Billions Lost By Feds

New York Post ^ | May 28, 2002 | By John Crudele

[Beau Schott]

May 28, 2002 -- WASHINGTON complains about deceptive corporate accounting. But the government last year misplaced an incredible $17.3 billion because of shoddy bookkeeping, or worse.

Let me put that into numbers so you can fully appreciate the amount. It's $17,300,000,000 - the price of a few dozen urban renewal projects, a nice size fleet of warships or about half the tax cut that everyone made such a fuss about last summer.

[patton]

TJ, while certainly to be commended for his role is helping to found our republic, was a financial train wreck. As president, he let the fleet rot at the warves, and then declared war on the world's mightiest naval power, the Brits.

In his personal life, he went broke twice, got bailed out by the Government once, and had Monticello knocked down and rebuilt because it had bad feng shuie, or some such.

[michigander]

If you pass GO! collect $17,300,000,000!

That footnote says that the accountants had to pencil in $17.4 billion that didn't exist
(or was missing) in order to achieve a balanced government ledger.

Don't worry about it, it's covered!

[snopercod]

Does this include the billions in trust fund money that the Bureau of Indian Affairs lost?

[the_Watchman]

This would seem to show a good trend! Just a few years ago it was trillions. Now, it's only billions. :)

[WIMom]

[WIMom]

GMTA!

[First_Salute]

I'd bet no.

[FormerLurker]

3.4 TRILLION IS MISSING?

And to think People are robbed of the fruit of their labors in order to donate to this little charity called the FED....

[michigander]

ROTFLMAO! at your reply, not the subject of the post.
J

[Mo1]

But the government last year misplaced an incredible $17.3 billion because of shoddy bookkeeping, or worse

How the hell do you MISPLACE 17.3 BILLION DOLLARS

Might I suggest to the Government that for $49.95 they can get a little software program called QUICKEN

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

(^: It is too big to handle. Mario Cuomo still hasn't accounted for a billion or so in missing HUD money, but the mainstream press wasn't interested in Clinton "mismanagement." It's resurfacing now, along with the newly discovered homeless "crisis," a 40 year-old case of a monstrous, murderous racist church burning, and the surprising fact that bad guys exist in the world....the fault, of course, of a Republican administration.

I found this surprising (from the #15 link):
It was the second time in U.S. History that the government has tried to comply with a 1994 law requiring it to account in a businesslike way for the revenues, expenditures and assets of the 24 Cabinet-level departments and agencies--a total of 70 agencies with some 2000 components.

How long do you think this law will stay on the books? My grandfather worked for the Re-negotiation Board back in the 60s and 70s....before they closed it and gave up the practice of true competition for government contracts, to keep costs down. In a decade we were buying those $100. hammers (for campaign contributions...). Well, so I was told by my most honorable grandfather. (^:

[The Raven]

>>"_ill anyone be sued or go to jail?"

Maybe the Clintons stole it. _herever they go....things like this happen.

[WIMom]

Shouldn't that be $49,950? I think you hit a '.' when you meant a ',' and accidently backspaced the zero out.

[GailA]

What about the incredible waste and fraud of Federal money handed to States for these social programs. TennCare had over $500M in fraud and waste last year. Most of the Money is federal tax dollars? No one adds them up.

[goodnesswins]

Well....DUH....when you hand out credit cards to peons in bureaucratic jobs who then use them to charge whatever the heck they need (or want) in their personal life, and then, DON't MAKE THEM PAY IT BACK......what do you expect? Of course, there are the bureaucrats who are NOT peons who are skimming a lot more than their American Express or VISA bill here, obviously.....

And, what was that about the tax cut not being enough for a muffler, Puffy? How many mufflers would 17.3 Billion BUY, YOU DEM BULB?