$10 Million To Train Asian Call Center Workers

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is blowing $10 million to train Filipinos to work in Asian call centers that serve the very U.S. businesses the president threatened to strip of tax deductions for moving jobs and profits abroad.

This latest project is training 3,000 Philippine students to man the phones in areas ranging from healthcare to travel, for domestic call centers from Asia. It’s called Job Enabling English Proficiency (JEEP) and graduates get placed with outsourcing vendors that provide U.S. companies with profitable offshore perks, including Asia’s cheap labor costs. The U.S. program includes 400 hours of training over two years and 23,000 students are currently enrolled in the Philippines.

Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation

Nearly half a million dollars went to the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, which no president has supported since its creation two decades ago, to promote activities “for the benefit of mankind.”

Billions For Overseas Ads

Uncle Sam has spent north of $2 billion to subsidize the advertising costs of wealthy private American companies and trade groups overseas. Under a little-known initiative called Market Access Program (MAP) the U.S. government uses tax dollars to help them promote their private market goods to foreign buyers.

Sunkist Growers with annual sales exceeding $1.2 billion, has received $34.1 million since 1999 for overseas advertising. California raisin growers got $31.7 million since 1998 to promote their product internationally and Blue Diamond Growers, the world’s largest almond producer, got more than $28 million during the same period. A reality television fashion and design show in India got $20 million to promote cotton.

The National Confectioners Association, which includes Hershey’s, Godiva and Mars (Snickers, M&Ms) has received more than $14 million in the past decade, including $1.3 million in 2012. The country’s liquor trade group, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), gets around $200,000 annually to court importers, nightclub owners and bartenders in Russia, the Czech Republic, China, India, South Korea and Brazil.

$130,000 Website

The National Science Foundation gave PBS $130,000 to redesign the website for one of its shows.

$102 Million To Catch $19 Million In Medicaid Fraud

In a shameful - and costly - example of government incompetence, a special program created to combat Medicaid fraud has cost American taxpayers more than five times the amount of overpayments it has identified. That means the anti-fraud project, known as National Medicaid Audit Program, has cost the U.S. government $102 million to operate since 2008 while identifying only $19.4 million in overpayments. It seems like a bad joke, but unfortunately it’s not. Instead it’s one of many examples of government inefficiency that ends up sticking it to the people.

Medicaid has the second-highest (Medicare, the government’s health insurance program for the elderly is first) estimated improper payments of any federal program. In fact, the feds say that $21.9 billion of Medicaid’s federal expenditures of $270 billion in fiscal year 2011 involved improper payments.

Waste In Rural Housing Program

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) is responsible for providing safe, sanitary and affordable housing for very-low-income, low-income and moderate-income rural families. The publicly-financed services are delivered through a wide range of housing programs, including those that support single-family home ownership, multi-family rental housing and farm labor housing. This ends up costing U.S. taxpayers tens of billions of dollars annually for rent subsidies and guaranteed, low-interest home loans for residents of rural areas who otherwise couldn’t afford it.

The idea is to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America. That’s why Uncle Sam has invested north of $170 billion in the RHS program, which includes a national network of state and local offices. It sounds like a noble cause but it’s rife with fraud and corruption that’s so deep-rooted, the magnitude may never really be known.

At least that’s what the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the nonpartisan agency that conducts congressional probes, seems to indicate. In a lengthy report made public this week, the GAO identifies tens of millions of dollars in “improper rental assistance payments” within the RHS program during a three-year period sampled. The cause appears to be “inaccurate calculations of tenant subsidies and incomplete supporting documents.”

Actually, these figures are just a sort of guesstimate because congressional investigators admit they have no real way of knowing the true magnitude of the “improper payments.” Therefore, they logically conclude in their report that the “figures may be understated” and taxpayers could very well be getting cheated out of much more.

$83,000 For Planter Boxes Upgrade

The Federal Highway Administration gave Washington, D.C. $83,000 to upgrade planter boxes in the median of a major street.

Simpsons Stamps Wasted $1.2 Million For Postal Service

Someone at the U.S. Postal Service guessed that commemorative stamps featuring TV cartoon character Homer Simpson would be twice as popular as those of Elvis Presley. In a move that wasted $1.2 million in printing costs, the Postal Service produced 1 billion of “The Simpsons” stamps. It sold 318 million. Click here for complete article.

