The Government Waste Has To Stop

In 2010 we had a deficit of approximately $1.5 trillion dollars.  We cannot sustain the huge deficits.  The waste alone in the federal government would be a great start.  In 2010 the federal government reported $125 billion dollars in improper payments.

The $125 billion in improper payments was also more than 7 times the total spending by the Justice Department or by NASA, which runs the U.S. space program, which is preparing to launch its last-ever shuttle flights.

Federal agencies reported improper payments estimated at $125.4 billion in fiscal year 2010, an increase of $16.2 billion from the $109.2 billion estimate in fiscal 2009, the Government Accountability Office said.

The GAO defines improper payments as “overpayments, underpayments, and payments that were not adequately documented,” as well as fraud. It also noted that improper payments are not necessarily fraudulent, only that they represent instances where the government did not follow its own internal rules for spending taxpayers’ money.

Ten programs accounted for 94 percent of all improper payments in 2010, led by Medicare, which reported $34.3 billion in improper payments – mainly because of medically unnecessary services and insufficient documentation.

 Viewed a different way, the estimated $34.3 billion in improper payments attributed to Medicare in fiscal 2010 nearly equals the $38.5 billion in budget cuts made by Republicans in 2011, the largest spending cut in history.

“Agencies cited a number of causes for the estimated $125.4 billion in reported improper payments, including insufficient documentation, incorrect computations, changes in program requirements, and in some cases fraud.”

No business could operate this way and still remain in business.  We should not let our government waste our tax dollars this way.  Proper checks and balances can eliminate most of this waste.  It doesn’t take more people or more spending it takes more accountability.

Comment here and email us at YourVoice@speaknowconservatives.org.

Moms, Dads, Grandparents need a place to vent about the direction our government is taking? Go to MomsAndDadsBeHeard and speak out. Be part of bringing our Great country back.

You might also like to read this article: Obama Administration Grants Citizenship To 3 Convicted Terrorists