Not very efficient it seems and this is costing us a couple of hundred Billion Dollars.
Billions Uncovered in Duplicated Government Programs
http://online.wsj.com/artic...SJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

quote The U.S. government has 15 different agencies overseeing food-safety laws, more than 20 separate programs to help the homeless and 80 programs for economic development. These are a few of the findings in a massive study of overlapping and duplicative programs that cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year, according to the Government Accountability Office. A report from the nonpartisan GAO, to be released Tuesday, compiles a list of redundant and potentially ineffective federal programs, and it could serve as a template for lawmakers in both parties as they move to cut federal spending and consolidate programs to reduce the deficit. Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.), who pushed for the report, estimated it identifies between $100 billion and $200 billion in duplicative spending. The GAO didn't put a specific figure on the spending overlap. The GAO examined numerous federal agencies, including the departments of defense, agriculture and housing and urban development, and pointed to instances where different arms of the government should be coordinating or consolidating efforts to save taxpayers' money. The agency found 82 federal programs to improve teacher quality; 80 to help disadvantaged people with transportation; 47 for job training and employment; and 56 to help people understand finances, according to a draft of the report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Instances of ineffective and unfocused federal programs can lead to a mishmash of occasionally arbitrary policies and rules, the report said. It recommends merging or consolidating a number of programs to both save money and make the government more efficient. "Reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap, or fragmentation could potentially save billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services," the report said. There have been multiple efforts to cull the number of federal programs in recent years, but they often run into opposition from lawmakers in both parties who rush to defend individual spending provisions. In fact, GAO's recommendations are often ignored or postponed by federal agencies and lawmakers, particularly when they could require difficult political votes. GAO Finds Hundreds of Duplicative Programs. The report says policy makers should consider creating a single food-safety agency because of a number of redundancies. The Food and Drug Administration makes sure that chicken eggs are "safe, wholesome, and properly labeled" while a division of the Department of Agriculture "is responsible for the safety of eggs processed into egg products." Spokespeople for the Department of Agriculture and FDA pointed to the Obama administration's creation of the Food Safety Working Group, which works to better coordinate the government's regulators. The report says there are 18 federal programs that spent a combined $62.5 billion in 2008 on food and nutrition assistance, but little is known about the effectiveness of 11 of these programs because they haven't been well studied. The report took particular aim at government funding for surface transportation, including the building of roads and other projects, which the administration has made a major part of its push to update the country's infrastructure. The report said five divisions within the Department of Transportation account for 100 different programs that fund things like highways, rail projects and safety programs. One program that funnels transportation funds to the states "functions as a cash-transfer general-purpose grant program, rather than as a tool for pursuing a cohesive national transportation policy," the report said. Similarly, it chided the government over encouraging federal agencies to purchase plug-in hybrid vehicles while having policies that agencies reduce electricity consumption. It said government agencies have purchased numerous vehicles that run on alternative fuels only to find many gas stations don't sell alternative fuels. This has led government agencies to turn around and request waivers so they didn't have to use alternative fuels. A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation said the president's budget for fiscal year 2012 "proposes to cut waste, inefficiency and bureaucracy by consolidating over 55 separate highway programs into five core programs, and by merging six transit programs into two programs." On teacher quality, the report identified 82 programs that often have similar descriptions and goals and are spread across 10 federal agencies, including the Department of Education, the Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Nine of these programs are linked to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Fifty-three of the programs are relatively small, receiving $50 million or less, "and many have their own separate administrative processes." The GAO highlighted 80 different economic development programs at the Department of Commerce, HUD, Department of Agriculture and Small Business Administration, that spent a combined $6.5 billion last year and often overlapped. For example, the four agencies combined to have 52 different programs that fund "entrepreneurial efforts," 35 programs for infrastructure, and 26 programs for telecommunications. It said 60% of the programs fund only one or two activities, making them "the most likely to overlap because many of them can only fund the same limited types of activities." Journal Communitydiscuss..“ Rather that cry about this as waste we should look at it as an opportunity to use the dollars spent today in a more efficient process, with a wider reach, instead of all of the overlap. It would not require firing anyone necessarily, just having them more focused. It is the administration of all of these separate groups that is "overhead" waste. ” —Sandra Schirmang. The report took aim at several military programs, which could prove thorny because many lawmakers from both parties are wary to cut defense spending. It said there were 130,000 military and government medical professionals, 59 Defense Department hospitals and hundreds of clinics that could benefit from consolidating administrative, management and clinical functions. For example, it said the government "may have developed duplicate" programs to counter improvised explosive devices, with the Marine Corps and the Army paying to develop similar "mine rollers." The Marine mine roller costs $85,000, and the Army mine roller costs $77,000 to $225,000. "Officials disagree about which system is most effective, and [the Pentagon] has not conducted comparative testing and evaluation of the two systems," the report said. The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The GAO study was required by a provision inserted by Sen. Coburn into a law that raised the federal borrowing limit last year. This report is the first produced in response to the provision.