$742,907 Weed Study

The Agriculture Department devoted $742,907 to study using “targeted sheep grazing” against weeds.

Icelandic Textile Industry

The never idle National Science Foundation gave $338,998 for researchers to study the impact of women on the Icelandic textile industry.

Steamboat Overlook Interpretive Center

The Transportation Department gave Louisiana $5.18 million to build the Steamboat Overlook Interpretive Center.

$15 Million U.S. AID

U.S. AID spent $15 million in a program permeated by waste and fraud to help Afghan war victims.

$25,000 Maldives Love Ballad

Washington devoted $25,000 to transcribe a traditional love ballad in the Maldives.

Veterans Affairs Conference Spending

It turns out the General Services Administration isn’t the only government agency throwing opulent events on the taxpayer’s dime.

Expenditures at two conferences held in Orlando last year for Human Resources employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs totaled up to $9 million, according to an investigation by the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Among these expenditures were $84,000 for branded promotional items, such as pens, $3,000 for two event photographers, and a whopping $52,000 to produce a pair of eight-minute videos spoofing the film “Patton” that were shown at the conferences.

This profligate spending may be the tip of the iceberg. The congressmen cite committee testimony from VA Chief Financial Officer W. Todd Grams last year indicating that conference spending for Fiscal 2011 topped $100 million, despite a rough $20 million having been budgeted for such events.

The investigation comes as the VA battles a runaway backlog in veterans’ disability claims that has kept many veterans waiting a year or more to get disability benefits from service-related illnesses and injuries.

$68 Million For Appalachian Regional Commission

The Appalachian Regional Commission, one of four “economic development” agencies, spent $68 million despite having no measurable effect on economic development.

Government 'Horseshoer'

Despite having no horses, the water and sewerage department for the city of Detroit employs a horseshoer. Yet even with a department so bloated that it has a horseshoer and no horses, the local union president said it is "not possible" to eliminate positions. The horseshoer costs the city $56,245 (including benefits.)

Despite the absurdity of the bankrupt city paying a horseshoer, John Riehl of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 207 told the Detroit Free Press that the department needs more workers. "They don't have enough people as it is right now," Riehl said.

Only a government would spend money on a horseshoer with no horses. Only a government workers' union would then complain about not having enough workers. Click here for complete article.

$74,470 To Teach Puppetry

Uncle Sam gave $74,470 to a Utah museum to teach puppetry.

$606,000 Online Dating Study

Columbia University collected $606,000 for a study of online dating.

$306,000 For Civic Activism

The Department of State paid $306,000 to bring European college students to America to learn civic activism.

Rail Line Relocation Program

The Rail Line Relocation Program was given $10.5 million despite President Obama’s attempt to end the outlay.

Professors To Rome

The National Endowment for Humanities paid $159,865 to send 16 university professors to Rome for five weeks.

Federal Retirees Collect Six-Figure Pensions

More than 21,000 retired federal workers receive lifetime government pensions of $100,000 or more per year, a USA TODAY/Gannett analysis finds. Of these, nearly 2,000 have federal pensions that pay $125,000 or more annually, and 151 take home $150,000 or more. Six federal retirees get more than $200,000 a year. Click here for complete article.

$300,000 Transportation Exhibit

A Missouri museum collected $300,000 for an exhibit on the history of transportation.

$425,642 Study

The National Science Foundation provided $425,642 to study information dissemination and Indian politicians.

$50 Million Retrofitting Diesels

Some $50 million went for retrofitting diesel engines as part of an Environmental Protection Agency program which even the Obama administration wanted to kill.

$50,000 Film Festival

The National Education Association provided $50,000 to underwrite an international film festival in San Francisco.

Butter Packing Machine

The Rural Business Enterprise Grant program gave the Kriemhild Dairy Farms $55,660 to buy a new butter packing machine.

Why the Government Should Have Seen the Solyndra Collapse Coming

The Monday Morning website has an excellent article on "Why the Government Should Have Seen the Solyndra Collapse Coming". Here are a few excerpts:

If you knew of a company that had high manufacturing costs, was in a highly competitive market, and was hemorrhaging money, would you invest in it? Well, the federal government did - using taxpayer money. And now that company, Solyndra LLC, is bankrupt, and the $535 million loan it secured from the government stands little chance of being repaid.

