It was anger over taxation that triggered the first tea party back in 1773, and tax and spending issues remain a key flash point driving the modern movement. Today, people from both sides of the political fence cannot fail to be alarmed by the sums of money that the federal government wastes. The following is a small effort to inform tea party conservatives about this issue, and anyone else who cares about how their tax dollars are spent.
The Department of Defense has some horrific examples of waste and incompetence, although in fairness this is sometimes the fault of politicians rather than military leaders. Mismanaged and/or canceled projects have resulted in the waste of many billions of dollars. Policy makers often try to portray project cancellations as savings while ignoring the billions that have already been spent on what may be perfectly valid projects.
In 2002 the Crusader mobile cannon was abandoned at a cost of $2 billion after army chiefs decided it no longer met their requirements. In 2004 the army also canceled the Comanche armed reconnaissance helicopter after spending $7 billion on it. They then later canceled its replacement incurring further losses that ran into the hundreds of billions.
The navy also has had its share of ill-fated mega-budget projects. The amphibious EFV craft was commissioned for the US marine corps. It was part of an “over the horizon” strategy for ocean-based assaults that was instigated in the 1980’s. The project was terminated in 2011 after $3 billion of an earmarked $15 billion was spent on its development. The ax was swung by defense secretary Robert Gates when the cost per-unit was deemed too high.
The military has also squandered millions on careless civil aviation expenditures. It spent a colossal $100 million between 1997 and 2003 on 270,000 airline tickets that it never used. These tickets were in fact fully refundable but Pentagon staff didn’t trouble themselves with claiming the refunds. Between 2001 and 2002 the Pentagon was also found to have paid twice for 27,000 tickets (incurring a further $8 million of waste).
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 instances of needless waste are bad enough, but at least the sums involved are known. A report published by the Department of the Treasury contained reference to what were described as ‘unreconciled transactions’. This is money that to all intents and purposes has vanished – auditors simply can’t account for it. The $25 billion would be enough to fund the entire Department of Justice for one year.
Huge numbers of taxpayers are becoming increasingly angry about this kind of profligacy, but whether lawmakers will ever get to grips with it remains to be seen. If the Tea Party and other pressure groups can create enough momentum behind this issue, then perhaps Uncle Sam will one day become a more responsible custodian of its citizens hard-earned money.
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