It seems like every day I read about how government wastes money so I thought I would record them. Since I began this blog, I have been stunned by the amount of waste, fraud, and mismanagement I have found. I recognize that some government is necessary for any society to exist but without the "profit incentive" that we have in private enterprise, government continues to grow like a cancer and along with it the potential for abuse. If you ever needed a reason to limit government, just read some of the following posts.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Flying High On Your Dime

A Government Accountability Office report obtained by CBS News shows federal workers are breaking the rules by treating themselves to expensive upgrades. In one year, federal workers bought 53,000 premium-class airline tickets at a cost of 230 million tax dollars. Investigators say two out of every three of those upgrades were improper - a full $146 million worth.

Examples:
  • 21 employees from the U.S. Trade Representative's office. If they'd flown to their Hong Kong meeting on coach like they were supposed to, it would've cost $31,000. Instead, they treated themselves to premium class for $99,000. That's $68,000 extra for just the one trip. 
  • An Agriculture Department official flew from Washington, D.C. to Switzerland. Coach would've cost $900 but he scored a business class seat for $7,500.
  • And when a Foreign Agricultural Service executive took 10 trips to Geneva, Paris and elsewhere, it would have totaled less than $9,000 in coach. But with his luxury upgrades, it was $62,000. The GAO called the $53,000 dollar difference "abusive."
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