Billions of Bloat

The US GAO has come out with a report detailing massive waste through duplicative government programs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703749504576172942399165436.html?mod=WSJ_Election_LEFTSecondStories

The U.S. government has 15 different agencies overseeing food-safety laws, more than 20 separate programs to help the homeless and 80 programs for economic development.

These are a few of the findings in a massive study of overlapping and duplicative programs that cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year, according to the Government Accountability Office.

A report from the nonpartisan GAO, to be released Tuesday, compiles a list of redundant and potentially ineffective federal programs, and it could serve as a template for lawmakers in both parties as they move to cut federal spending and consolidate programs to reduce the deficit. Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.), who pushed for the report, estimated it identifies between $100 billion and $200 billion in duplicative spending. The GAO didn't put a specific figure on the spending overlap.

Why oh why should Americans agree to any increase in taxes before this mess is cleaned up?

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
The US GAO has come out with a report detailing massive waste through duplicative government programs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703749504576172942399165436.html?mod=WSJ_Election_LEFTSecondStories
[quote]The U.S. government has 15 different agencies overseeing food-safety laws, more than 20 separate programs to help the homeless and ...[text shortened]... te]
Why oh why should Americans agree to any increase in taxes before this mess is cleaned up?

according to the RHP Left Wing there is no such thing as govt bloat.

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
The US GAO has come out with a report detailing massive waste through duplicative government programs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703749504576172942399165436.html?mod=WSJ_Election_LEFTSecondStories
[quote]The U.S. government has 15 different agencies overseeing food-safety laws, more than 20 separate programs to help the homeless and te]
Why oh why should Americans agree to any increase in taxes before this mess is cleaned up?

Obama and company could care less about such waste. In fact, Obama and company could care less about the massive deficit. Simply put, the goal is to increase the size of government, period. You will NEVER catch him trying to reform it or criticize it.

Of course, if he were a CEO of a major corporation, he would be fired by now. The beauty of being the President of the United States, however, is that you not only don't have to turn a profit, you can go into debt as much as your hearts content. In fact, Obama's like a teenager with a credit card in this respect.

When corporations go bad government is standing near by to club them over the head, however, when government goes bad all they do is pick themselves up and proceed to make things bigger and better with virtually no accountablity.

I am flirting with the idea that one of the goals on the left is massive debt. They see it as a road to end capitalism I think.

Originally posted by whodey
I am flirting with the idea that one of the goals on the left is massive debt. They see it as a road to end capitalism I think.

Why would Obama want to "end capitalism"?

Originally posted by whodey
Simply put, the goal is to increase the size of government, period.

And you believe this solely because your party has 'small government' in its manifesto (but not in its actions), and Obama happens to belong to the 'other' party.

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
The US GAO has come out with a report detailing massive waste through duplicative government programs.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703749504576172942399165436.html?mod=WSJ_Election_LEFTSecondStories
[quote]The U.S. government has 15 different agencies overseeing food-safety laws, more than 20 separate programs to help the homeless and ...[text shortened]... te]
Why oh why should Americans agree to any increase in taxes before this mess is cleaned up?

So the GAO does not know how much this costs. Coburn then "estimates" it's $100-200 billion.

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
So the GAO does not know how much this costs. Coburn then "estimates" it's $100-200 billion.

Yes, it would be a tough number to nail down for obvious reasons. Clearly though, this level of duplicated effort and all the bureaucracy it engenders is expensive and wasteful, and has gone on for decades. Why send them even more money to waste when they have shown such incompetence?

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
Yes, it would be a tough number to nail down for obvious reasons. Clearly though, this level of duplicated effort and all the bureaucracy it engenders is expensive and wasteful, and has gone on for decades. Why send them even more money to waste when they have shown such incompetence?

Yes, government waste is wasteful. What is your plan of approach of tackling government waste, and how would cutting taxes help achieve that goal? In other words, what guarantee do you have that cutting the government budget will cut only the wasteful expenses?

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
Yes, government waste is wasteful. What is your plan of approach of tackling government waste, and how would cutting taxes help achieve that goal? In other words, what guarantee do you have that cutting the government budget will cut only the wasteful expenses?

I have no guarantees for you KN, but as long as we keep sending in enough money to allow them to avoid making hard choices, no hard choices will be made.

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
I have no guarantees for you KN, but as long as we keep sending in enough money to allow them to avoid making hard choices, no hard choices will be made.

So what is the relation between government expenditure and government waste exactly?

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
So what is the relation between government expenditure and government waste exactly?

Why does that need to be nailed down exactly before you will answer the question posed in the OP? It is clear there is waste at a ridiculous level. Why should taxes be increased before that is addressed?

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
Why does that need to be nailed down exactly before you will answer the question posed in the OP? It is clear there is waste at a ridiculous level. Why should taxes be increased before that is addressed?

Shouldn't government waste be addressed regardless of whether or not taxes stay the same?

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
Shouldn't government waste be addressed regardless of whether or not taxes stay the same?

You're hopeless.

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
I have no guarantees for you KN, but as long as we keep sending in enough money to allow them to avoid making hard choices, no hard choices will be made.

So your plan is to do nothing directly about the waste, but to try and starve them of taxes in the hope that they will finally shape up?

Isn't that the sort of strategy that has led to the massive debt?

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
You're hopeless.

Taxes have been reduced quite a bit since the 1950s. Has this led to a reduction in government waste?