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 US military has a sorry record of mismanaged equipment procurement, although to be fair this has often been the result of political decisions. Wasteful, badly handled procurement initiatives have led to the loss of many billions of dollars over the years. Political leaders talk up the need to make savings while overlooking the huge sums already sunk into what are often sound 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 examples are certainly shocking, but the money spent has at least been properly accounted for. A report published by the Department of the Treasury in 2003 contained a little-publicized $25 billion in 'unreconciled transactions'. This is money that has essentially been lost by the government and is unlikely to ever be recovered.
This kind of extravagance and incompetence is making increasing numbers of taxpayers angry. Lawmakers however, despite talking endlessly about making reforms, seem unable to ever actually do it. If grass-roots organizations like the tea party can find ways to get momentum behind their cause, they may one day get the value for money they want.
The US military has a sorry record of mismanaged equipment procurement, although to be fair this has often been the result of political decisions. Wasteful, badly handled procurement initiatives have led to the loss of many billions of dollars over the years. Political leaders talk up the need to make savings while overlooking the huge sums already sunk into what are often sound 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 examples are certainly shocking, but the money spent has at least been properly accounted for. A report published by the Department of the Treasury in 2003 contained a little-publicized $25 billion in 'unreconciled transactions'. This is money that has essentially been lost by the government and is unlikely to ever be recovered.
This kind of extravagance and incompetence is making increasing numbers of taxpayers angry. Lawmakers however, despite talking endlessly about making reforms, seem unable to ever actually do it. If grass-roots organizations like the tea party can find ways to get momentum behind their cause, they may one day get the value for money they want.
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