The Federal Government’s Annual Spending Orgy Wastes Your Money

Epoch Times ^ | 09/08/2020 | Diane Dimond

[SeekAndFind]

It happens every September. Inside federal office buildings, budget minions go on scandalous spending sprees using tens of billions of your tax dollars.

Their departments have gotten along just fine throughout the fiscal year, but as the clock ticks down to Sept. 30, they know that any money left over in their budget will be forfeited next fiscal year, so they scramble to spend every dollar.

What the heck are they buying at the last minute? The 2019 fiscal year facts, as compiled by nonpartisan watchdog group called OpenTheBooks, are mind-blowing. The group’s annual “Use-It-Or-Lose-It Spending Spree” report is a must-read for every taxpayer who wonders if the federal government is justified in taxing us as much as it does.

The Defense Department was by far the biggest last-minute spender, spending $57.5 billion. The department bought luxury food items such as steak, lobster tail, snow crab, mahi-mahi, salmon, and pecan pies. That was just in one month! It was just the appetizer for the rest of the department’s eyebrow-raising spending.

Various government departments felt the need for new furniture last September and spent a combined $458 million that month. The Pentagon ordered up nearly $124 million in office furnishings. Several agencies, such as Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, splurged on those snazzy sit-to-stand desks, signing contracts worth $3.3 million. Another $1.1 million was spent on new bulletin boards and erasable white boards.

Ten different agencies, many having nothing to do with peace-keeping, bought a total of $690.6 million in guns, ammunition, and other weaponry. Among those making the last-minute buys: the departments of Education, Treasury, Interior, Labor, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services. Who knew some civil servants at those agencies were packing?

Nearly half a billion dollars—$456.8 million to be exact—was spent by 32 federal departments to polish up their public relations efforts.

[SeekAndFind]

NOTE

In February, when President Donald Trump sent his latest budget to Congress, he pledged to end the spend-it-all mindset. His Office of Management and Budget is in charge of reining in last-minute binge-buying and promises to continue the crackdown this September.

Important to note: Last September’s $91 billion spending spree was lower than the year before when it nearly topped $97 billion.

So, now it’s open spending season again. Are the federal budget minions frantically writing more checks, or has word trickled down that outraged taxpayers have gotten wise?

Naturally, we won’t know details about this September’s spending until sometime next year when OpenTheBooks has time to gather facts and issue its next report. Thank goodness someone is keeping track.

[1956tbyrd]

It’s always easier to spend someone else’s money.

[JimRed]

We should insist on zero-based budgeting. Start each year with a new budget with no connection to last year’s spending. For instance, a department may have built a new facility at a cost of ten million in the last fiscal year, but that $10M should not carry over into the next years budget. The maintenance and upkeep for the new building would be a budgeted item.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I've read on the Twitter feeds that after the election, Trump is going to invoke the Insurrection Act.

The 14th Amendment allows the President to declare any debts null and void by corrupt local/state officials (Mayor Wheeler, Cuomo, etc) and countries that funded or assisted with all the rioting and COVID-19 crap going on (China and possibly Iran). Doing this would immediately bring back $5-$10 trillion dollars to the U.S. Treasury. So that's why Trump isn't worried about the national debt or annual deficit.

[Soul of the South]

“His Office of Management and Budget is in charge of reining in last-minute binge-buying and promises to continue the crackdown this September. “

Cabinet officers and appointed agency heads should also be scrutinizing spending. Either leaders are accountable or they aren’t. In every business I’ve worked for there have been spending versus budget reviews monthly throughout the organization.

If a spending review process doesn’t exist, why doesn’t Trump institute one? Tweets are not a substitute for accountability and action.

[DugwayDuke]

JimRed wrote: “We should insist on zero-based budgeting. Start each year with a new budget with no connection to last year’s spending.”

Depends upon the agency and upon the line item. For example, an agency that does many repeatable actions knows how many will be done and that can easily become an item based upon last years expenses.

In other cases, capital expenditures can be done the same way. Suppose you have 500 units that wear out. If you need to replace all 500 in five years, then you need to buy 100 per year.

[FormerFRLurker]

We need to end “use it or lose it”. Wouldn’t the departments have more incentive to save taxpayer money if they could roll over any money left over in the budget for the following year to balance out any unforeseen expenses?

[IndispensableDestiny]

We should insist on zero-based budgeting. Start each year with a new budget with no connection to last year’s spending.

Jimmy Carter tried that. I didn't work. I makes multi-year contracting risky for the government and the contractor. Think design and build construction. Think ship construction. Think any kind of large scale manufacturing of weapons systems.

Although it's infuriating to read about spending on luxury items and furniture, much of the late year spending occurs because that's when big contracts are let. The contracts come late because the procurement is late waiting for funds to become available that fiscal year. Continuing resolutions do not allow any new projects to begin, so the program managers wait.