Liberal Dems miss the boat on cutting spending

Some Democrats complained about the US House of Representatives’ symbolic vote on the debt ceiling, but a number of Democrats voted ‘no’ along with all Republicans. It’s no secret the federal government has grown so large we can’t keep track of taxpayer dollars. Here are a few examples of irresponsible use of taxpayer money:

*Bureaucrat costs: In 2009 USA Today noted, “The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal worker's pay to $71,206, compared with $40,331 in the private sector.” Recruiting bonuses can range from 25 percent to 100 percent of the worker’s pay. President Barack  Obama has grown the federal non-military workforce to 2.15 million employees. Obama even hired a guy to tweet via Twitter each day.

*The Washington Times said, “More than 77,000 federal government employees throughout the country — including computer operators, more than 5,000 air traffic controllers, 22 librarians and one interior designer — earned more than the governors of the states in which they work.”

*Kids: CNS News said the Obama administration is spending $500 million to teach kids to sit still in kindergarten.

*National Science Foundation: US Senator Tom Coburn, M.D., released a report detailing more than $1.2 billion NAS lost due to “waste, fraud, duplication and mismanagement.” NAS also had an additional $1.7 billion in unspent funds. One example Coburn gave was a $315,000 study on the Facebook game FarmVille.

*Art: The US Report disclosed the US Dept. of State would spend $1 million to send visual artists to other countries to do community art.

*Recovery Act: The US Report said The General Accountability Office, in July, 2010, found accountability lacking in more than $127 billion in Recovery Funds.

*Appropriations and Discretionary Spending: In March, 2009, the price tag for the Omnibus Appropriations Act was $410 billion. This was 8 percent more than the previous Act. Investors Business Daily said it was the largest discretionary increase since the days of President Jimmy Carter. Congress even got an 11 percent budget increase to run their members’ offices.

*Fannie and Freddie: The US Report said in February expected losses from these government-sponsored enterprises were expected to total more than $400 billion. The GSEs were a major factor in the housing meltdown—even Obama officials have admitted that.

These items represent a fraction of spending that is an insult to the US taxpayer. The government should not raise the debt ceiling. Instead members of Congress should do what Main Street is doing within a government-bungled economy: cut expenses to get the budget in line.

CNBC said on Wednesday 150 US economists agreed with Republicans that any increases in the debt ceiling should be offset by spending cuts.

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/June 1, 2011)

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