Posted on 04/08/2008 6:14:57 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Or are the individuals responsible only once they get caught?
I guess the answer is neither, remember the defense department lady who paid for her daughters ten thousand dollar wedding and the one that bought herself a new mustang. Rumsfeld never fired either one as far as I remember.
Sens. Coleman and Levins are two of many tyrants sitting on Capitol Hill. Like George III, against whom Americans fought for independence over two and a quarter centuries ago, they have "erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance."
The solution to problems in government is always more government. We are no longer being governed; we are being ruled, and only because Americans refused to put their foot down for so many decades. Too many Congress critters view you and me as their own personal lines of credit. And, after all, if the top bananas in Washington can get away with it, then why should their underlings (stupid bureaucrats) give a damn either?
That said, this goes doubly for the State and local governments.
And who knows how many middle managers and assistants to assistants to nowhere.
Do you seriously expect a POTUS to address this issue, or even be aware of it?
I'm sure some of these employees have been on the job for 30+ years and are protected by their union.
Oh, I will. That's for sure.
Stealing is as wrong in the public sector as it is in the private sector.
I'm Army. I have one for government travel. Need it because I'm TDY, and the logistics of settling my lodging & meals is easier than reimbursing me on a travel voucher.
But I use mine very judiciously.
Send the recipient of the services a copy of the claim from the provider and then give VERY generous rewards for those who report fraud. (The rewards funded out of the very Draconian fines levied against offenders)
It’s only theft if the employee doesn’t pay for the charges. I’m not justifying misuse of the cards, but it’s not surprising giving the millions of government employees and cards out there. It’s just another reason why people should be taking power AWAY from government, not giving it more.
Fire every one, like the private sector would do, no questions asked.
Maybe if the lingerie was made of sheer chiffon camouflage? (snicker)
“Fire every one, like the private sector would do, no questions asked.”
Private companies don’t force every employee to have company credit cards. Granted, the abusers should be fired, but you are going to get a lot of fraud, waste, and abuse in any government program.
How do you know it wasn't something like this?
Are you Army JAG. Thought you were a law school student, or did you already graduate?
At my last duty station in the Navy back in 2000, all senior enlisted as well as civilian were issued these cards regardless of need or want.
I explained to my supervisor if I was issued the card it would go unused so why issue it. In the end I was told that it was Command policy and it was basically forced on me.
I put the card away in a safe place and left it unused and turned back in when I retired from the Navy. For others, not many, but some, the temptation to abuse the privilege got the better of them.
That is what I was afraid of - That these cards are thrown around willy-nilly and the same people who are issuing them are the ones who are responsible for ensuring that their use is monitored and controlled!
You are right, in many instances it is an invitation to someone to abuse the card, sort of like an attractive nuisance that gets otherwise upright people to go astray.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg!
And this is the fundamental “Two Americas” that should really be discussed: Those that are held accountable, live-or-die by the entrepreneurial spirit, and pay almost all of the taxes.
The recipient, the other Other, has a job that demands mediocrity, cannot be fired, and counts success as generating more paperwork and headaches for others to solve. The taxpayer is his mother’s milk, the government is the teet. He is the bureaucrat driving the Taurus and secretly envies those that can do what he cannot.
Can’t say it wasn’t. But I WAS looking at it from my angle, if you get my meaning. ;O)
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