President's Address:The American people will not tolerate arrogance and greed

[Benny B]

In today's weekly address, President Obama addressed the latest economic news and discussed the progress of the America Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. He also announced that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is preparing a new strategy for reviving our financial system with increased transparency and accountability:

[shootfighter1]

Glad he bitch slaped these arrogant executives that abuse bailout money...intolerable.

[Soul Crusher]

In today's weekly address, President Obama addressed the latest economic news and discussed the progress of the America Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. He also announced that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is preparing a new strategy for reviving our financial system with increased transparency and accountability:

He should start with Daschle and Geithner and their tax fraud issues.

[Bindare_Dundat]

He should start with Daschle and Geithner and their tax fraud issues.

Good one.

[muscleforlife]

I think any business that we unvoluntarily gave out money to should be made to show where every penny goes.
Not to $5omillion jets. 
Glad that was caught and scrapped.

Sandra

[Bindare_Dundat]

I think any business that we unvoluntarily gave out money to should be made to show where every penny goes.
Not to $5omillion jets. 
Glad that was caught and scrapped.

Sandra

Here's where it goes.

[Hedgehog]

He should start with Daschle and Geithner and their tax fraud issues.

Unbelievable.

You go after Daeschle and Geithner who did pay their taxes in the end.

But you don't have anything to say about those Wall Street bankers who cashed out nearly $20 billion in bonuses while getting tax payers money?
Or what about former Goldman Sachs executive Hank Paulsen who were responsible for the whole bailout?

[MuscleMcMannus]

Haha I guess the fact that the government is pretty much incahoots with all these corporations doesn't matter?  Obama is a fucking dipshit.  He should talk about government waste.  Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. 

[Hedgehog]

Haha I guess the fact that the government is pretty much incahoots with all these corporations doesn't matter? 
Give me an example.

Obama is a fucking dipshit.  He should talk about government waste.  Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. 
What exactly do you mean when you write government waste?

[MuscleMcMannus]

Haha I guess the fact that the government is pretty much incahoots with all these corporations doesn't matter? 
Give me an example.

Obama is a fucking dipshit.  He should talk about government waste.  Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. 
What exactly do you mean when you write government waste?

Come on bro I could hours typing this shit out.  Cheney and Halliburton, Bush and Bechtel, Obama and Freddie/Fannie.  These tiny examples  can be applied to the 100 or so, major corporations that control America and dictate not only its foreign policy but also its domestic one.  Look at all the politicians both current and previous that are ex corporate hacks. 

As far as government waste again I could type out hours of examples.  But since you asked...............

. The Missing $25 Billion

Buried in the Department of the Treasury’s 2003 Financial Report of the United States Government is a short section titled “Unreconciled Transactions Affecting the Change in Net Position,” which explains that these unreconciled transactions totaled $24.5 billion in 2003.[2]

The unreconciled transactions are funds for which auditors cannot account: The government knows that $25 billion was spent by someone, somewhere, on something, but auditors do not know who spent it, where it was spent, or on what it was spent. Blaming these unreconciled transactions on the failure of federal agencies to report their expenditures adequately, the Treasury report con­cludes that locating the money is “a priority.”

The unreconciled $25 billion could have funded the entire Department of Justice for an entire year.

2. Unused Flight Tickets Totaling $100 Million

A recent audit revealed that between 1997 and 2003, the Defense Department purchased and then left unused approximately 270,000 commercial airline tickets at a total cost of $100 million. Even worse, the Pentagon never bothered to get a refund for these fully refundable tickets. The GAO blamed a system that relied on department personnel to notify the travel office when purchased tickets went unused.[3]

Auditors also found 27,000 transactions between 2001 and 2002 in which the Pentagon paid twice for the same ticket. The department would purchase the ticket directly and then inex­plicably reimburse the employee for the cost of the ticket. (In one case, an employee who allegedly made seven false claims for airline tickets professed not to have noticed that $9,700 was deposited into his/her account). These additional transactions cost taxpayers $8 million.

This $108 million could have purchased seven Blackhawk helicopters, 17 M1 Abrams tanks, or a large supply of additional body armor for U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

3. Embezzled Funds at the Department of Agriculture

Federal employee credit card programs were designed to save money. Rather than weaving through a lengthy procurement process to acquire basic supplies, federal employees could purchase job-related products with credit cards that would be paid by their agency. What began as a smart way to streamline government has since been corrupted by some federal employees who have abused the public trust.

A recent audit revealed that employees of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) diverted mil­lions of dollars to personal purchases through their government-issued credit cards. Sampling 300 employees’ purchases over six months, investigators estimated that 15 percent abused their government credit cards at a cost of $5.8 million. Taxpayer-funded purchases included Ozzy Osbourne concert tickets, tattoos, lingerie, bartender school tuition, car payments, and cash advances.

