Ten Guidelines for Reducing Wasteful Government Spending
- Thread starter charrison
- Start date
CADsortaGUY
Lifer
Yup - very good read
I stopped by the heritage site during reseach for my "so you say tax-cuts..." thread. Had some good info.
Free Spending States Created Their Own Crisis <- another good read.
CkG
I stopped by the heritage site during reseach for my "so you say tax-cuts..." thread. Had some good info.Free Spending States Created Their Own Crisis <- another good read.
CkG
This thread will earn few responses. Most people don't care about government waste. It's not sexy. It's not controversial. Nobody talks about it especially the media.
Interestingly Libertarians would favor all 10 of those guideless. Rs certainly would pay lipservice to them, smile, then vote for spending increases the next day. You won't see improvement with any other party in control and only rarely it seems when we see executive/congression opposition as in the mid 90s.
Interestingly Libertarians would favor all 10 of those guideless. Rs certainly would pay lipservice to them, smile, then vote for spending increases the next day. You won't see improvement with any other party in control and only rarely it seems when we see executive/congression opposition as in the mid 90s.
LunarRay
Diamond Member
- Mar 2, 2003
- 9,993
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The heritage article has merit. Have you ever wondered why it seems to be Postal Employees that go "postal" like today in Lakeside (Sandiego)... it is because, I think, it used to be a government agency forced to spend like a regular public company and this drove and drives many over the edge. To enforce some of the concepts in the article will simply create a new term... Government employees tend not to be the fault it is the enviornment their genetic makeup is forced to live in... A place where money is suppose to be spent in order to justify the budget request and ask for more next time. Saving is construed as not spending more than 10% over budget.
That was a good article. A couple of thoughts.
1. Shifting programs to states doesn't save money. It just allows spending decisions to be made elsewhere.
2. Outsourcing and privatizing doesn't necessarily save money either. You will still pay for the service. Like most people I think private firms can do a better job than public.
We should be careful to do reduction and elimination with a carving knife and not a meat cleaver.
1. Shifting programs to states doesn't save money. It just allows spending decisions to be made elsewhere.
2. Outsourcing and privatizing doesn't necessarily save money either. You will still pay for the service. Like most people I think private firms can do a better job than public.
We should be careful to do reduction and elimination with a carving knife and not a meat cleaver.
Drive down I-40 in Duplin County with your windows open . . . you would swear 489K is not nearly enough. I imagine the people who drink well water which shares ground formations with waste lagoons would agree as well.
I agree with the former sentence but I don't think the latter has enough qualifiers. There's little doubt private firms often have the ability to do a job better and for less money . . . the real question is how often does it actually happen?
For a given state, there isn't a single private for-profit health insurance provider that does a better (or more economical) job than Medicaid. The majority of people served by Medicare and Medicaid typically give the programs high marks (granted, they are getting free service) and these ratings always exceed those of HMOs. Most states that attempted HMO-management of Medicare recipients have abandoned it b/c the service declined but the expense continued to increase.
Well damn . . . the Park Service I agree but Naval optometric technician is questionable. It seems clear the Navy could just order glasses as needed instead of using 540 uniforms (assuming these are not civilians). I just doubt there are many jobs in the military where you can get someone to work privately for less than what the military is paying.
I like how they've identified 850,000 jobs but the article manages to cite less than 4,000.
Well citing all 850k jobs could be a lengthy list. Also I was at a breifing last week where military personal thought it was impossible to determine if a given job could be outsourced in less than 1 year.
Well, military people aren't very smart are they?
As far as the outsourcing is concerned it hits close to home for me. My wife is civil service and has already lost one job to outsourcing.
Yeah but you would expect they've identified at least one place where 10K jobs could be outsourced. Instead they mention 540 in the Navy, some Park Rangers, and 2700 others. I bet there's a load of civil service jobs they are eyeing but don't want to let the cat out of the bag, yet.
Well, clearly those military personnel need to think Bush-like.
It is evident that no one here knows what Vulcan is. First and foremost it is a city landmark. It is akin to the St. Louis Arch or the Statue of Liberty in NY. Laugh all you want, but it is huge symbol of Birmingham's past as a steel/iron capital. In reality, it is also a civil rights landmark if you search your brain hard enough. May I suggest: Iron and Steel: Class, Race, and Community in Birmingham, Alabama, 1875-1920, or any other books dealing with the Industrialization of Birmingham and Race.
Vulcan is a symbol of much about our city. The city and the taxpayers(me included) are footing the bill. If anyone federal money goes to the project, it is no different than persevering a landmark in another city/state. You laugh at the spending for this particular object and I laugh at your lack of education.
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Federal spending on all of those needs to go away.
Actually I mean phased out not just eliminated.
I have to disagree here. I know for a fact that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama manages tons of Medicaid/Medicare at a fraction of the cost that the government can. In fact, they are increasingly adding more states to their list of Medicaid/Medicaid management. They have constantly outbid every private company and even the GAO's assessment of what it would cost for the government to manage the billing and claims. They can do this because they have the infrastructure, the employees, and the money to do things right. They receive high marks for their service. They are the best Insurance Company in the State and VERY good in handling Medicaid/Medicare.
"In addition, the company serves as a Medicare intermediary claims processor for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama processes millions of Medicare claims each year and administers both Medicare Part A and Part B programs for Alabama. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama also serves as the Medicare Part B carrier for the states of Georgia and Mississippi and administrates Part A Medicare for the states of Iowa and South Dakota. In addition, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama serves as the Regional Home Health administrator for 15 states and the District of Columbia. The Alabama Plan also serves as a data center for Puerto Rico Medicare Part B and the Program Safequard Contract for the state of North Carolina."
Since you are familiar with all of these things let me ask you a honest question. Have you dealt with BCBS of AL during Medicare/Medicaid claims? Since you deal with this stuff daily you would know better than anyone. I am just telling you what I have heard. Obviously, you know more about it and have more experience.
But the Federal Government and the whole United States benefits from it. A tourist attraction/landmark is beneficial to ALL of the country. It is also representative of history. I see no reason to discontinue the funding of historical landmarks. If it was a BS new-age art museum or some crap like that I would understand. I mean who honestly believes pissing in a bottle and setting it on fire is art?
I don't agree. If AL/Birmingham wants to erect a statue then they should pay for it. You also highlight another problem wth federal funding. Who's to say what is art and what is not. The Feds? No. Again if AL/Birm. wants a statue or wants someone to piss in a bottle and set it on fire let them pay for it.
It is OBVIOUS that you haven't read the links. Vulcan has been around for almost a 100 years. They aren't "erecting" a statue, but rather persevering and repairing it.
It is OBVIOUS that you don't know what you are talking about. I have read the links and I still think that it's AL/Birm. responsibility, not the Feds. Nothing that you say will change my mind. Sorry.
Well given it has been there for 100 years, there should have been plenty of time for the city to save money to do needed repairs. This is strictly state/city spending and not federeal spending.
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