Grievance 52 - Mismanagement

American taxpayers sent $1.6 trillion to the U.S. government in 1997,
and the government could not account for hundreds of billions of dollars
in property, equipment and supplies, nor accurately report major
portions of the net costs of operations. This was part of a finding of
the General Accounting Office, an arm of Congress, the first time the
federal government ever prepared financial statements for independent
audit. The GAO said there was continuous waste and fraud in various
operations of government,

Such findings in a private corporation would likely result in a loss of
stock value, the Federal Security and Exchange Commission would likely
investigate, corporate heads would likely face dismissal, and the story
would be major news, but government waste and fraud was so massive it
was too much for media to handle under its own time and money
constraints.

The National Medicare health program was conducted with virtually no
control over fraud, and saw a 500 percent increase from 1990-96 to $18
billion. The government screened very few claims before paying bills.

The Department of Defense, operating under the Executive Branch and
independent of GAO oversight in contracting for military equipment, came
under criticism from its own Inspector General. Waste included purchase
of items at prices thousands of percent higher than normal retail costs,
including toilet seats at $640 each, 108 electrical bells at $714 each,
1,844 screw thread inserts at $5.41 each, 31.108 springs at $1.14 each
and 187 setscrews for $75 each. The Inspector General blamed DOD errors
for the excessive costs;

"We found considerable evidence that
the Department of Defense had not yet
learned how to be an astute buyer in
the commercial marketplace."

DOD spending was in the hands of military officers.

Military waste included maintaining over 230 of its own golf courses
around the world, which experts said could be financially independent if
operated for combined military and public use.

Senator Chuck Grassley said military waste cost taxpayers millions of
dollars every year, inviting fraud and embezzlement. Reform was always
promised to Congress, which funded the DOD but, he said, it never
happened due to the military-industrial complex;

"...the defense industry is constantly
watering down the reforms."

The independent Project on Government Oversight also criticized the
military's buying practices;

"...acquisitions reform was really a
deal for defense contractors and
not for taxpayers."

Despite mismanagement, the military said in 1998 it wanted yearly budget
increases of $10 billion which would greatly profit war industries.

Taxpayers also spent some $12 billion in foreign aid every year for
which there was no accounting required as to whether it was going to
peaceful and humane purposes.

With an AUTHENTIC CONSTITUTION in harmony with the natural Cosmic Laws of the universe, and producing High Moral Values and Democratic Ideals, the people at-large vote on the principles and policies of their government, and individuals have the right to designate their percentage of taxes to programs of their choice.

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