Why Tea Party Conservatives Take A Dim View Of Government Waste
The original tea party movement was motivated by a tax controversy, and likewise, a big driving force behind the modern tea party is tax and spending policy. Whatever one's political color, one cannot help but be shocked by sheer scale of the waste perpetrated by the government each year. This brief article aims to inform tea party conservatives about this problem, and indeed any citizen who cares about their country and how their tax dollars are used.
The Department of Defense has some horrific examples of waste and incompetence, although in fairness this is sometimes the fault of politicians rather than military leaders. Mismanaged and/or canceled projects have resulted in the waste of many billions of dollars. Policy makers often try to portray project cancellations as savings while ignoring the billions that have already been spent on what may be perfectly valid projects.
In 2002 the $2 billion SPH (Self-Propelled Howitzer) was canceled after army supremos decided it wasn't light or mobile enough. They wrote off a further $7 billion when they terminated the Comanche reconnaissance helicopter project in 2004. They also subsequently terminated its replacement, writing off hundreds of millions of dollars.
The navy has its share of mismanaged/stillborn projects, too. The $3 billion Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle project designed for the marine corps was canceled in 2011. This advanced amphibious assault vehicle was designed as a faster, safer way to deploy marines onto beach terrain. It was nixed by policy makers who decided the per-vehicle cost was too high.
Away from direct military spending, the Pentagon has also squandered staggering sums on never-used civil airline tickets. From 1997 to 2003 it booked approximately 270,000 tickets at a cost of $100 million. These unused tickets were eligible for refunds but defense bureaucrats didn't see fit to claim them. Between 2001 and 2002 the Pentagon also paid twice for 27,000 tickets, which added another $8 million to the millions already wasted.
Medicare is one of, if not the most wasteful government program, yet its popularity with voters makes reform a difficult matter. It routinely pays over the odds for drugs and other medical supplies, sometimes as much as eight times more than it needs to. For example, the Department of Health and Human Services has found that Medicare pays on average double the amount paid by the Department of Veteran Affairs for the same items.
These instances of needless waste are bad enough, but at least the sums involved are known. A report published by the Department of the Treasury contained reference to what were described as 'unreconciled transactions'. This is money that to all intents and purposes has vanished - auditors simply can't account for it. The $25 billion would be enough to fund the entire Department of Justice for one year.
Huge numbers of taxpayers are becoming increasingly angry about this kind of profligacy, but whether lawmakers will ever get to grips with it remains to be seen. If the Tea Party and other pressure groups can create enough momentum behind this issue, then perhaps Uncle Sam will one day become a more responsible custodian of its citizens hard-earned money.
The Department of Defense has some horrific examples of waste and incompetence, although in fairness this is sometimes the fault of politicians rather than military leaders. Mismanaged and/or canceled projects have resulted in the waste of many billions of dollars. Policy makers often try to portray project cancellations as savings while ignoring the billions that have already been spent on what may be perfectly valid projects.
In 2002 the $2 billion SPH (Self-Propelled Howitzer) was canceled after army supremos decided it wasn't light or mobile enough. They wrote off a further $7 billion when they terminated the Comanche reconnaissance helicopter project in 2004. They also subsequently terminated its replacement, writing off hundreds of millions of dollars.
The navy has its share of mismanaged/stillborn projects, too. The $3 billion Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle project designed for the marine corps was canceled in 2011. This advanced amphibious assault vehicle was designed as a faster, safer way to deploy marines onto beach terrain. It was nixed by policy makers who decided the per-vehicle cost was too high.
Away from direct military spending, the Pentagon has also squandered staggering sums on never-used civil airline tickets. From 1997 to 2003 it booked approximately 270,000 tickets at a cost of $100 million. These unused tickets were eligible for refunds but defense bureaucrats didn't see fit to claim them. Between 2001 and 2002 the Pentagon also paid twice for 27,000 tickets, which added another $8 million to the millions already wasted.
Medicare is one of, if not the most wasteful government program, yet its popularity with voters makes reform a difficult matter. It routinely pays over the odds for drugs and other medical supplies, sometimes as much as eight times more than it needs to. For example, the Department of Health and Human Services has found that Medicare pays on average double the amount paid by the Department of Veteran Affairs for the same items.
These instances of needless waste are bad enough, but at least the sums involved are known. A report published by the Department of the Treasury contained reference to what were described as 'unreconciled transactions'. This is money that to all intents and purposes has vanished - auditors simply can't account for it. The $25 billion would be enough to fund the entire Department of Justice for one year.
Huge numbers of taxpayers are becoming increasingly angry about this kind of profligacy, but whether lawmakers will ever get to grips with it remains to be seen. If the Tea Party and other pressure groups can create enough momentum behind this issue, then perhaps Uncle Sam will one day become a more responsible custodian of its citizens hard-earned money.
About the Author:
When you are looking for information about Tea Party conservatives, pay a visit to the web pages online here today. You can see details at http://www.teapartycrusaders.com now.
