No, its not a reality show challenger to Honey Boo Boo ...
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) is well known to those of us in North Texas. He is a fiscal tornado, and is one of the few in Washington (in either party) who is actually serious about getting our country's money mess addressed.
This is a link to an OpEd he did in the Washington Times about the recent $50 billion Sandy Emergency Relief Bill that was shoved through Congress. This is well worth a read - you will be shocked at how our tax money has been stolen for pork projects that have absolutely nothing to do with storm recovery. It is instructional to read this, and understand that it is not out of the norm for Washington - this is how everything works, how they continually steal our money for their pet projects and special interests. Both sides do it. It is heinous, it accounts for a tremendous amount of government waste, and is a huge factor in our debt crisis.
Shit like this has to stop.
Kudos for Jeb. For those of you in other parts of the country, keep an eye on this guy - he may be one of the small group of people in Washington who will save our country from itself.
http://hensarling.house.gov/news/jeb-in-the-news/2013/01/icymi-hensarling-op-ed-in-the-washington-times.shtml
Showing posts with label government waste. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government waste. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Fiscal Insanity
Our national debt is now over 15 trillion dollars. That means that every man, woman, and child in this country (either legally or illegally) is in debt to the tune of 48,000 dollars.
In spite of all the lip service Obama and Congress gives this incredible situation, spending by the Federal Government continues to increase unchecked. Remember all the grand statements about the debt ceiling deal last summer, how Obama and the Dems said that if we just go ahead and raise the limit to 15 trillion, give or take a couple hundred billion, that real debt reform and spending cuts would be enacted. He got the higher ceiling. No reform has happened.
Obama is about to formally ask Congress to once again raise the debt ceiling by another trillion or so - because we've already reached the ceiling increase agreed to last summer. Imagine that - Washington managed to put us further in debt by well over a trillion dollars in 6 months!
Current projections have us adding a trillion to the national debt EVERY YEAR from this point forward. No plan or proposal currently under evaluation will stop this.
Remember those automatic cuts that fell into place when the Super Committee failed? Over a trillion in automatic cuts, half of which come out of the Pentagon? Obama has plans for that money. He has already stated that money will be available for spending elsewhere - on his pet social programs. Those aren't cuts, they aren't payments to draw down the debt - he's just stealing it to buy more votes.
The nation's debt has exceeded its GNP. As a country, we owe more than we produce. If the country was an individual, it would meet the definition of bankrupt.
This is not sustainable. It cannot continue. There is no magic RESET button that some future President can push to make it all go away. This is a very real, serious problem, and the majority of politicians from both parties are hell bent on ignoring it. Pushing the can down the road for future generations to deal with. They don't want to address it because they are know that every cut will piss off a voting block. The few politicians who try to sound the alarm are branded right wing extremists, racists, obstructionists, Tea Party members ...
Update - Obama officially asked Congress to raise the debt ceiling by another 1.2 Trillion dollars. If Congress votes against the request, Obama has said he would veto and push it through anyway. I'm not sure how the President can veto legislation that is voted down and not sent to him for signature, but apparently He thinks His power is all encompassing ...
In spite of all the lip service Obama and Congress gives this incredible situation, spending by the Federal Government continues to increase unchecked. Remember all the grand statements about the debt ceiling deal last summer, how Obama and the Dems said that if we just go ahead and raise the limit to 15 trillion, give or take a couple hundred billion, that real debt reform and spending cuts would be enacted. He got the higher ceiling. No reform has happened.
Obama is about to formally ask Congress to once again raise the debt ceiling by another trillion or so - because we've already reached the ceiling increase agreed to last summer. Imagine that - Washington managed to put us further in debt by well over a trillion dollars in 6 months!
Current projections have us adding a trillion to the national debt EVERY YEAR from this point forward. No plan or proposal currently under evaluation will stop this.
Remember those automatic cuts that fell into place when the Super Committee failed? Over a trillion in automatic cuts, half of which come out of the Pentagon? Obama has plans for that money. He has already stated that money will be available for spending elsewhere - on his pet social programs. Those aren't cuts, they aren't payments to draw down the debt - he's just stealing it to buy more votes.
The nation's debt has exceeded its GNP. As a country, we owe more than we produce. If the country was an individual, it would meet the definition of bankrupt.
This is not sustainable. It cannot continue. There is no magic RESET button that some future President can push to make it all go away. This is a very real, serious problem, and the majority of politicians from both parties are hell bent on ignoring it. Pushing the can down the road for future generations to deal with. They don't want to address it because they are know that every cut will piss off a voting block. The few politicians who try to sound the alarm are branded right wing extremists, racists, obstructionists, Tea Party members ...