The USDA has pledged a thorough investigation, but it will have a huge task: 55,000 USDA credit cards are in circulation, including 1,549 that are still held by people who no longer work at the USDA.[4]

4. Credit Card Abuse at the Department of Defense

The Defense Department has uncovered its own credit card scandal. Over one recent 18-month period, Air Force and Navy personnel used govern­ment-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400 for admission to entertainment events, $48,250 for gambling, $69,300 for cruises, and $73,950 for exotic dance clubs and prostitutes.[5]

5. Medicare Overspending

Medicare wastes more money than any other federal program, yet its strong public support leaves lawmakers hesitant to address program effi­ciencies, which cost taxpayers and Medicare recip­ients billions of dollars annually.

For example, Medicare pays as much as eight times what other federal agencies pay for the same drugs and medical supplies.[6] The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently com­pared the prices paid by Medicare and the Depart­ment of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care program for 16 types of medical equipment and supplies, which account for one-quarter of Medicare’s equip­ment and supplies purchases. The evidence showed that Medicare paid an average of more than double what the VA paid for the same items. The largest difference was for saline solution, with Medicare paying $8.26 per liter compared to the $1.02 paid by the VA.[7] (See Table 1.)



These higher prices not only cost the program more money, but also take more money out of the pockets of Medicare beneficiaries. In 2002, senior citizens’ co-payments accounted for 20 percent of the $9.4 billion in allowed claims for medical equipment and supplies.[8] Higher prices mean higher co-payments.

Medicare also overpays for drugs. In 2000, Medicare’s payments for 24 leading drugs were $1.9 billion higher than they would have been under the prices paid by the VA or other federal agencies. Although Medicare is supposed to pay wholesale prices for drugs, it relies on drug manu­facturers to define the prices, and manufacturers have strong incentives to inflate their prices.[9]

Nor are inflated prices for drugs and supplies the most expensive examples of Medicare’s inefficien­cies. Basic payment errors—the results of deliber­ate fraud and administrative errors—cost $12.3 billion annually. As much as $7 billion owed to the program has gone uncollected or has been written off.[10] Finally, while Medicare contracts claims pro­cessing and administration to several private com­panies, 19 cases of contractor fraud have been settled in recent years, with a maximum settlement of $76 million.[11]

Putting it all together, Medicare reform could save taxpayers and program beneficiaries $20 bil­lion to $30 billion annually without reducing ben­efits. That would be enough to fund a $3,000 refundable health care tax credit for nearly 10 mil­lion uninsured low-income households.

6. Funding Fictitious Colleges and Students

In 2002, the Department of Education received an application to certify the student loan participa­tion of the Y’Hica Institute in London, England. After approving the certification, the department received and approved student loan applications from three Y’Hica students and disbursed $55,000.

The Education Department administrators over­looked one problem: Neither the Y’Hica Institute nor the three students who received the $55,000 existed. The fictitious college and students were created (on paper) by congressional investigators to test the Department of Education’s verification pro­cedures. All of the documents were faked, right down to naming one of the fictional loan student applicants “Susan M. Collins,” after the Senator requesting the investigation.[12]

Such carelessness helps to explain why federal student loan programs routinely receive poor man­agement reviews from government auditors. At last count, $21.8 billion worth of student loans are in default, and too many cases of fraud are left undetec­ted.[13] Tracking students across federal programs, verifying loan application data with IRS income data, and implementing controls to prevent the dis­bursement of loans to fraudulent applicants could save taxpayers billions of dollars.

7. Manipulating Data to Encourage Spending

The Army Corps of Engineers spends $5 billion annually constructing dams and other water projects. Yet, in a massive conflict of interest, it is also charged with evaluating the science and eco­nomics of each proposed water project. The Corps’ “strategic vision” calls on managers to increase their budgets as rapidly as possible, which requires approving as many proposed projects as possible.[14] Consequently, the Corps has repeatedly been accused of deliberately manipulating its economic studies to justify unworthy projects.

Investigations by the GAO, The Washington Post, and several private organizations have found that Corps studies routinely contain dozens of basic arithmetic errors, computer errors, and ridiculous economic assumptions that artificially inflate the benefits of water projects by as much as 300 per­cent.[15] In one case, a study’s authors inflated a project’s benefits by using a 2.5 percent interest rate that dated back to 1954. In many cases in which the Corps calculated that a project would be a net benefit, arithmetic corrections revealed that the costs would be many times greater than the bene­fits.[16] By that point, of course, the unnecessary and wasteful project is often underway and cannot be stopped.

