Free Talk Live - government waste

Your Taxes Build Robotic Squirrels & Menus for Mars says Waste Book

snowdog2012 — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:13:32 +0000

What do robotic squirrels, menus for Martian meals and a musical about climate change have in common? They've all been made possible with taxpayer assistance, according to the latest survey of government waste put out by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. Known simply as the Waste Book, the report is a watchlist of eye-opening expenditures, which Coburn blames on a "let them eat caviar" attitude in Washington -- at a time when "23 million of our fellow Americans do not have good jobs," Coburn notes.

FAIL: Robots, X-Rays, Cops Battle Empty Cooler for 4 Hours

snowdog2012 — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 09:34:32 +0000

It took police nearly four hours at the scene with robots and X-ray cameras before they determined the cooler was empty.

2 girls climb US-Mexico border fence in less than 18 seconds

snowdog2012 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:11:21 +0000

On average, each mile of border fence costs US taxpayers about $4 million to build and will cost another $6.5 billion over the next 20 years to repair and maintain.

Are we getting our money's worth? Is the border fence an effective deterrent? To find out, I asked two young women—both only about 5'5"—to see if they could climb the wall.

Government Issues Study of a Study about Studies

driveallnight — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:17:02 +0000

The GAO has released its conclusion on a study commissioned to study a Pentagon study on its own studies. The study's conclusion was that the study of studies was ineffective. The taxpayer-funded cost for the worthless studies was not released, however.

$1 Billion That Nobody Wants

phonon — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:21:55 +0000

Politicians in Washington hardly let a few minutes go by without mentioning how broke the government is. So, it's a little surprising that they've created a stash of more than $1 billion that almost no one wants.

Unused dollar coins have been quietly piling up in Federal Reserve vaults in breathtaking numbers, thanks to a government program that has required their production since 2007.

And even though the neglected mountain of money recently grew past the $1 billion mark, the U.S. Mint will keep making more and more of the coins under a congressional mandate.

State orders Detroit to close half its schools

pmfalcon — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:31:26 +0000

State education officials have ordered the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools to immediately implement a plan that balances the district's books by closing half its schools. The Detroit News says the financial restructuring plan will increase high school class sizes to 60 students and consolidate operations. Officials say that the plan would wipe out the district's $327 million deficit by 2014.

Pentagon: 2.3 TRILLION unaccounted for

Grey — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:15:30 +0000

On September 10, 2001 Donald Rumsfeld mentioned that thanks to "military bureaucracy" that trillions (with a T) could not be accounted for, saying it was a matter of "life and dead." Then, 24 hrs. later world history was changed forever, and most have seemingly forgotten about this financial disaster.

REAL or FAKE: Which of these government spending projects are real?

cliff101 — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 02:18:32 +0000

Lady on the street interview with seemingly random Americans. She tells them about a hypothetical government make work program and asks them whether they think it's true or not. What do you think?