Although the Obama administration has blamed the Solyndra collapse on poor luck and stiff competition from Chinese solar companies, many warning signs were apparent even before the loan guarantee was approved. The evidence includes:

• E-mails between DOE staff members in Aug. 2009 acknowledged that a credit rating agency had predicted Solyndra would run out of money in September 2011.
• Based on securities filings, Solyndra's average sales price for the first nine months of 2009 was $3.24 per watt, while its manufacturing costs were $4 per watt. Worse yet, manufacturing costs for rival First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR), which makes silicon-based solar panels, were far lower -- just under $1 per watt (they're now about 75 cents per watt).
• Industry experts had predicted the sharp declines in the cost of silicon as far back as 2008. High-grade silicon was $1,000 per pound in early 2008, but fell to just $100 per pound by September 2009.
• Solyndra lost $172.5 million in 2009 on revenue of $100.5 million. Its cumulative losses at that point totaled $373 million.

Repairing Private Property

The Agriculture Department - yet again! - devoted $15 million to repairing privately-owned rental property for low income people.

Making Earmarks Pay

For members of Congress, the only thing better than getting "pork" for the folks back home is getting a slice of that pork for themselves. Pork, also known as earmarks, describes the long-standing Congressional practice of steering tax money back to home districts to pay for expensive, constituent-pleasing projects.

But in recent years lawmakers started taking pork a step further. Instead of just using earmarks to keep voters happy, some members of Congress have found ways to benefit personally. Some arranged for improvements to areas near property they owned; others sent money to organizations they would later go to work for after leaving office.

Of course, none of this is illegal. Congress literally makes its own rules regarding the ethics of earmarks. Still, much of what goes on looks bad.

Take the case of former Rep. William Delahunt, D-MA. The seven-term Congressman retired last year and launched his own lobbying firm in Boston. Before long the small coastal town of Hull had hired Delahunt for $15,000 a month to help out with a wind energy project. Coincidentally, Delahunt had set aside a $1.7 million earmark for the Hull project back in 2009. The bulk of his fee - 80% - is being paid from the same earmark money.

And that's not all. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has paid Delahunt's firm at least $40,000 to lobby for a casino. As a congressman, Delahunt sent the tribe earmarks worth $400,000. Delahunt also has done work for Quincy, MA, lobbying for a downtown redevelopment project. Back in 2008, he was sending Quincy $2.4 million in earmarks.

American Museum of Magic

Did you know there is an American Museum of Magic in Marshall, MI? Well, the magic museum made $147,000 of your tax dollars disappear last year. The purpose of the federal largesse was to help the museum "better understand its various audiences and their potential interest in the history of magic entertainment."

$12 Million On Energy Assistance Program

The Department of Agriculture spent $12 million on a duplicative energy assistance program which both the Bush and Obama administrations proposed closing.

$468 Million In Government Waste In Tennessee

A new Pork Report by the watchdog group, Beacon Center, has been released and estimated that over $468 million dollars is being wasted by government leaders in Tennessee. In the report the group took aim at several questionable spending projects in the state.

New this year, the group created the "Pork Of The Year" award. The 2012 winner was announced as Wendy Askins, the leader of the Upper Cumberland Development District and the focus of a News Channel 5 Investigation. "She purchased a high definition TV, a $25,000 custom staircase, a steam shower and sauna at $3,000 a pop, a crystal chandelier, two massive fountains totaling $9,000. Fortunately she no longer has her job and she's under criminal investigation" said Justin Owens with the Beacon Center.

$17.8 Million To China

The Chinese economy is second only to that of the United States. And China holds billions of dollars in U.S. debt. So the U.S. government sent $17.8 million in aid to China last year to improve the Asian giant's social services and clean up its environment.

$500,000 Information Dissemination Study

The National Science Foundation devoted a half million dollars to studying “information dissemination” on the Web.