These errors appear to reflect more deception than sloppiness. A Washington Post investigation uncovered managers ordering analysts to “get cre­ative,” to “look for ways to get to yes as fast as pos­sible,” and “not to take no for an answer.” After a public outcry, in 2002, the Corps suspended work on 150 projects to review the economics used to justify them.[17] However, given the combination of Congress’s thirst for pork-barrel projects and the Corps’ built-in incentives to approve projects that will increase its budget, real reforms seem unlikely.

8. State Abuse of Medicaid Funding Formulas

Significant waste, fraud, and abuse pervade Medicaid, which provides health services to 44 million low-income Americans. While states run their own Medicaid programs, the federal govern­ment reimburses an average of 57 percent of each state’s costs.

This system gives states an incentive to overre­port their Medicaid expenditures in order to receive larger federal reimbursements. Not sur­prisingly, the GAO has identified state schemes that shift money between state accounts to create an illusion of higher Medicaid expenditures. Simi­larly, some states have spent their federal Medicaid dollars on non-Medicaid purposes. Tight state budgets like those experienced by most states today have increased the pressure to use such deceptive tactics.

The GAO and the HHS Inspector General have also uncovered some states’ practice of recovering improper payments, retaining the funds, and then spending them on unrelated programs—a practice that costs the federal government well over $2 bil­lion per year. Congress could enact legislation to prohibit these actions more effectively.

Minor reforms enacted by HHS in 2001 and 2002 are expected to save Medicaid $70 billion over the next decade. A small sample of financing schemes uncovered in a few states suggests that, if Congress acts, even larger savings are available.[18]

9. Earned Income Tax Credit Overpayments

The earned income tax credit (EITC) provides $31 billion in refundable tax credits to 19 million low-income families. The IRS estimates that $8.5 billion to $9.9 billion of this amount—nearly one-third—is wasted in overpayments.

The complexity of the EITC law leads to many of these mistakes. Calculating the credits is more complex than calculating regular income taxes. While the credit amount depends on the number of children in a household, the tax code does not clearly define how a child qualifies for the credit. In addition, fraud and underreporting of income are common, and the IRS lacks the resources to verify the qualifications of all EITC claimants.

Efforts are being made to address this prob­lem, but Congress can do more by requiring bet­ter verification of incomes and by clearly defining the standards by which a child qualifies for the EITC.[19]

10. Redundancy Piled on Redundancy

Government’s layering of new programs on top of old ones inherently creates duplication. Having sev­eral agencies perform similar duties is wasteful and confuses program beneficiaries who must navigate each program’s distinct rules and requirements.

Some overlap is inevitable because some agen­cies are defined by whom they serve (e.g., veterans, Native Americans, urbanites, and rural families), while others are defined by what they provide (e.g., housing, education, health care, and economic development). When these agencies’ constituencies overlap, each relevant agency will often have its own program. With 342 separate economic devel­opment programs, the federal government needs to make consolidation a priority.

Consolidating duplicative programs will save money and improve government service. In addi­tion to those programs that should be eliminated completely, Congress should consolidate the fol­lowing sets of programs:

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;
72 federal programs dedicated to assuring safe water;
50 homeless assistance programs;
45 federal agencies conducting federal crimi­nal investigations;
40 separate employment and training pro­grams;
28 rural development programs;
27 teen pregnancy programs;
26 small, extraneous K–12 school grant pro­grams;
23 agencies providing aid to the former Soviet republics;
19 programs fighting substance abuse;
17 rural water and waste-water programs in eight agencies;
17 trade agencies monitoring 400 interna­tional trade agreements;
12 food safety agencies;
11 principal statistics agencies; and
Four overlapping land management agencies.[20]

[Hedgehog]

Nice post.

What do you think are the chances of these government programs getting reformed?

After all, Obama has stated he would go through every government program to cut spending.

And perhaps this economic crisis could force him to actually do something about excessive government spending?

[chafed_nut_sack420]

And perhaps this economic crisis could force him to actually do something about excessive government spending?

Isnt propping up failed/failing businesses, excessive spending?

[MuscleMcMannus]

Nice post.

What do you think are the chances of these government programs getting reformed?

After all, Obama has stated he would go through every government program to cut spending.

And perhaps this economic crisis could force him to actually do something about excessive government spending?