Nothing has ever existed that was less efficient than our crooked government.
We have twice as many laws as all other nations ever, combined.

quote Originally posted by Isolde: Nothing has ever existed that was less efficient than our crooked government. We have twice as many laws as all other nations ever, combined.

We do have twice as many laws, but if you look them up many duplicate eachother and some actually make no sense at all.

EX. In Kentucky i think it was it is illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your back right pocket on a Sunday after church.

What relevancy does this law hold? Well when it was passed im sure there was a reason but that reason remains rather...um... missing?

Here in wisconsin we have the sunday horse sale law wich says u cant sell a horse on sunday wich in turn has made its way into car sales.

Another article about this.

http://politics.blogs.foxne...-report-obtained-fox

quote As members of Congress fight over what to cut in the current federal budget to avert a government shutdown, lawmakers are about to receive a blockbuster report that could provide a roadmap to potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in waste. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) is poised to release a report Tuesday that one senator said "will make us all look like jackasses." "Go study that (report). It will show why we're $14 trillion in debt," said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. "Anybody that says we don't look like fools up here hasn't read the report." The report, a summary of which was obtained by Fox News, was mandated by Congress the last time it raised the debt limit in January 2010. In its analysis of federal agencies, the GAO found 33 areas with "overlap and fragmentation." "Reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap, or fragmentation could potentially save billions of taxpayer dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services," the report says. In one example, the report found that if the Defense Department were to make "broader restructuring" of its "military health care system" it "could result in annual savings of up to $460 million." Even more scathing is the duplication investigators found in the nation's biodefense efforts, with the report essentially saying that the billions of dollars spent annually is the responsibility of no one individual and that there is no plan for post-attack coordination, this on the heels of a 2010 federal commission finding that gave the U.S. a "failing grade" in its prevention measures. "There are now more than two dozen presidentially appointed individuals with some responsibility for biodefense. In addition, numerous federal agencies, encompassing much of the federal government, have some mission responsibilities for supporting biodefense activities. However, there is no individual or entity with responsibility, authority, and accountability for overseeing the entire biodefense enterprise," the report finds. "There is no national plan to coordinate federal, state, and local efforts following a bioterror attack, and the United States lacks the technical and operational capabilities required for an adequate response," the report goes on. "Neither the Office of Management and Budget nor the federal agencies account for biodefense spending across the entire federal government." As a result, the federal government does not know how much is being spent on this critical national security priority." The report touches agencies and programs across the federal government, from the Transportation Security Agency to homeless programs and domestic food assistance, and what emerges is a kind of bureaucratic morass where sometimes enough is not even known about federal programs to provide an accurate evaluation. "We don't know what we're doing," Coburn chastised. The Defense Department takes a number of hits in the report. The GAO found many instances of duplication in the sprawling agency. The use of "urgent need" funds have been expanded, GAO found, with "multiple places for a warfighter to submit" such requests. GAO found that the Pentagon has "no tracking mechanism" for these funds, resulting in an estimated $77 billion in overlap since 2005. An analysis of 18 different programs across three federal agencies that deal with domestic food assistance found that though multiple programs can ensure the needy have access to food, "administrative costs increase significantly," with GAO estimating a $62.5 billion expense to the government from overlap and duplication. Better coordination of hazardous material assessments between TSA and the Department of Transportation could save the government more than $1 million. "Congress is often to blame," the report reads in bold type for emphasis, as the report details $2.9 billion in overlap in 20 homeless programs spread throughout seven different agencies. "Fragmentation and overlap in some of these programs may be due in part to their legislative creation as separate programs under the jurisdiction of several agencies," the report finds. "Little is known about the effectiveness of most (federal job training and employment) programs," GAO says, resulting in a possible $18 billion in savings. The report says there are 47 programs offered currently, but 44 of those "overlap with at least one other program." Congress asked GAO to look specifically at "federal programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives with duplicative goals and activities, to estimate the cost of such duplication, and to make recommendations to Congress for consolidation and elimination of such duplication." There are many other examples of potential waste found across the yawning federal bureaucracy, with GAO concluding, "Considering the amount of program dollars involved in the issues we have identified, even limited adjustments could result in significant savings." Perhaps members looking to find billions in savings will not have as tough a job finding the money as they thought.

