Posted on 07/30/2011 9:47:22 AM PDT by Clairity
Only ten (10)?
“Only ten (10)?”
Darn you stole my thunder :)
We really need a top down review of government spending and the only thing that will force it is a crisis.
As horrible is it might be, maybe we need a debt crisis. It will force a long needed review of all expenses. Because there is no accountability, I’d bet the security of our economy that there is huge waste and corruption.
And the AAA rating be damned. It is a lie anyway. We should have a C rating or worse for how we run our finances.
#1. Obama. #2 Biden. #3. Reid.... etc. etc. to include ALL members of the ruling elite.
$1.44 Million [to study] the ‘Social Milieu’ of Male Prostitutes in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2543904/posts
NIH Spends $178,000 to Study Why Prostitutes in Thailand Have High HIV Risk
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254962/posts
maybe the next time they’ll put prostitutes on treadmills...
This one reveals the worst of government abuse: 10. Go Gore, not Palin: The state of Nevada last year denied a request for a vanity license plate that said “GOPALIN” because, in the view of the Department of Motor Vehicles, such a plate was “vulgar or obscene or expressing superiority of political affiliation.” That policy didn’t stop the agency from issuing personalized plates that said “AL GORE,” “GO OBAMA,” “GOGREEN,” “DMOCRAT,” and “KERRY.”
This is typical behavior for bureaucrats empowered to control the population. It is a continuous pressure to tame the sheep. The most destructive examples of this practice is in the school house.
Here is one very recent one:
http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Announces-2-pt-7-Million-in-WaterSMART-Funding-to-Study-River-Basins-and-Improve-Water-Systems.cfm
Salazar Announces $2.7 Million in WaterSMART (”Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow”) Funding to Study River Basins and Improve Water Systems - Klamath River Basin has been selected for a dull-basin study to “include basin-specific plans that recommend collaborative solutions to help meet water demands and foster sustainable development.
“U.S. Bureau of Reclamation provides funding for Klamath River study” http://www.times-standard.com/news/ci_18520600A total of $1,944,000 will go for studying the Klamath River Basin, ”The basin study will collaboratively develop a basin wide perspective of the climate change-related risks for supply and demand that may affect agriculture, anadromous and resident fish, recreation, municipal and domestic water supplies, hydropower and flood control facilities,” Interior said. “This effort will assess potential impacts of climate change on snowpack and precipitation, timing and quality of runoff, groundwater recharge and discharge and any increases in demand and/or reservoir evaporation; and will develop structural and non-structural options to address current and projected imbalances in the basin.” The Order creating WaterSMART http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/upload/WaterSMARTOrder.pdf
Or this one:
Expanding the List of Endangered Species http://www.azpm.org/science/story/2011/7/20/1830-expanding-the-list-of-endangered-species/
OP-ED; The $206,098,920 Endangered Species Act Settlement Agreements; is all that paperwork worth it?http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org/esa/esa$/206milESAsettlement072111.pdf
or this:
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/07/11/11greenwire-study-forest-service-paid-61m-in-groups-legal-98487.html
Study: Forest Service Paid $6.1M in Groups’ Legal Fees Over 6 Years
It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. Government at all levels will spend enormous amounts of money on things that no individual or private group would ever choose to fund with their own money.
And why not? It makes the recipients happy, and it doesn’t cost the government-grantors a dime, and no matter how may times Human Events or CAGW or Andrew Breitbart points out this stuff, there are never any negative consequences to the givers or receivers.
People have got to stop imagining that we can get government to work in what we consider a rational way. We can’t. All we can do is reduce the amount of money and power we allow them to have, knowing that the use of a considerable amount of *whatever* they have is going to be stupid beyond belief.
No, we really don't need a top down review. In DC that means some congressional committee will listen ad nausea to the special interest groups who simply cannot be put of existence and will live another day after a nice contribution is made.
We need a across the board cut of 10 % per year until we reach a certain level of sustainability based on revenue.
Every federal dept have very well paid non political people running them and for the most part are competent.
Let dept management, not politicians decide how to eliminate, reduce, reorganize, scale back the layers of federal workers in a fair and human way and eliminate the programs which have lived their useful lives out or combine them if they have merit with one of the other 10,000 programs .
We are talking about a huge bureaucratic, mostly political, out of control pandering bunch of goofs and an American public who doesn't know any different.
There is huge waste, maybe as much as 20%, that is hidden beneath the surface.
I am all for whatever forces them to look at this waste. Call me skeptical, but an across the board 10% cut isn't going to do it.
Maybe an itemized list of all expenses with enough detail to be able to sort out waste from need. Has a third party, maybe someone in the press, ever done this?
I realize that it is a astronomically huge task. But it has to be done. And you are going to anger some very powerful people when you start poking around. Watch out.
I know! We'll write a constitution in which we clearly defines the limited responsibilities and powers of the Federal government. We can include a 'Bill Of rights' that protects the rights of the States and people.
No! Wait! That was already done! The immoral corrupt politicians elected by the people ignore the Constitution. What do we do now??
"What country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that the people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." - - - Thomas Jefferson
Well, that was 10 % per year. Cut much more and you are likely to get way too much pushback
We are talking about a huge bureaucratic, mostly political, out of control pandering bunch of goofs and an American public who doesn't know any different.
One has to wonder how huge thousand page bills get produced by Congress in record time. There are legions of special interest groups actually writing language into bills.
No wonder Pelosi spilled the beans when she said we have to read the healthcare bill to know what's in it.
Tea party republicans can make a difference by holding their colleagues feet to the fire
These days everything they do is stupid. How do you choose?
I realize that I am a fool for thinking that he will provide this information. But I'll keep pressing.
I'll probably get the usual form letter response.
Heck, millions of bloggers may be able to do something that hundreds of Congressmen can't.
First rule in management: know the scope of your problem and be able to quantify it.
The budget is largely unknown to Americans. Me especially. I know what items are on the budget. But I don't know the allocations, costs, etc.
Thanks. I’ll review it and try to itemize the costs. I’ll start a new thread.
I’ll also like an open discussion with my Senator to answer questions. That is if he responds.
I am betting that the below links don’t get into the details. But it is a start.
It's a pdf file and skip over to page 171 for summary tables
The spreadsheet at the bottom looks handy. It is in numerical form and can be analyzed easier.
Things that I will be looking for:
- actual expenses and projected.
- revenues actual and projected.
A fools errand but interesting and maybe informative. The actual work will be to break down each of the functions.
It is easy for a million or billions to get “lost” and no one would know.
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