LMAO!  Bro Obama is a tax and spend liberal democrat.  The government will grow under the Obama administration not shrink.  Just look at his "Civilian expeditionary" force he wants to create.  How much money is that worthless idea going to suck off the tax payers.  Let me give you a local example...........due to people snooping at other people's medical records at UCLA the state of California has created the OHII.  A brand new government bureaucracy called the Office of Health information Integrity.  LMAO!  Exactly what we need.  Some more bullshit government oversight making sure people don't snoop at each other's medical records.  You wanna talk about government waste just research the state of CA. 

[Hedgehog]

Isnt propping up failed/failing businesses, excessive spending?

Are you referring to the bailout of the banks?

If so then that was necessary in order to prevent a crisis of the financial system.

That has been prevented.

Now, I think it could've been handled much better, eg the government could've put much harder demands on the banks and instead of flushing them with money with few stipulations, the government could've gone in as partial owner for a brief period of time.

Sold off the stocks once the banks were running well again.

[MuscleMcMannus]

Are you referring to the bailout of the banks?

If so then that was necessary in order to prevent a crisis of the financial system.

That has been prevented.

Now, I think it could've been handled much better, eg the government could've put much harder demands on the banks and instead of flushing them with money with few stipulations, the government could've gone in as partial owner for a brief period of time.

Sold off the stocks once the banks were running well again.

What crisis?  We didn't overt anything so far.  We wasted the first bailout and will waste the second.  We are talking toxic assets in excess of tens of trillons of dollars.  What is a couple trillion going to accomplish?  The entire premise of these bailouts is to calm public fear in the stock market.  It has absolutely nothing to do with actually bailing out our fledgeling economy.  If the US Government wanted to save the economy they'd initiate massive tax cuts, decrease military spending, start bailing out home owners and American citizens not Wallstreet banks.  The entire crisis of bank failure was a typical boogeyman created by the US government ala the War on Terror to stoke the fear of the American people. 

[Hedgehog]

LMAO!  Bro Obama is a tax and spend liberal democrat.  The government will grow under the Obama administration not shrink.  Just look at his "Civilian expeditionary" force he wants to create.  How much money is that worthless idea going to suck off the tax payers.  Let me give you a local example...........due to people snooping at other people's medical records at UCLA the state of California has created the OHII.  A brand new government bureaucracy called the Office of Health information Integrity.  LMAO!  Exactly what we need.  Some more bullshit government oversight making sure people don't snoop at each other's medical records.  You wanna talk about government waste just research the state of CA. 

As for the "Civilian expeditionary" force.

Wouldn't that actually save money?

Some things might not have to be done by military personel?

I'm thinking that the training of those in the Civilian expeditionary workforce is cheaper and shorter.

Or am I completely wrong here?

[MuscleMcMannus]

As for the "Civilian expeditionary" force.

Wouldn't that actually save money?

Some things might not have to be done by military personel?

I'm thinking that the training of those in the Civilian expeditionary workforce is cheaper and shorter.

Or am I completely wrong here?

Dude the Department of Homeland Security and TSA were created under Bush.  Can you say they've saved us money or make us any safer now than we were before 9/11.  If things need to be done we don't need some disconnected, overinflated Federal government entity.  Do it at the state or community level.  Let states and local communities handle their problems and if need be give them the funding and legality to do so.  That's the entire problem.  You've got some bureaucratic moron in Washington DC telling people how to live their lives in Idaho. 

[Hedgehog]

What crisis?  We didn't overt anything so far.  We wasted the first bailout and will waste the second.  We are talking toxic assets in excess of tens of trillons of dollars.  What is a couple trillion going to accomplish?  The entire premise of these bailouts is to calm public fear in the stock market.  It has absolutely nothing to do with actually bailing out our fledgeling economy.  If the US Government wanted to save the economy they'd initiate massive tax cuts, decrease military spending, start bailing out home owners and American citizens not Wallstreet banks.  The entire crisis of bank failure was a typical boogeyman created by the US government ala the War on Terror to stoke the fear of the American people.  

I actually think you're pretty spot on.

But your reason has one logical flaw.

When Lehman Brothers collapsed, it actually brought lots of other banks to their knees.

And the banking system is key to keep the financial system running.

Ergo, you cannot let them fall.

How you decide to handle them is a different matter though.

[MuscleMcMannus]

I actually think you're pretty spot on.

But your reason has one logical flaw.

When Lehman Brothers collapsed, it actually brought lots of other banks to their knees.

And the banking system is key to keep the financial system running.

Ergo, you cannot let them fall.

How you decide to handle them is a different matter though.

We don't have to let them fail.  They are failing and there is nothing, no matter how much money the US prints, anyone can do about it.  We inflated the housing market and now the government is inflating the financial market.   

[Bindare_Dundat]

[Soul Crusher]

Unbelievable.

You go after Daeschle and Geithner who did pay their taxes in the end.

