$
Funding THE WALL; we can’t find $5 Billion. Well, maybe there just isn’t $5 billion to spare. Let’s take a look.
On October 29th, a few weeks ago there was a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal. The headline read, America Needs a War on Waste! The subtitle said, 100 Examples of Federal Taxpayer Abuse. Below that it invited the readers, “To learn more about these examples,visit OpenTheBooks.com.
I selected 30 of the 100 examples at random from the printed news page.
Here is a tiny portion of the waste we are talking about:
BUYING BOOZE FOR EMBASSIES AROUND THE WORLD–$79,000, final week FY2017, State Department.
USE IT OR LOOSE IT SPENDING–$50 Billion, final week FY2017, all federal agencies.
MISTAKES & IMPROPER PAYMENTS DISTRIBUTED BY 20 FEDERAL AGENCIES – AVERAGED $92 BILLION PER YEAR – FY2004-FY2017 / Congressional Research Service
MISTAKES & IMPROPER MEDICARE PAYMENTS – AVERAGED $30 BILLION PER YEAR– FY2004-FY 2017 / Health and Human Services.
MISTAKES & IMPROPER MEDICAID PAYMENTS –AVERAGED $18 BILLION PER YEAR– FY2004-FY2017 / Health & Human Services.
PERKS TO IVY LEAGUE COLLEGES – AVERAGED $8 BILLION PER YEAR – FY2010-FY2015 / Federal Payments, Subsidies, Tax-Breaks / All Federal Agencies
COLLEGES OF BEAUTY& COSMETOLOGY — $677.4 MILLION – FY2017-FY2018 / Department of Education
AVERAGE FEDERAL EMPLOYEE RECEIVES 43 DAYS PAID TIME OFF — $22.6 BILLION – FY2016 / U.S.Office of Personnel Management
35,212 FEDERAL LAWYERS — $4.8 BILLION – FY2017 / Office of Personnel Management
PURCHASING $800 PENCIL HOLDERS & $7,000 EXECUTIVE DESKS – FY2015 / Environmental Protection Agency
MISTAKES &IMPROPER SUBSIDY PAYMENTS — $3.7 BILLION – FY2004 – / FY 2017 / Department of Agriculture
PAYMENTS TO GAY MEXICAN PROSTITUTES FOR SAFE SEX — $53,419 – 2015 / National Institute of Health
FEDERAL FUNDING INTO THE 50 WORST COMMUNITY COLLEGES –$923.5 MILLION – 2017-2018 / Department of Education
TWO SCULPTURES FOR THE VA FACILITY THAT SERVED BLIND VETERANS — $670,000 – 2016 / Department of Veterans Affairs
FANCY ROCK SCULPTURE — $482,960 – 2016 / Department of Veterans Affairs
COMEDY CLUB HOLOGRAMS — $1.7 MILLION – 2017 / Department of Commerce
HOW TO USE A LAWYER GUIDE — $728,000 – 2015 / Department of Agriculture
FARM SUBSIDIES INTO URBAN AREAS — $626 MILLION – FY2015-2017 / U.S. Department of Agriculture
WHERE IT HURTS THE MOST TO BE STUNG BY A BEE — $1 MILLION – FY2015 / National Science Foundation
REFRAMING BELIEFS ABOUT DEATH AND DYING AMONG LATINOS — $882,841 – FY2015 / Health and Human Services
CAUTION………THOSE OF YOU WITH A HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE ISSUES, PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
Here are a few, among perhaps thousands, of the funding actions sponsored by members of the House of Representatives.
MEDITATION BREATHING MOBILE APP — $687,989 – FY2016 / House Representative Jim Clyburn / South Carolina
CIGAR TASTE TEST — $114,375 – FY 2016 / Rep Robert Scott/ /Virginia
USING SOAP OPERAS TO REDUCE HIV IN URBAN BLACK WOMEN — $567,529 – FY 2016 / Rep Mike Capuano / Massachusetts
HOW FACEBOOK AFFECTS ALCOHOL USE — $147,686 –FY2016 / Rep Jim McDermott / Washington
VIRTUAL REALITY TO TEACH CHILDREN IN CHINA HOW TO CROSS THE STREET –$183,750 – FY2016 / Rep Terri Sewell / Alabama
TAI CHI FOR THE ELDERLY — $696,723 – FY2016 / Rep Mike Capuano / Massachusetts
STUDY: ARE PHYSICIAN TRAINEES RACIST? — $932,741 – FY 2016 / Rep Tim Walz / Minnesota
VIDEO GAME: THE LOGICAL JOURNEY OF THE ZOOMBINIS — $658,388 –FY2016 / Rep Katherine Clark/ Massachusetts
RESEARCHING STIGMATIZATION OF DANISH SMOKERS –$330,176 – 2016 / Rep Lou Barletta /Pennsylvania
MOBIL APP FOR SEX DIARY — $1 MILLION – 2016 / Rep Grace Napolitano / California
CONVINCING MOTHERS TO STOP TEEN GIRLS FROM USING TANNING BEDS — $671,522 – 2016 / Rep Ed Perlmutter / Colorado
MEASURING BLOOD PRESSURE AT BLACK BARBER SHOPS — $2.1 MILLION – 2016 / Rep Adam Schiff /California
SEX ED FOR PROSTITUTES IN CALIFORNIA — $1.4 MILLION – FY2016 / Rep Barbara Lee /California
OR, MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST TAKE BACK SOME OF THE $10.6 BILLION WE GAVE TO MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA THIS YEAR.
Restating the immortal words of Vince Lombardi, “What the hell is going on out there?”
Bottom line: All of these examples of taxpayer waste can be fixed with a single concept, ACCOUNTABILITY. Accountability is something that ranks somewhere between SORELY-LACKING and NON-EXISTENT in the Washington swamp.
I am working on some ideas as to how to fix it………..stay tuned………WeThePeopleSpeaking
Marv Covault