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.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Healthy Food Financing Initiative pursues ineffective strategy – $32 million

Tens of millions of federal dollars are being spent to increase access to healthy foods in low-income communities. Motivating the initiative is the idea that access to healthy food leads to healthier eating. Unfortunately, a number of recent studies and investigations yielded no evidence that the strategy actually works. A review by the Washington Post found: “Multiple studies have scoured local, state and national data looking for a causal relationship between weight and access to healthy food. None have found it.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) itself has questioned the value of such programs to promote access to health foods: “Increasing access to specific foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk alone may not make a dent in the obesity problem… Without also changing the dietary behaviors of consumers, interventions aimed at increasing access to healthy foods may not be successful in addressing obesity.”

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Electric vehicle tax credit increases the deficit without decreasing emissions – $74 million

A federal income tax credit created to encourage the purchases of electric vehicles will have “little or no impact on the total gasoline use and greenhouse gas emissions of the nation’s vehicle fleet” in coming years, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Through 2019, the credit may cost taxpayers $2 billion, including $74 million this year. So while the new tax credit will increase the deficit, it will most likely do little if anything to decrease emissions. CBO projects there may be benefits but is unsure how cost-effective they would be.

The CBO also found the credit has a limited impact on electric car sales. “CBO estimates that about 30 percent of current and future sales will be attributable to the tax credits, and 70 percent would have occurred even without the credits.”

The CBO noted the incentive may “effectively subsidize the release of additional greenhouse gas emissions” in some situations. For example, a person may buy an electric car instead of a traditional hybrid and live in an area where electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants. In that case, “more emissions are released per mile traveled on electric power than per mile traveled on gasoline.”

Friday, February 22, 2013

More Government Waste

Lost green energy equipment. A 2012 Department of Energy Inspector General audit found that the agency cannot locate $500,000 worth of green energy manufacturing equipment it purchased with stimulus money.

$2 million internship program. From 2010 through 2011, the Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Chief Information Officer funded a $2 million intern program intended to enhance the agency’s IT security workforce. Only one intern was hired full time.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Broke U.S. Postal Service paying $2M for conference, golf, party

Four hundred U.S. Postal Service executives are heading to San Francisco next month for workshops, meetings — and a dance party. And a golf tournament. And a dinner event. The trip is expected to cost the flailing agency — which is pushing to stop Saturday letter delivery due to revenue issues — more than $2 million. An estimated $220,000 is going to be spent on exhibit space. Area hotel costs are ~$300 a night.

Monday, February 18, 2013

DHS Purchases 21.6 Million More Rounds of Ammunition

The Department of Homeland Security is set to purchase a further 21.6 million rounds of ammunition to add to the 1.6 billion bullets it has already obtained over the course of the last 10 months alone. To put that in perspective, during the height of active battle operations in Iraq, US soldiers used 5.5 million rounds of ammunition a month. Extrapolating the figures, the DHS has purchased enough bullets over the last 10 months to wage a full scale war for almost 30 years.

While Americans are being browbeaten with rhetoric about the necessity to give up semi-automatic firearms in the name of preventing school shootings, the federal government is arming itself to the teeth with both ammunition and guns. Last September, the DHS purchased no less than 7,000 fully automatic assault rifles, labeling them “Personal Defense Weapons.”

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Obamacare strikes again

Interesting Chicago Tribune article on Obamacare. Some excerpts:
  • If a medical device helps folks, the tax on every sale just went up 2.3 percent.
  • ... the surest way to make something scarcer is to tax it.
  • The payroll tax just went up by 2 percent for every American who draws a paycheck.
  • Since so much of Obamacare's small print has yet to be revealed, or even written, there's no telling how many more taxes, regulations and penalties are still in the works. Oh, joy. Nancy Pelosi did say we'd have to pass Obamacare before finding out what all is in it, and, boy, are we. Tax after tax after tax.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Washington Blows $108 Billion on “Improper” Payments

According to a report released last week by the Government Office of Accountability (GAO), $108 billion of unemployment benefits and other government appropriations went towards “improper payments.” The payments identified either went to the wrong person, or were issued in the incorrect amount. According to Roll Call, “No business would allow this much of its budget to be wasted. Sadly, this is business as usual in Washington, and solutions are tough to come by.”

So, what’s $108 billion in improper payments to Washington, anyway? Let’s put it another way: The median household income in the U.S. is about $52,800. The GAO estimates that the government-wide rate of error for payments is 4.35 percent. That’s as if a household earning about $52,800 a year paid nearly $2,300 of their bills to the wrong person, or paid an incorrect amount.

With the need for a responsible budget and living within our means already noted in past presidential addresses, perhaps it’s time to commit to spending taxpayer money properly. If Washington cannot make payments responsibly, what signal does that send the rest of America?