But you don't have anything to say about those Wall Street bankers who cashed out nearly $20 billion in bonuses while getting tax payers money?
Or what about former Goldman Sachs executive Hank Paulsen who were responsible for the whole bailout?

Hey sucker, Geithner and Daschle were the ones who enabled this nonsense in the first place. 


You must be feeling very suckered right now voting for Obama.  What a fraud he is.

[Soul Crusher]

Unreal, he just proposed a pork barrell spending bill larger than the Iraq war and you still think he is going to cut waste and abuse?

Obama is the definition of waste fraud and abuse. 

[Bindare_Dundat]

Unreal, he just proposed a pork barrell spending bill larger than the Iraq war and you still think he is going to cut waste and abuse?

Obama is the definition of waste fraud and abuse. 

The funny thing is, you have been critical of just about everyone who is deserving of it. I think Hedge has difficulty understanding what some of us are trying to convey.

[Bindare_Dundat]

Stimulas breakdown.

1 Billion,  for Amtrack. This service hasn’t turned a profit in nearly 4 decades. How is this going to stimulate the economy and create jobs? Oh, that’s right, most everyone who works there are Union. Payback to the Public Workers Union.

2 Billion for Child Care subsidies. Guess who qualifies for these?

50 Million for the National Endowment of the Arts. Yes, that’s not a misprint. How is this going to create jobs and stimulate the economy?

 $400 million for Global Warming research and 2.4 Billion for Carbon Capture Demonstration projects.

650 Million for Digital TV Conversion coupons on top of the Billions already spent on this. I guess all those workers that are going to get new jobs need some R&R after coming home.

Less than 90 Billion is earmarked for projects that will actually help create jobs and stimulate the economy. Projects like fixing bridges and highway construction, improvements to electricl and broadband grids.

A huge portion goes to Public Mass Transit. More paybacks to Public Worker Unions for their support and capaign contributions.

Also 83 BILLION dollars of the the Stimulus Package will extend Income Tax Creditand benefits to those who do not pay taxes. IE; Welfare Recipients and Illegal Aliens among others! Now there’s your tax dollars at work!

10 Billion will go to buy more new cars for the Federal Government and “modernizing” federal buildings. Can’t wait for the flood of jobs this will create!

6 BILLION will go to education projects, but there’s one catch. The Stimulus Plan states “No recipient . . . shall use such funds to provide financial assistance to students to attend private elementary or secondary schools”

Ouch! Big payback for the Teachers Union and NEA.  Can’t have those kids going to private school and learning more than Johnny who’s stuck in a Public School.

Oh, last but certainly not least, there’s the provision for Sexual Transmitted Disease Kits. I guess if we’re going to get screwed, at least they’ll tell us how to deal with any of the nasties we might get from them.

[Hedgehog]

Stimulas breakdown.

1 Billion,  for Amtrack. This service hasn’t turned a profit in nearly 4 decades. How is this going to stimulate the economy and create jobs? Oh, that’s right, most everyone who works there are Union. Payback to the Public Workers Union.

2 Billion for Child Care subsidies. Guess who qualifies for these?

50 Million for the National Endowment of the Arts. Yes, that’s not a misprint. How is this going to create jobs and stimulate the economy?

 $400 million for Global Warming research and 2.4 Billion for Carbon Capture Demonstration projects.

650 Million for Digital TV Conversion coupons on top of the Billions already spent on this. I guess all those workers that are going to get new jobs need some R&R after coming home.

Less than 90 Billion is earmarked for projects that will actually help create jobs and stimulate the economy. Projects like fixing bridges and highway construction, improvements to electricl and broadband grids.

A huge portion goes to Public Mass Transit. More paybacks to Public Worker Unions for their support and capaign contributions.

Also 83 BILLION dollars of the the Stimulus Package will extend Income Tax Creditand benefits to those who do not pay taxes. IE; Welfare Recipients and Illegal Aliens among others! Now there’s your tax dollars at work!

10 Billion will go to buy more new cars for the Federal Government and “modernizing” federal buildings. Can’t wait for the flood of jobs this will create!

6 BILLION will go to education projects, but there’s one catch. The Stimulus Plan states “No recipient . . . shall use such funds to provide financial assistance to students to attend private elementary or secondary schools”

Ouch! Big payback for the Teachers Union and NEA.  Can’t have those kids going to private school and learning more than Johnny who’s stuck in a Public School.

Oh, last but certainly not least, there’s the provision for Sexual Transmitted Disease Kits. I guess if we’re going to get screwed, at least they’ll tell us how to deal with any of the nasties we might get from them.

how do you add that up to $700 billion?