Rep. Boren should know—the devil’s in the spending

This video from Citizens Against Government Waste reveals mindless federal spending.

Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) appeared on Fox and Friends Monday, questioning Republican plans to cut spending. This should come as no surprise—Boren is a third generation politico.

When asked about GOP plans for cuts, he said, “The devil’s in the details.” Boren and his fellow liberal Democrats proved incapable of addressing rapidly increasing budget deficits. Instead they spent more—they set world records for spending despite President Barack Obama’s campaign pledge to go line by line and cut wasteful spending.

Republicans should face facts. And so should anyone else who really cares about our country.

If Democrats retain control of the US Senate and the White House in 2012, the U.S. is headed for a financial day of reckoning that may lead to civil unrest.

Numerous options exist for cutting spending. The US Report has repeatedly pointed out opportunities. Using attrition—not filling and/or eliminating vacant federal positions—will save current and future funds.

Putting a halt to paying recruiting bonuses to federal employees will make a difference. With the unemployment rate at alarming records despite liberals’ pie-in-the-sky promises they would create jobs, there should be no problem finding people who want to trade their labor for the generous perks and salaries taxpayers provide.

Another example of sheer stupidity—the State Dept. announced plans to spend $1 million to send community artists abroad.

Festering in the federal ‘lootership’ brew are the government sponsored enterprises. On Christmas Eve, the Obama administration said the federal government will cover losses created by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—even more than the original $400 billion limit. No one knows the real extent of the losses created by these GSEs. These losses have not been included in federal budget planning. The GSEs could be one reason Democrats refused to craft a budget during the last session of Congress. This situation is indisputably headed for a meltdown.

Want another example? The Export-Import Bank. Citizens Against Government Waste summed up that boondoggle:
 “According to CAGW’s Prime Cuts database, shutting down the Export-Import Bank would save taxpayers $189 million in one year and $945 million over five years.  Those numbers do not include the losses taxpayers can incur on loans the bank guarantees, which will total $19.4 billion in FY 2011.  The entire Prime Cuts database includes 763 waste-cutting recommendations that would save taxpayers $350 billion in the first year and $2.2 trillion over five years.”  

I’ve watched spending issues closely and because of the sheer size of the federal government, I believe fraud is at an all-time high. One example—the government permits people without a social security number to use individual tax identification numbers (ITINs) to get tax refunds. The Treasury Dept. reported that, “based on a statistical sampling, 87 percent of ITIN applications submitted by Certified Acceptance Agents contained errors, primarily in supporting ID documents being missing or illegible and that, in addition more than 55,000 ITINs were used multiple times on approximately 102,000 tax returns, with refunds totaling more than $202 million.”

Those refunds, by the way, go to people who pay no income tax. The Treasury Dept. has repeatedly warned Congress about this matter.

This alleged fraud is a small part of overall fraud in programs like the GSEs, in entitlements and other giant programs big-government addicts have created.

Another area ripe for cutting: foreign aid.

Republicans should be prepared for political attacks over this matter. The Democrat Party platform has grown into a socialist-tilting behemoth when it comes to fiscal policy. Ironically Democrat candidates criticized the Bush 43 administration for spending—and all the while those same Democrats were mindlessly spending more than Bush.

As for the Republicans, buck up. This won’t be easy but it also won’t be as hard as liberals claim. Reducing federal spending is critical to the wellbeing of the U.S. Some might say our life as a country depends on it. Democrats are incapable of government reform—their records prove that assertion.

Someone should tell Boren the devil’s not in the details. It’s in the spending.

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Feb. 7, 2011)