Posted on 10/01/2015 9:04:06 PM PDT by Citizen Zed
Federal agencies went on a spree last month, spending whatever leftover federal funds they had rather than give back the excess money to taxpayers before the federal fiscal year ended Wednesday.
The Social Security Administration bought $8,788 worth of hand sanitizers in its New York office alone, while its Maryland office dropped $41,133 more on “housekeeping supplies.” The Interior Department, the agency charged with protecting the nation’s forests, spent $33,472 on toilet paper. And overseas, the State Department’s embassy in Benin stocked up on more than $37,000 worth of ink and toner.
The “use it or lose it” shopping spree for this September could end up costing taxpayers $471 billion, according to analysts. It’s a mentality that frustrates fiscal watchdogs, who wonder why agencies simply don’t return to the Treasury their unused budget funds to help ease crushing deficits and a national debt over $18 trillion.
“The end of the fiscal year in September is a glaring showcase of waste just as agencies rush to spend the very last dollar. Taxpayers, current and future, receive no consideration in this annual exercise, which takes place regardless of the size of the federal deficit,” said Romina Boccia, a research fellow in budgetary affairs at The Heritage Foundation.
The current expenses follow a September 2014 splurge that included $1.8 million in artwork at the Department of Veterans Affairs, $2.4 million for IRS toner supplies and $100,000 for booze at the State Department.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Been that way since before the 80s when i was in the service
I was gonna say the same thing.
When I was in the navy we would pump JP-5 and oil over the side before the fiscal year ran out. “Use it” or lose it the following year.
Blow it or they might not get the big money increase next year.
EPA spends $6,000 per person on furniture. $6,000. That’s a lot of desks...
Just in case you were wondering why you couldn’t afford summer camp for your kids or had to pay for Jenny’s/Jake’s dental work on a time plan....
...this is where your hard-earned cash went.
SOP for all levels of government be it national state, county or local.
Base line budgeting. A huge CRIMEagainst taxpayers that has gone on since the 70s.
So easy to get rid of but there is no will to.
Campaign “contributions” need tobe called what they really are,BRIBES.
whoa - can’t say we ever did anything like that, but we orderd a hell of a lot of spare parts and painted things that weren’t due, and ate really well during that time
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