Anyplace that funds $150 for a metal fastener intallation device (hammer) is not cost efficient. If the government was run like an average business, they could cut 1/2-3/4 of their present budget.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Anyplace that funds $150 for a metal fastener intallation device (hammer) is not cost efficient. If the government was run like an average business, they could cut 1/2-3/4 of their present budget.

yeah but then our wonderful politicians wouldn't be able to give crazy overpriced contracts to their big corporate buddys so they can get even more super rich by selling the government a $150 hammer. lol..

I suppose the question is efficient compared to what other government?

But yes our federal government is too big, too overreaching, larger with more burocracy for sure does not make something more efficient.

It's called creating jobs

quote Originally posted by Phil: It's called creating jobs

27 assistants to tell you how not to say something...

You have a very efficient government.


At spending money it doesn't have, and that your great grandchildren will be paying for. (Our looney tunes in Ottawa are pikers in comparison.)

No doubt. If I did things the way the government does and wrote checks and financed everything (without any ability to pay on it) on earth I wanted, Id be in jail for 100 years.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: No doubt. If I did things the way the government does and wrote checks and financed everything (without any ability to pay on it) on earth I wanted, Id be in jail for 100 years.

The gov gets most of its money for free, same way people who live off the gov do.

"A billion here---a billion there---before ya know it, we're talking about real money."

quote Originally posted by maryjane: "A billion here---a billion there---before ya know it, we're talking about real money."

Love it!

Speaking of government waste:
Twin GSA, Secret Service scandals pose new threat to Obama
http://thehill.com/homenews...w-problems-for-obama

quote The General Services Administration (GSA) and Secret Service scandals have been a distraction for the White House as it moves toward the general election and fights the perception of an out-of-control government. The double dose of scandals has made it difficult for the White House to get its message out, and Republicans have piled on, pushing a tone of cynicism and disappointment with a government they say needs to be reined in. The admission by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that he has been flying home frequently to California on the Pentagon’s tab at the cost of $32,000 per round trip is another headache. While Republicans have mostly left the Secret Service scandal alone, they have seized on the GSA episode. “It’s another example of government waste,” said Kirsten Kukowski, a press secretary at the Republican National Committee (RNC). “Obama would rather increase taxes than work on our spending. Taxpayers have to look at that and wonder, ‘Why would we give the government more money when you can’t even manage the money we have now?’ ” Kukowski said in the months ahead the RNC will continue to use the GSA example — in addition to the waste behind the failed energy company Solyndra — to explain that these events have happened under Obama’s watch. In a radio interview on Wednesday, Romney also began to ratchet up the pressure on the scandals. “The right thing to do is to remove people who have violated the public trust and have put their playtime and their personal interests ahead of the interests of the nation,” he said.

