Government Waste

[SubGod22]

Government Waste By the Numbers: Report Identifies Dozens of Overlapping Programs

The federal government hosts 47 job-training programs, 44 of which overlap. It runs 80 programs for the "transportation disadvantaged."

Another 82 programs spread across 10 separate agencies endeavor to improve teacher quality -- something hundreds of local school districts are already focused on.

These are just a few of the findings in a blockbuster report on government waste and inefficiencies released by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office. The report, a summary of which was obtained by Fox News, identifies billions of dollars in potential savings if Congress just had the will to streamline initiatives that target politically popular causes.

"Reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap or fragmentation could potentially save billions of taxpayer dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services," the report said.

The study found 33 areas with "overlap and fragmentation" in the federal government. Among them, it found:

-- Fifty-six programs across 20 agencies dealing with financial literacy.

-- More than 2,100 data centers -- up from 432 a little more than a decade ago -- across 24 federal agencies. GAO estimated the government could save up to $200 billion over the next decade by consolidating them.

-- Twenty programs across seven agencies dealing with homelessness. The report found $2.9 billion spent on the programs in 2009. "Congress is often to blame" for fragmentation, GAO wrote in this section, explaining that the duplicative programs in multiple agencies cause access problems for potential participants.

-- Eighty-two "distinct" teacher-quality programs across 10 agencies. Many of them have "duplicate sub-goals," GAO said. Nine of them address teacher quality in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

-- Fifteen agencies administering 30 food-related laws. "Some of the oversight doesn't make any sense," the report stated bluntly.

-- Eighty economic development programs.

[RoyalShock]

And people wonder why Ron Paul votes "NO" so much he's known on the Hill as Dr. No.

Hopefully, that report will open some a few people's eyes.

Though I'm sure all the progressives are saying, "what's the problem?"

[SubGod22]

Senate Report Finds Billions in Waste on Science Foundation Studies

Scientific studies conducted in the public interest appear to have veered off course, according to a new report that documents government-sponsored research gems such as having shrimp walk on tiny treadmills to measure the impact of sickness on crustaceans.

While the exercises may be adorable to watch, Sen. Tom Coburn says he's not so sure it advances the cause of science.

The Oklahoma Republican issued a new report Thursday that concludes the National Science Foundation has misspent $3 billion on "waste, fraud, duplication and mismanagement." It offers a list of research projects that could have been left as questions for the universe.

Among them, $2 million to analyze 38 million photos on Flickr and cross-reference them against the site's social networking service. Turns out, researchers concluded, that friends generally post photos on the Internet depicting the same place at the same time.

Some other beauties: A $315,000 NSF-funded study on whether playing Facebook's FarmVille can help adults develop relationships; $80,000 to examine why the same teams always end up leading March Madness; and a $1.5 million grant for scientists to design a robot that can fold laundry -- at a rate of one towel every 25 minutes.

At the same time as Coburn's report, another report released by the Government Accountability Office documented costly duplication of services occurring across the federal government. GAO found that in 2009, the government spent $4 billion on improving teacher quality, without a strategy for reducing overlap. The study found 47 federal programs for employment and training, with 44 of them overlapping with "at least one other program."

Similarly, Coburn's report claimed the NSF was duplicating the work of several other government agencies dedicated to research and development.

The report recommends new guidelines for what constitutes a worthy study. It also calls for the elimination of the foundation's social sciences arm and a mandate that NSF use its funding or return it. The report said NSF sat on $1.7 billion worth of unspent funds located in "expired" grant accounts.

[BOBB]

$20 billion a year. Chump change relative to wasteful $800 billion Iraqi war.

[SB Shock]

$20 billion a year. Chump change relative to wasteful $800 billion Iraqi war.

sniff...sniff. I smell hypocrisy.

funny how your president said he was getting us out of Iraq and finish afghanistan. But neither has happened and he's gotten us involved in a war in Libya. :wacko:

[SubGod22]

NIH-Backed Study Examined Effects of Penis Size in Gay Community

The federal government helped fund a study that examined what effect a gay man's penis size has on his sex life and general well-being.

