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 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 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 air force and navy too have their share of stillborn projects. The EFV (Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle) project that was developed for the marine corps was canceled in 2011 after having $3 billion of a projected $15 billion spent on it. It was an amphibious assault vehicle designed to transport soldiers from the sea onto hostile beach terrain. It was abandoned after policy makers decided the cost per vehicle 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 perhaps the most wasteful of all Federal programs but its popularity among the electorate makes reform a delicate issue. One big area of waste is spending on drugs and other supplies, for which it routinely pays far more than it needs to (in some instances, eight times more). The Department of Health and Human Services found that Medicare typically pays double what is paid by the Department of Veteran Affairs for the same supplies.
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.
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 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 air force and navy too have their share of stillborn projects. The EFV (Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle) project that was developed for the marine corps was canceled in 2011 after having $3 billion of a projected $15 billion spent on it. It was an amphibious assault vehicle designed to transport soldiers from the sea onto hostile beach terrain. It was abandoned after policy makers decided the cost per vehicle 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 perhaps the most wasteful of all Federal programs but its popularity among the electorate makes reform a delicate issue. One big area of waste is spending on drugs and other supplies, for which it routinely pays far more than it needs to (in some instances, eight times more). The Department of Health and Human Services found that Medicare typically pays double what is paid by the Department of Veteran Affairs for the same supplies.
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.
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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