Your tax dollars being wasted... A billion here, a billion there... Federal agencies make $125B in improper payments last year http://www.wral.com/federal-agencies-make-125b-in-improper-payments-last-year/14518738/ Federal agencies made $125 billion in improper payments last year, including tax credits to people who didn't qualify, Medicare payments for treatments that might not be necessary and unemployment benefits for people who were actually working, said a government report released Monday. The level of improper payments was a new high after several years of declines. In addition to fraud, the errors included overpayments and underpayments, as well payments made without proper documentation. While the errors were spread among 22 federal agencies, three programs stood out: Medicare, Medicaid and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Together, the three programs accounted for more than $93 billion in improper payments, according to the report by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. "This taxpayer money was not spent securing our borders, it was not spent on national defense, and it was not spent contributing to a safety net for those in need," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. "This is a problem that is going to get worse year after year if we do not get a handle on it now." (More at above url)
Wait, I thought we were told that there was little waste, and that what waste there was would probably not justify spending money to root out?
You were told that oversight and compliance costs money, and can cost more itself than what is lost to fraud. That there is a cost/benefit calculation to it.
Is basic oversight and compliance of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Earned Income Tax Credit going to cost more than $93 Billion. I think not!
We are "broke" due to this fraud stealing taxpayer dollars. With just minimal oversight, this is money that could have been spent properly instead of stolen.
Seriously. Give me $1 million and I'll make sure no "mispayments" are ever made again, much less 100s of billions of dollars. If I fail, you can take it all back.
Maybe. As the costs for enforcement rise a larger share of that $93 billion waste would be saved. But it would never be $0.
I think you underestimate the scale of our government. But so do many: a trillion is a very large number.
At any rate, we're not really broke. And as to the size of the safety net program... if you don't like the social, economic, and political ramifications of a two-tiered society where the poor outnumber the rich 99 to 1, don't have a two-tiered society where...