Update - Obama officially asked Congress to raise the debt ceiling by another 1.2 Trillion dollars. If Congress votes against the request, Obama has said he would veto and push it through anyway. I'm not sure how the President can veto legislation that is voted down and not sent to him for signature, but apparently He thinks His power is all encompassing ...
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Government Waste - Why Do We Continue To Put Up With This?
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) just released his now yearly report on the horrendous waste of our tax dollars going on in Washington. He details 100 of the worst offenders, and it will make your blood boil. Thank you, Senator, for continuing to show us what a bunch of crooks we've got running this country.
Why in the world do we continue to allow the Federal Government continue to raise our taxes, now worse than ever, when this is what they do with our money?
If you take the time to read through it, you'll find a preponderence of items listed originated with the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation - two organizations that should be wiped from the face of the Earth!
Warning - don't read this if you are easily upset ...
http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=b69a6ebd-7ebe-41b7-bb03-c25a5e194365
Here are a few gems:
- $740,000 given to Montana State University to study how wild sheep can be used to control weeds.
- $132,000 granted to redesign a show website for PBS, Jonathan Bird's Blue World.
- $499,000 given to the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Society for no reason anyone can identify.
- $80,000 to upgrade a street median in Washington DC.
- $339,000 awarded by the National Science Foundation to study weaving in Iceland.
- $5,180,000 to fund the construction of a Steamboat Overlook Interpretive Center in Louisiana.
- $923,000 awarded by the National Science Foudnation to study how robots can be used to help pre-schoolers learn to read.
- $592,000 from the National Institute of Health to study why monkeys throw their shit.
- $25,000 to transcibe a 6 hour love ballad for the Maldives Islands.
- $198,000 to UC Riverside to study whether using social media makes persons happy or not, awarded by the National Science Foundation.
- $18,800,000 for 160 grants nationwide for theaters to promote performing arts.
- $606,000 to Columbia University to study online dating.
- $160,000 for 16 professors to spend 5 weeks in Rome this past summer, apparently on vacation.
- $425,000 for a study on how to tell Indian (country of India) local level officials how to govern better.
- $52,000 for the USAF Academy to construct a pagan 'Stonehenge-like' outdoor worship location for cadets who worship the earth.
- $500,000 from the National Science Foundation for the creation of plays that explain scientific principles for children.
- $500,000 from the National Science Foundation to study how political information is disseminated on the internet.
- $610,000 to study the well being of people in other countries.
- $300,000 from the National Science Foundation to create a dance program explaining the origins of matter.
- $170,000 to study hookah pipe smoking habit changes in students.
- $182,000 to create an iPhone app to advertise Tennessee produce.
- $8,300,000 for a program to preserve covered bridges.
- $126,000 to study political campaign websites.
- $765,000 from the National Science Foundation to study how students use social networking.
- $492,000 from the National Science Foundation to study whether information in tweets is trustworthy.
And a whole lot more ...
Why in the world do we continue to allow the Federal Government continue to raise our taxes, now worse than ever, when this is what they do with our money?
If you take the time to read through it, you'll find a preponderence of items listed originated with the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation - two organizations that should be wiped from the face of the Earth!
Warning - don't read this if you are easily upset ...
http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=b69a6ebd-7ebe-41b7-bb03-c25a5e194365
Here are a few gems:
- $740,000 given to Montana State University to study how wild sheep can be used to control weeds.
- $132,000 granted to redesign a show website for PBS, Jonathan Bird's Blue World.
- $499,000 given to the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Society for no reason anyone can identify.
- $80,000 to upgrade a street median in Washington DC.
- $339,000 awarded by the National Science Foundation to study weaving in Iceland.
- $5,180,000 to fund the construction of a Steamboat Overlook Interpretive Center in Louisiana.
- $923,000 awarded by the National Science Foudnation to study how robots can be used to help pre-schoolers learn to read.
- $592,000 from the National Institute of Health to study why monkeys throw their shit.
- $25,000 to transcibe a 6 hour love ballad for the Maldives Islands.
- $198,000 to UC Riverside to study whether using social media makes persons happy or not, awarded by the National Science Foundation.
- $18,800,000 for 160 grants nationwide for theaters to promote performing arts.
- $606,000 to Columbia University to study online dating.
