Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The federal government made at least $72 billion in improper payments in 2008.[1]
Washington spends $92 billion on corporate welfare (excluding TARP) versus $71 billion on homeland security.[2]
Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties.[3]
Government auditors spent the past five years examining all federal programs and found that 22 percent of them -- costing taxpayers a total of $123 billion annually -- fail to show any positive impact on the populations they serve.[4]
The Congressional Budget Office published a "Budget Options" series identifying more than $100 billion in potential spending cuts.[5]
Examples from multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs.[6]
Washington will spend $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.[7]
A GAO audit classified nearly half of all purchases on government credit cards as improper, fraudulent, or embezzled. Examples of taxpayer-funded purchases include gambling, mortgage payments, liquor, lingerie, iPods, Xboxes, jewelry, Internet dating services, and Hawaiian vacations. In one extraordinary example, the Postal Service spent $13,500 on one dinner at a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, including "over 200 appetizers and over $3,000 of alcohol, including more than 40 bottles of wine costing more than $50 each and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere and Johnny Walker Gold." The 81 guests consumed an average of $167 worth of food and drink apiece.[8]
Federal agencies are delinquent on nearly 20 percent of employee travel charge cards, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually.[9]
The Securities and Exchange Commission spent $3.9 million rearranging desks and offices at its Washington, D.C., headquarters.[10]
1.6 trillion last I looked. There's about 400 billion right there in the top ten. Add in the 500 billion Obama said he was going to gain by cutting out midicare fraud and we're down to about 5-600 billion. See how easy it is when you cut spending and waste?
Then what is everyone complaining about in this thread concerning where Obama is?
Cause he's off hiding again so he can blame everybody else when nothing gets done. Why isn't he leading these oh so important talks? He already let the US credit rating get downgraded sitting around doing nothing. Now he's off taking pictures in funny shirts. He either doesn't care or is in over his head. Both reasons to kick him to the curb.
Psst. Nobody from the WH or 'Communists' in the Senate were on the committee. But there were GOP Senators who will defend no tax-increases on the wealthy to their deaths, even if it means the country goes broke.
With intransigence like that, the Super committee failed. One can't have compromise when one side won't compromise.
The republicans offered a compromise that would have raised 250-300B in increased tax revenue by cutting loopholes to the rich. The democrats offered no spending cuts in return. Even when democrats do speak of spending cuts they are always in the out years and never happen.
The committee was the democrats idea. They never wanted it to be successful because Obama wants to run against a do nothing congress. Americans will not be fooled by these political maneuverings.
The 25% looney left will.
Failure of the supercommittee is good. Come 2013, the Bush tax-cuts will expire instead of what the GOP members insisting on -- making the Bush tax cuts permanent.
These are the Obama tax cuts. They have HIS signature on them. The "Bush tax cuts" expired.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