Hookah Smoking Study

The Virginia Commonwealth University received $55,000 in 2011 (part of a larger $170,000 grant) to study changes in the hookah smoking habits of students in the nation of Jordan. Among other things, the study sought to answer the question: "How many Jordanian students believe that water pipe tobacco smoking is more harmful than cigarettes smoking?" (Answer: 62.2 percent).

$30,000 For Dance Company

The Department of State spent $30,000 to send a New York City dance company to Indonesia.

Jobs for Barbados

The mixed success the government has had creating jobs here in America did not discourage the U.S. Agency for International Development from spending $1.35 million on an "entrepreneurship initiative" for the Caribbean island nation of Barbados. The U.S. unemployment rate has been over 8% for three years.

$45 Million Subsidizing Research

The Technology Innovation Program spent $45 million subsidizing the research of numerous large, profit-making corporations.

Art for Italians

The State Department contributed $350,000 for the United States to be part of the 54th International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy. No word on how much the exhibit enhanced U.S. international relations.

$50,000 Self-guided Tour

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) provided $50,000 for a self-guided art tour in Wisconsin.

Environmental Groups Collecting Millions

While the economy limps along, one industry is thriving: Environmental lawsuits against the federal government are moving ahead at a steady pace and taxpayers are picking up the tab for the expensive litigation.

Environmental groups are using a little-known 1980 law called the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) to sue the federal government on a wide range of fronts and then collect millions of dollars in legal fees from the very federal agencies they are suing. Not only that but, according to a recent study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the government is not even tracking in any organized fashion how much it’s paying out to these groups.

For example, only 10 of 75 agencies with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior could provide the GAO with data on attorney fee reimbursements. The government agencies that do keep track of their attorney fee reimbursements signed some $44.4 million worth of checks between 2001 and 2010. Click here for additional information.

Foreign Aid To India

The National Science Foundation wants to help politicians in India do a better job. So it is awarded a $426,000 grant for research to determine the effectiveness of communications to citizens from officeholders. The U.S. sent $126 million in aid to India last year, even though it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

$610,908 Survey

The National Institute for Aging paid researchers $610,908 to survey well-being around the world

$484,000 Pizzeria

A private company was given $484,000 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to build a Mellow Mushroom pizzeria in Arlington, TX.

$300,000 Dance Program

The National Science Foundation devoted $300,000 to developing a dance program to illustrate the origins of matter.

Amtrak Lost $800M On Cheeseburgers And Soda

Taxpayers lost $833 million over the last decade on the food and beverages supplied by Amtrak, which managed to spend $1.70 for every dollar that received in revenue.

“Over the last ten years, these losses have amounted to a staggering $833.8 million,” said Rep.John Mica, R-Fla., in a statement previewing a House hearing today.  “It costs passengers $9.50 to buy a cheeseburger on Amtrak, but the cost to taxpayers is $16.15.  Riders pay $2.00 for a Pepsi, but each of these sodas costs the U.S. Treasury $3.40.”

IRS Pays Out Billions in Fraudulent Refunds

The IRS is paying out billions of dollars in fraudulent tax refunds to identity thieves; a problem that the tax service’s inspector general told CNBC is a “growing problem” involving numbers that are increasing “exponentially.” Click here for complete article.

Michigan Trees

The U.S. government spent $74,000 last year to help the state of Michigan "increase awareness about the role Michigan plays in the production of trees and poinsettias." Michigan's $40 million Christmas tree industry already ranks third in the nation.

Snow Cone Machines

The Department of Homeland Security used $6,279 to purchase Snow Cone ice-making machines for emergency services in Michigan.

Hawaiian Chocolate Festival

The federal government gave the Hawaii Department of Agriculture $50,000 to help pay for the 2nd Annual Hawaiian Chocolate Festival. The goal is to "highlight the culinary talents and products specifically linked to Hawaii's chocolate industry."

Hookah Smoking in Jordan

The National Institute of Health, also a repeat offender, spent $55,382 to study hookah smoking in Jordan.

$100,000 Video Game Grant

 A grant for $100,000 went to help the Massachusetts video game industry.

Social Media

Another National Science Foundation grant for $198,000 paid for a University of California-Riverside study of "motivations, expectations and goal pursuit in social media." Among the questions the study seeks to answer: "Do unhappy people spend more time on Twitter or Facebook?"