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http://www.businessinsider.com/50-suggested-budget-cuts-for-the-us-government-2010-6
Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties
Because of overstaffing, the U.S. Postal Service selects 1,125 employees per day to sit in empty rooms. They are not allowed to work, read, play cards, watch television, or do anything. This costs $50 million annually.
Washington will spend $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.
Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit classified nearly half of all purchases on government credit cards as improper, fraudulent, or embezzled.
Improper or fraudulent Medicare spending now totals $47 billion annually—12.4 percent of its budget.
New York distributed $140 million in stimulus money into the individual accounts of families on welfare, yet neglected to mention it was intended for school supplies (Local ATMs were depleted, and much of the money was reportedly spent on “flat screen TV’s, iPods and video gaming systems” as well as “cigarettes and beer.”)
Washington will spend $615,175 on an archive honoring the Grateful Dead.
Federal employees owe more than $3 billion in income taxes they failed to pay in 2008.
Each month, taxpayers provide $40,000 worth of office space, cell phones, staff, and an SUV for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who currently works as a lobbyist for private corporations and foreign governments.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her staff have charged taxpayers $101,000 for “in-flight services”—including food and liquor—during trips on Air Force jets over the last two years.
The stimulus set aside $350 million for a national broadband coverage map—even though one private firm stated it could create one for $3.5 million.
Fannie Mae—now backed up by taxpayers—paid $6.3 million in legal defense costs for ousted executives such as Franklin Raines.
Over half of all farm subsidies go to commercial farms, which report average household incomes of $200,000.
A GAO audit found that 95 Pentagon weapons systems suffered from a combined $295 billion in cost overruns.
The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades.
More than $13 billion in Iraq aid has been classified as wasted or stolen. Another $7.8 billion cannot be accounted for.
Congress recently gave Alaska Airlines $500,000 to paint a Chinook salmon on a Boeing 737.
Washington has spent $3 billion re-sanding beaches—even as this new sand washes back into the ocean.
The Defense Department wasted $100 million on unused flight tickets and never bothered to collect refunds even though the tickets were refundable.
The federal government owns more than 50,000 vacant homes.
Taxpayers are funding paintings of high-ranking government officials at a cost of up to $50,000 apiece
The state of Washington sent $1 food stamp checks to 250,000 households in order to raise state caseload figures and trigger $43 million in additional federal funds.
Medicare officials recently mailed $50 million in erroneous refunds to 230,000 Medicare recipients.
Audits showed $34 billion worth of Department of Homeland Security contracts contained significant waste, fraud, and abuse.
The Advanced Technology Program spends $150 million annually subsidizing private businesses; 40 percent of this funding goes to Fortune 500 companies.
The Conservation Reserve program pays farmers $2 billion annually not to farm their land.
Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties
Because of overstaffing, the U.S. Postal Service selects 1,125 employees per day to sit in empty rooms. They are not allowed to work, read, play cards, watch television, or do anything. This costs $50 million annually.
Washington will spend $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.
Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit classified nearly half of all purchases on government credit cards as improper, fraudulent, or embezzled.
Improper or fraudulent Medicare spending now totals $47 billion annually—12.4 percent of its budget.
New York distributed $140 million in stimulus money into the individual accounts of families on welfare, yet neglected to mention it was intended for school supplies (Local ATMs were depleted, and much of the money was reportedly spent on “flat screen TV’s, iPods and video gaming systems” as well as “cigarettes and beer.”)
Washington will spend $615,175 on an archive honoring the Grateful Dead.
Federal employees owe more than $3 billion in income taxes they failed to pay in 2008.
Each month, taxpayers provide $40,000 worth of office space, cell phones, staff, and an SUV for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who currently works as a lobbyist for private corporations and foreign governments.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her staff have charged taxpayers $101,000 for “in-flight services”—including food and liquor—during trips on Air Force jets over the last two years.
The stimulus set aside $350 million for a national broadband coverage map—even though one private firm stated it could create one for $3.5 million.
Fannie Mae—now backed up by taxpayers—paid $6.3 million in legal defense costs for ousted executives such as Franklin Raines.
Over half of all farm subsidies go to commercial farms, which report average household incomes of $200,000.
A GAO audit found that 95 Pentagon weapons systems suffered from a combined $295 billion in cost overruns.
The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades.
More than $13 billion in Iraq aid has been classified as wasted or stolen. Another $7.8 billion cannot be accounted for.
Congress recently gave Alaska Airlines $500,000 to paint a Chinook salmon on a Boeing 737.
Washington has spent $3 billion re-sanding beaches—even as this new sand washes back into the ocean.
The Defense Department wasted $100 million on unused flight tickets and never bothered to collect refunds even though the tickets were refundable.
The federal government owns more than 50,000 vacant homes.
Taxpayers are funding paintings of high-ranking government officials at a cost of up to $50,000 apiece
The state of Washington sent $1 food stamp checks to 250,000 households in order to raise state caseload figures and trigger $43 million in additional federal funds.
Medicare officials recently mailed $50 million in erroneous refunds to 230,000 Medicare recipients.
Audits showed $34 billion worth of Department of Homeland Security contracts contained significant waste, fraud, and abuse.
The Advanced Technology Program spends $150 million annually subsidizing private businesses; 40 percent of this funding goes to Fortune 500 companies.
The Conservation Reserve program pays farmers $2 billion annually not to farm their land.