Quick! Name three big federal programs where there is very little waste of tax dollars!
If you can’t do that, name just one big federal program where there is little waste.
You’ll probably struggle to meet that challenge as well, for the simple reason that the federal government has no track record of running major programs efficiently.
That is part of the reason why Social Security and Medicare are going broke.
It is also why it is estimated that nearly $60 billion of the $862 billion “stimulus” is expected to be lost to waste and to outright fraud and abuse. (And that doesn’t include far more stimulus money that has proved ineffective at “creating or saving” jobs even when it was spent as intended.)
On a somewhat smaller scale, we spotted a troubling bit of news about the Obama administration’s multibillion-dollar plan to “turn schools around.” The administration has pumped $3.5 billion into the program. That is 27 times more than was spent in 2007. What are taxpayers getting in return? According to The New York Times, “dozens of companies with little or no experience are portraying themselves as school-turnaround experts as they compete for the money.”
“Many of the new companies seem unprepared for the challenge of making over a public school, yet neither the federal government nor many state governments are organized to offer effective oversight …,” the newspaper added.
For example:
n In Ohio and Virginia, a husband and wife with no experience in school overhauls are seeking the government funding.
n Classroom technology vendors – again, with little experience in helping schools get on the right track – want the federal cash, too.
Do you have much faith that schools in need of a “turnaround” will get one from this latest burst of Washington spending? Are you surprised that unqualified individuals seek “free” government money when it is offered with little oversight?