- $160,000 for 16 professors to spend 5 weeks in Rome this past summer, apparently on vacation.
- $425,000 for a study on how to tell Indian (country of India) local level officials how to govern better.
- $52,000 for the USAF Academy to construct a pagan 'Stonehenge-like' outdoor worship location for cadets who worship the earth.
- $500,000 from the National Science Foundation for the creation of plays that explain scientific principles for children.
- $500,000 from the National Science Foundation to study how political information is disseminated on the internet.
- $610,000 to study the well being of people in other countries.
- $300,000 from the National Science Foundation to create a dance program explaining the origins of matter.
- $170,000 to study hookah pipe smoking habit changes in students.
- $182,000 to create an iPhone app to advertise Tennessee produce.
- $8,300,000 for a program to preserve covered bridges.
- $126,000 to study political campaign websites.
- $765,000 from the National Science Foundation to study how students use social networking.
- $492,000 from the National Science Foundation to study whether information in tweets is trustworthy.
And a whole lot more ...
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
More Taxpayer Money Going Down The Federal Toilet
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has just released a report "The National Science Foundation: Under The Microscope". It is a scathing report on the incredible waste of our money by this Federal Government Agency.
I am not pretending to say that this waste has all taken place under Obama. I'm sure it started long ago. However, the burning of our money has continued and expanded under his watch. For someone who pledged to oversee each and every line item to purge the waste in government, this is a perfect example of how he hasn't done a damn thing to stop waste.
Give this article a quick read. WARNING - if you suffer from high blood pressure, make sure you've taken your meds before reading!
http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=8a114193-dcf7-4ae8-ae8b-146797e5c162
I am not pretending to say that this waste has all taken place under Obama. I'm sure it started long ago. However, the burning of our money has continued and expanded under his watch. For someone who pledged to oversee each and every line item to purge the waste in government, this is a perfect example of how he hasn't done a damn thing to stop waste.
Give this article a quick read. WARNING - if you suffer from high blood pressure, make sure you've taken your meds before reading!
http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=8a114193-dcf7-4ae8-ae8b-146797e5c162
Friday, April 8, 2011
The Government Is Too Damned Big
We all know that government in this country has gotten way too big in recent years. Several things came to light this week in the wake of all the budget/shutdown crap flying around that really hit home on this subject:
22 million Americans work for government. The official population of the United States on April 1, 2010 was 308,745,538. That is an overall total, - men, women, and children of all ages. That means that one out of every 14 people in this country works for some form of government. It means that one out of every 8.4 people of working age in the United States works for some form of government.
(Disclaimer - these numbers are quoted as including civilian members of the DoD, but not including actual members of the military.)
The ONLY job sector that has shown growth since Obama has taken office is the Federal Government, which I understand has added approximately 250,000 people to its payroll since he ascended to his throne.
Everyone of these 22 million people draws a salary. They all get benefits - medical and insurance coverage (that exceeds what the vast majority of non-government workes get), retirements plans (which have all but disappeared in the private sector), and job security that has no rival in our society. Every bit of this is paid for by taxpayers.
Now, I acknowledge that these people pay taxes too. So, in essence, they are paying for themselves. Doesn't make it any easier to swallow for the rest of us.
In the hours leading up to the possible shutdown, Federal agencies are going through the motions of starting the shutdown. Folks who are deemed to not be essential will be furloghed. Now, that I find VERY OFFENSIVE. If we have people in the government who are not essential (and we have a great deal of them!) WHY THE HELL ARE THEY IN THE GOVERNMENT? WHY THE HELL ARE WE PAYING FOR THEM? I will agree that the definition of essential is subjective, and I would categorize quite a few more folks as essential in normal government operation than under a shutdown, but still ...
We have too many people in our government. We are spending too much money on those people. If you take the reported average salary of a federal government employee and apply it to those 22 million folks, the taxpayers of this country are outlaying somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.2 TRILLION dollars per year just on those salaries.
Many government employees are members of unions. As we have seen, any attempt to have government employees share some of the burden to rescue the financial disaster Obama has led us into results in immediate war with those unions. Apparently, one of the great perks of working for the government is that you are supposedly immune from what the rest of the country's citizens are suffering through.
There are a lot of generalizations in these statements - I acknowldege this. I have friends and relatives who are working for or have worked for government. I can't take a single brush stroke and categorize all of those 22 million folks. However, the issue is so large and so crippling for our country that it has to be recognized and addressed.