The study was among several backed by the National Institutes of Health that have come under scrutiny from a group claiming the agency is wasting valuable tax dollars at a time when the country is trying to control its debt. This particular research resulted in a 2009 report titled, "The Association Between Penis Size and Sexual Health Among Men Who Have Sex with Men."

The study reported, among its findings, that gay men with "below average penises" were more likely to assume a "bottom" sexual position, while those with "above average penises" were more likely to assume a "top" sexual position. Those with average penises identified themselves as "versatile" in the bedroom.

Though it's difficult to trace exactly how much federal funding went to the project, the study was one of many linked to an $899,769 grant in 2006. The grant was administered by NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse, and went first to a group called Public Health Solutions and a researcher with the National Development and Research Institutes before going to individual researchers.

How much money would we save by staying out of crap we have no business being in? It's not only this. How many millions or billions of dollars are wasted by the gov't? Just more evidence of a gov't that has gotten way too big.

[MoValley John]

NIH-Backed Study Examined Effects of Penis Size in Gay Community

The federal government helped fund a study that examined what effect a gay man's penis size has on his sex life and general well-being.

The study was among several backed by the National Institutes of Health that have come under scrutiny from a group claiming the agency is wasting valuable tax dollars at a time when the country is trying to control its debt. This particular research resulted in a 2009 report titled, "The Association Between Penis Size and Sexual Health Among Men Who Have Sex with Men."

The study reported, among its findings, that gay men with "below average penises" were more likely to assume a "bottom" sexual position, while those with "above average penises" were more likely to assume a "top" sexual position. Those with average penises identified themselves as "versatile" in the bedroom.

Though it's difficult to trace exactly how much federal funding went to the project, the study was one of many linked to an $899,769 grant in 2006. The grant was administered by NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse, and went first to a group called Public Health Solutions and a researcher with the National Development and Research Institutes before going to individual researchers.

How much money would we save by staying out of crap we have no business being in? It's not only this. How many millions or billions of dollars are wasted by the gov't? Just more evidence of a gov't that has gotten way too big.

I am all for the elimination of waste. That said, I think the government should fund a study to determine how many people will gouge their eyes out with a screwdriver after reading the above excerpt from that particular government funded study.

[ISASO]

I heard a member of Congress say that only 6% of the Stimulus package went to infrastructure projects. The rest was largely wasted.

[SubGod22]

U.S. Government Ends Chrysler Investment With $1.3 Billion Loss

The U.S government has sold its shares in Chrysler LLC at a likely loss of $1.3 billion in taxpayer money, the Treasury Department said Thursday, announcing the end of a controversial investment that resurrected the troubled auto company.

Italian automaker Fiat SpA, which has run the company since it emerged from bankruptcy protection in June 2009, purchased the U.S. government's remaining 98,000 shares in the auto company for $560 million.

[Ixiah]

I can tell you one government program that is a horrible waste. It's the little checkbox asking for the $3 donation to the presidential campaign fund. When you mail in your 1040 (or 1040X) the person reviewing the return had to catch that you checked the box(es). It's pretty uncommon so frequently it gets missed. Lets say the examiner does see it. The contribution is handled by another department but you don't send the return there but rather you take a blank return and write the social security numbers, filing status, number of boxes checked, etc. Then this dummy form is shipped off somewhere to be keyed in. It probably costs the government $ 3 for you to indicate you want $3 spent.

Ix

[SubGod22]

This seemed as good a place as any to put this... Stay on Vacation

While the president's latest economic plan remains a deeply held secret until after his vacation, pretty much everyone in Washington expects him to call for ... drumroll please ... a stimulus plan.

Now why haven't we thought of that before? Oh, that's right. We have.

In fact, we have now had at least five — or is it six? — stimulus plans since this recession started.