Morning Bell: The Bloated Government of America
http://blog.heritage.org/20...vernment-of-america/

quote The General Services Administration blew through $820,000 in taxpayers’ money in a lavish ”team building” trip to Las Vegas, and President Barack Obama is “apoplectic” at the news, according to the president’s campaign advisor, David Axelrod. Obama, he says, has devoted his efforts to saving “tens of billions of dollars” in cutting waste, fraud and inefficiency in government. Yet under President Obama’s leadership, government spending keeps growing irresponsibly, and neither he nor his allies in Congress are doing anything about it. The latest example came last week when Democratic leadership in the Senate again passed the buck on enacting a budget — on April 29, it will have been three years since the Senate last passed a budget resolution. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND),whose job it is to shepherd a budget through the Senate, said of his decision: “This is the wrong time to vote in committee. This is the wrong time to vote on the floor. I don’t think we will be prepared to vote before the election.” Conrad also said that offering a budget would be futile and “would do little to move us closer to a bipartisan agreement that can actually be adopted.” In other words, budgeting is hard work that he’d rather not do, especially in an election year. Of course, 2011 was not an election year, and yet the Senate failed to pass a budget then, too. The money that isn’t being budgeted belongs to the American people, and their representatives in the Senate have decided once again that it’s easier to keep on spending without restraint than it is to be responsible to their constituents back home. It’s that very attitude that has led to a government so big and so out of control that scandals like the one in the GSA are able to occur. The hundreds of thousands of dollars blown in the GSA’s Vegas trip, though, is chump change compared to the hundreds of millions wasted in President Obama’s green jobs stimulus efforts. We all know the story of the bankrupt solar energy company Solyndra and the $520 million taxpayer-funded loan guarantee that went down the drain. But the latest example of wanton waste is Ecotality — a company that manufactures charging stations for the president’s much-favored electric vehicles. Ecotality received more than $115 million to install those charging stations, yet as Heritage’s Lachlan Markay reports, the company is far behind schedule. Now it’s under investigation for insider trading and is facing serious financial difficulties. Even so, the DOE decided to grant the company $26 million in additional funding. But it’s not just about waste in one government agency. Taxpayer dollars are wasted day in and day out in Washington, as Heritage’s Emily Goff explains: Washington also misuses taxpayer dollars in less blatant ways. Take the 47 federal job training programs the federal government runs, for example. Or the 15 agencies involved in food safety and inspection. Congress ought to identify areas of program duplication and fragmentation and then consolidate or eliminate unnecessary ones. Want another example of big government run wild? Take a look at Washington’s spending on welfare programs. It’s the fastest growing part of government spending, and it’s creating a culture of entitlement and dependency in which the American people are expecting to receive support from the state. In fiscal year 2011, total welfare costs equaled $927 billion ($717 billion from the federal government and $210 billion from states). Heritage’s Rachel Sheffield writes that “since the War on Poverty began in the 1960s, the government has spent $19.8 trillion (inflation-adjusted) to fund a growing list of welfare programs.” President Obama wants that spending to grow, and under his plan taxpayers will pay roughly $12.7 trillion on welfare in the next decade. Welfare spending and unending waste aren’t the only drivers of Washington’s trillion-dollar deficits. The three major entitlement programs–Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security–make up the vast majority of federal spending and will consume all tax revenues by 2049. Yet even though that threat looms large on the horizon, the Senate continues to refuse to pass a budget, President Obama stands by, and the spending continues unchecked. Yesterday on Fox News Sunday, commentator Bill Kristol correctly said, “If you want big government, this is big government.” And if anyone should be “apoplectic,” it’s the American people.

[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 04-23-2012).]