22 million Americans work for government. The official population of the United States on April 1, 2010 was 308,745,538. That is an overall total, - men, women, and children of all ages. That means that one out of every 14 people in this country works for some form of government. It means that one out of every 8.4 people of working age in the United States works for some form of government.
(Disclaimer - these numbers are quoted as including civilian members of the DoD, but not including actual members of the military.)
The ONLY job sector that has shown growth since Obama has taken office is the Federal Government, which I understand has added approximately 250,000 people to its payroll since he ascended to his throne.
Everyone of these 22 million people draws a salary. They all get benefits - medical and insurance coverage (that exceeds what the vast majority of non-government workes get), retirements plans (which have all but disappeared in the private sector), and job security that has no rival in our society. Every bit of this is paid for by taxpayers.
Now, I acknowledge that these people pay taxes too. So, in essence, they are paying for themselves. Doesn't make it any easier to swallow for the rest of us.
In the hours leading up to the possible shutdown, Federal agencies are going through the motions of starting the shutdown. Folks who are deemed to not be essential will be furloghed. Now, that I find VERY OFFENSIVE. If we have people in the government who are not essential (and we have a great deal of them!) WHY THE HELL ARE THEY IN THE GOVERNMENT? WHY THE HELL ARE WE PAYING FOR THEM? I will agree that the definition of essential is subjective, and I would categorize quite a few more folks as essential in normal government operation than under a shutdown, but still ...
We have too many people in our government. We are spending too much money on those people. If you take the reported average salary of a federal government employee and apply it to those 22 million folks, the taxpayers of this country are outlaying somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.2 TRILLION dollars per year just on those salaries.
Many government employees are members of unions. As we have seen, any attempt to have government employees share some of the burden to rescue the financial disaster Obama has led us into results in immediate war with those unions. Apparently, one of the great perks of working for the government is that you are supposedly immune from what the rest of the country's citizens are suffering through.
There are a lot of generalizations in these statements - I acknowldege this. I have friends and relatives who are working for or have worked for government. I can't take a single brush stroke and categorize all of those 22 million folks. However, the issue is so large and so crippling for our country that it has to be recognized and addressed.
Friday, June 19, 2009
NIH - One Big Waste of Taxpayer Money
The National Institutes of Health is a federal government agency that funds various health related studies. It spends $29,000,000,000 a year on studies conducted by various research agencies and educational establishments.
While some of these studies are no doubt important, you've also got the incredible waste that comes with a government agency:
$423,500 for a current study of why heterosexual men don't like to use condoms.
$400,000 for a Buenos Aires study of bars to find out why gay men engage in risky behavoir while drunk.
$2,600,000 for a study of Chinese prostitutes to see how to get them to drink less while on the job.
$178,000 for a study of Thai prostitutes to see why those who are addicted to drugs have higher rates of HIV infection.
OK, that's about $4 million wasted on four absolutely useless studies that serve no point except to line the pockets of 'researchers'. $4 million isn't much in the grand Obama scheme of things, but damn ... that's a lot of our money thrown away!
I grant you that this waste did not start with Obama, but it is surely getting worse by the day due to his edicts.
Update - A couple more garbage cans our money is being thrown into (though not by the NIH, government nonetheless):
$100,000 grant available for the Recovery of the Wyoming Toad Program. A hundred grand to someone who can breed frogs, offered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
$10,000,000 offered by the US Agency for International Development, for the purpose of providing support to improve basic education in Cambodia.
While some of these studies are no doubt important, you've also got the incredible waste that comes with a government agency:
$423,500 for a current study of why heterosexual men don't like to use condoms.
$400,000 for a Buenos Aires study of bars to find out why gay men engage in risky behavoir while drunk.
$2,600,000 for a study of Chinese prostitutes to see how to get them to drink less while on the job.
$178,000 for a study of Thai prostitutes to see why those who are addicted to drugs have higher rates of HIV infection.
OK, that's about $4 million wasted on four absolutely useless studies that serve no point except to line the pockets of 'researchers'. $4 million isn't much in the grand Obama scheme of things, but damn ... that's a lot of our money thrown away!
I grant you that this waste did not start with Obama, but it is surely getting worse by the day due to his edicts.
Update - A couple more garbage cans our money is being thrown into (though not by the NIH, government nonetheless):
$100,000 grant available for the Recovery of the Wyoming Toad Program. A hundred grand to someone who can breed frogs, offered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
$10,000,000 offered by the US Agency for International Development, for the purpose of providing support to improve basic education in Cambodia.
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