The first of these came back in February 2008 under the Bush administration: a $152 billion measure, featuring a $600 tax rebate, several incentives for businesses, and loan guarantees for the housing industry. Then, as the recession picked up steam in September 2008, Congress passed the $61 billion Job Creation and Unemployment Relief Act of 2008. This bill pumped money into federal "infrastructure projects" and extended unemployment insurance.

And of course, immediately after taking office, President Obama pushed through the giant $787 billion stimulus. He followed that up with an additional $26 billion bill in August of 2010, aimed at helping states retain teachers and make Medicaid payments. On top of that, in September 2010, Congress created a $30 billion fund to provide small businesses with low-interest loans. Finally, the December compromise that extended the Bush tax cuts included another extension of unemployment benefits and a reduction in the Social Security payroll tax, both heralded at the time as stimulus measures.

We're not the first country to rely on this stale brew of Keynesian economics. When Japan's asset bubble collapsed in the late 1980s, its economy went into freefall. In response, Japan pursued three major fiscal-stimulus packages, totaling 6 percent of GDP, between August 1992 and September 1993. When those failed, Japan tried still more stimulus, a total of eight different packages over eight years. The Japanese government has spent $6.3 trillion on construction-related projects alone. It also increased subsidies and social-welfare payments.

Japan began the 1990s with a budget surplus. A decade later it had a budget deficit equal to 7.9 percent of GDP. Today, its budget deficit is 8.3 percent, and its debt exceeds 200 percent of GDP. The result has been minimal economic growth. For all this spending, Japan's industrial production in 2008 was only 2.9 percent larger than it had been in 1991. Over the past decade, Japan's economy has grown by less than a quarter of one percent.

Now President Obama prepares to call for another extension of unemployment benefits, more infrastructure spending, and an extension of the payroll-tax cut.

The real drags on our economy have nothing to do with the failure of government to spend enough. The federal government is now spending roughly 24 percent of GDP. State and local governments are spending another 10 to 15 percent, meaning government at all levels is spending around 40 percent of GDP. If government spending brought about prosperity, we should be experiencing a golden age.

The reasons we are not growing are simple and clear:

[SubGod22]

Illegal Workers Used Tax Credit to Pocket $4.2 Billion, Audit Shows

Talk about a tax loophole.

Undocumented workers collected $4.2 billion in a certain tax credit last year, up from less than $1 billion five years ago, according to a new audit.

The report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration looked only at a tax benefit known as the Additional Child Tax Credit, a refundable credit meant for working families. The audit found that as a result of vague U.S. law -- as well as an expansion of the tax credit in stimulus legislation and other measures -- the number of illegal workers collecting the money has skyrocketed.

The inspector general's office expressed concern about the trend and urged the IRS and Treasury Department to determine once and for all whether that money should be paid out.

"The payment of federal funds through this tax benefit appears to provide an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside and work in the United States without authorization, which contradicts federal law and policy to remove such incentives," the report said.

[SubGod22]

Watchdog report finds millions in gov't payments to dead farmers

The Government Accountability Office estimated in a new report that agencies within the department may have paid more than $30 million to thousands of deceased recipients between 2008 and 2012. The findings come as Congress tries to pass a new farm bill, and could stir concerns among conservatives that the government's many subsidy programs are not being carefully managed.

The GAO found that at two agencies that play a big role in aid for farmers, until changes are made "these agencies cannot know if they are providing payments to, or subsidies on behalf of, deceased individuals."

The report found that at the Risk Management Agency, which deals with crop insurance, a review of payments showed $22 million may have gone to more than 3,400 individuals "two or more years after death."

The GAO report faulted the agency for not using a Social Security Administration master list to verify whether policyholders have died. It said some of the payments could have been "proper" but the agency cannot be sure.

The report also looked at payments from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and found $10.6 million went to 1,103 "deceased individuals one year or more after their death."

[pinstripers]

Did they endorse the checks?

[WuDrWu]

I saw this earlier today...not to sound like a bhl, but I was pleasantly surprised the amount was that small. Good job GAO!