project that its mayor described as "a long way from the top priority."[40]
41. The National Institutes of Health spends $1.3 million per month to rent a lab that it cannot use.[41]
42. Congress recently spent $2.4 billion on 10 new jets that the Pentagon insists it does not need and will not use.[42]
43. Lawmakers diverted $13 million from Hurricane Katrina relief spending to build a museum celebrating the Army Corps of Engineers -- the agency partially responsible for the failed levees that flooded New Orleans.[43]
44. Medicare officials recently mailed $50 million in erroneous refunds to 230,000 Medicare recipients.[44]
45. Audits showed $34 billion worth of Department of Homeland Security contracts contained significant waste, fraud, and abuse.[45]
46. Washington recently spent $1.8 million to help build a private golf course in Atlanta, Georgia.[46]
47. The Advanced Technology Program spends $150 million annually subsidizing private businesses; 40 percent of this funding goes to Fortune 500 companies.[47]
48. Congressional investigators were able to receive $55,000 in federal student loan funding for a fictional college they created to test the Department of Education.[48]
49. The Conservation Reserve program pays farmers $2 billion annually not to farm their land.[49]
50. The Commerce Department has lost 1,137 computers since 2001, many containing Americans' personal data.[50]

 

[ClosedCaption]

Tens of thousands of babies in the 1950s-'60s were born with deformities like this from Thalidomide:​

​

Happened all over the world in over 40 countries. Didn't happen in the U.S.

Why not? Because the FDA put up a stop sign. And they were right.


This is Frances Kelsey of the FDA who put up that stop sign receiving the President's Award for Distinguished Citizen Service for doing that. She just turned 100 years old this summer.

​

I'm not sure what that has to do with "the economy" but there ya go.

Additionally?

The safety record of American Airliners are remarkable. That's not because the captains of industry wish Americans to safely travel by air. That's because the Government has rigorous regulations in regards to air travel.

another dem/lib that does not know what "efficient" means. Yes, american airlines are pretty safe compared to those of maylaysia and kenya. But is the FAA efficient in its regulation of airlines? Is TSA an efficiently run agency? How about the border patrol? are we getting efficient effective border security from that govt agency?

Apparently YOU DON'T know what it means.

Efficiency in regards to running a government agency MEANS provisioning the right amount of RESOURCES to EFFECTIVELY get the job done.

If you DO NOT do that. Then you are NOT efficient.

Idiot.

You really don't know what the word means do you.

efficient = capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy.

Now, which goverment agency fits that definition?

Redfish says: "I'm going to move this over here...no over there...."

Has there ever been a program of any scale that has been run perfectly? No.
The thread and the author are both abject failures.

I'll go futher. There has never been anything that has been run perfectly. Ever! Which makes it the perfect bar for govt to grasp for. One that no entity on the planet has reached.

Thats fair

 

[candycorn]

50 Examples of Government Waste

represented in the examples of government waste below:

1. The federal government made at least $72 billion in improper payments in 2008.[1]
2. Washington spends $92 billion on corporate welfare (excluding TARP) versus $71 billion on homeland security.[2]
3. Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties.[3]
4. Government auditors spent the past five years examining all federal programs and found that 22 percent of them -- costing taxpayers a total of $123 billion annually -- fail to show any positive impact on the populations they serve.[4]
5. The Congressional Budget Office published a "Budget Options" series identifying more than $100 billion in potential spending cuts.[5]
6. Examples from multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs.[6]
7. Washington will spend $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.[7]
8. A GAO audit classified nearly half of all purchases on government credit cards as improper, fraudulent, or embezzled. Examples of taxpayer-funded purchases include gambling, mortgage payments, liquor, lingerie, iPods, Xboxes, jewelry, Internet dating services, and Hawaiian vacations. In one extraordinary example, the Postal Service spent $13,500 on one dinner at a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, including "over 200 appetizers and over $3,000 of alcohol, including more than 40 bottles of wine costing more than $50 each and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere and Johnny Walker Gold." The 81 guests consumed an average of $167 worth of food and drink apiece.[8]
9. Federal agencies are delinquent on nearly 20 percent of employee travel charge cards, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually.[9]
10. The Securities and Exchange Commission spent $3.9 million rearranging desks and offices at its Washington, D.C., headquarters.[10]
11. The Pentagon recently spent $998,798 shipping two 19-cent washers from South Carolina to Texas and $293,451 sending an 89-cent washer from South Carolina to Florida.[11]
12. Over half of all farm subsidies go to commercial farms, which report average household incomes of $200,000.[12]
13. Health care fraud is estimated to cost taxpayers more than $60 billion annually.[13]
14. A GAO audit found that 95 Pentagon weapons systems suffered from a combined $295 billion in cost overruns.[14]
15. The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades.[15]
16. Washington will spend $126 million in 2009 to enhance the Kennedy family legacy in Massachusetts. Additionally, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) diverted $20 million from the 2010 defense budget to subsidize a new Edward M. Kennedy Institute.[16]
17. Federal investigators have launched more than 20 criminal fraud investigations related to the TARP financial bailout.[17]
18. Despite trillion-dollar deficits, last year's 10,160 earmarks included $200,000 for a tattoo removal program in Mission Hills, California; $190,000 for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming; and $75,000 for the Totally Teen Zone in Albany, Georgia.[18]
19. The federal government owns more than 50,000 vacant homes.[19]
20. The Federal Communications Commission spent $350,000 to sponsor NASCAR driver David Gilliland.[20]
21. Members of Congress have spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars supplying their offices with popcorn machines, plasma televisions, DVD equipment, ionic air fresheners, camcorders, and signature machines -- plus $24,730 leasing a Lexus, $1,434 on a digital camera, and $84,000 on personalized calendars.[21]
22. More than $13 billion in Iraq aid has been classified as wasted or stolen. Another $7.8 billion cannot be accounted for.[22]
23. Fraud related to Hurricane Katrina spending is estimated to top $2 billion. In addition, debit cards provided to hurricane victims were used to pay for Caribbean vacations, NFL tickets, Dom Perignon champagne, "Girls Gone Wild" videos, and at least one sex change operation.[23]
24. Auditors discovered that 900,000 of the 2.5 million recipients of emergency Katrina assistance provided false names, addresses, or Social Security numbers or submitted multiple applications.[24]
25. Congress recently gave Alaska Airlines $500,000 to paint a Chinook salmon on a Boeing 737.[25]
26. The Transportation Department will subsidize up to $2,000 per flight for direct flights between Washington, D.C., and the small hometown of Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY) -- but only on Monday mornings and Friday evenings, when lawmakers, staff, and lobbyists usually fly. Rogers is a member of the Appropriations Committee, which writes the Transportation Department's budget.[26]
27. Washington has spent $3 billion re-sanding beaches -- even as this new sand washes back into the ocean.[27]
28. A Department of Agriculture report concedes that much of the $2.5 billion in "stimulus" funding for broadband Internet will be wasted.[28]
29. The Defense Department wasted $100 million on unused flight tickets and never bothered to collect refunds even though the tickets were refundable.[29]
30. Washington spends $60,000 per hour shooting Air Force One photo-ops in front of national landmarks.[30]
31. Over one recent 18-month period, Air Force and Navy personnel used government-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400 on admission to entertainment events, $48,250 on gambling, $69,300 on cruises, and $73,950 on exotic dance clubs and prostitutes.[31]
32. Members of Congress are set to pay themselves $90 million to increase their franked mailings for the 2010 election year.[32]
33. Congress has ignored efficiency recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services that would save $9 billion annually.[33]
34. Taxpayers are funding paintings of high-ranking government officials at a cost of up to $50,000 apiece.[34]
35. The state of Washington sent $1 food stamp checks to 250,000 households in order to raise state caseload figures and trigger $43 million in additional federal funds.[35]
36. [36]
37. Congress appropriated $20 million for "commemoration of success" celebrations related to Iraq and Afghanistan.[37]
38. Homeland Security employee purchases include 63-inch plasma TVs, iPods, and $230 for a beer brewing kit.[38]
39. Two drafting errors in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act resulted in a $2 billion taxpayer cost.[39]
40. North Ridgeville, Ohio, received $800,000 in "stimulus" funds for a project that its mayor described as "a long way from the top priority."[40]
41. The National Institutes of Health spends $1.3 million per month to rent a lab that it cannot use.[41]
42. Congress recently spent $2.4 billion on 10 new jets that the Pentagon insists it does not need and will not use.[42]
43. Lawmakers diverted $13 million from Hurricane Katrina relief spending to build a museum celebrating the Army Corps of Engineers -- the agency partially responsible for the failed levees that flooded New Orleans.[43]
44. Medicare officials recently mailed $50 million in erroneous refunds to 230,000 Medicare recipients.[44]
45. Audits showed $34 billion worth of Department of Homeland Security contracts contained significant waste, fraud, and abuse.[45]
46. Washington recently spent $1.8 million to help build a private golf course in Atlanta, Georgia.[46]
47. The Advanced Technology Program spends $150 million annually subsidizing private businesses; 40 percent of this funding goes to Fortune 500 companies.[47]
48. Congressional investigators were able to receive $55,000 in federal student loan funding for a fictional college they created to test the Department of Education.[48]
49. The Conservation Reserve program pays farmers $2 billion annually not to farm their land.[49]
50. The Commerce Department has lost 1,137 computers since 2001, many containing Americans' personal data.[50]

Valid points...I never quite understood the need for paintings of engorgement officials and pictures of AF1 over landmarks.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

I'll go futher. There has never been anything that has been run perfectly. Ever! Which makes it the perfect bar for govt to grasp for. One that no entity on the planet has reached.

Thats fair

And what is the difference? It's a rather large one for anyone with a luke warm IQ. The money that the private sector uses to conduct business belongs to them. The public sector on the other hand takes money from other people and then proceeds to waste it on levels that would make the largest organized crime ring blush. That's why when it comes to inefficiency and waste, the government is by far the biggest culprit. It's very easy to waste other people's money.

 

[ClosedCaption]

I'll go futher. There has never been anything that has been run perfectly. Ever! Which makes it the perfect bar for govt to grasp for. One that no entity on the planet has reached.

Thats fair

And what is the difference?

You're right what is the difference between everything on the planet and govt?

It's a rather large one for anyone with a luke warm IQ. The money that the private sector uses to conduct business belongs to them. The public sector on the other hand takes money from other people and then proceeds to waste it on levels that would make the largest organized crime ring blush. That's why when it comes to inefficiency and waste, the government is by far the biggest culprit. It's very easy to waste other people's money.

Yeah thats why govt should base their model on that thing that doesnt exists that doesnt have any fraud or waste. Its called....NOTHING IN THE FUCKING WORLD