I’m not a fan of international bureaucracies. I’ve criticized the United Nations for wanting global taxes. I’ve condemned the International Monetary Fund for promoting bigger government. I’ve even excoriated the largely unknown Basel Committee on Banking Supervision for misguided regulations that contributed to the financial crisis. But the worse international bureaucracy, at least when measured […]
read more...I must not be very bright. Even after decades of experience in Washington, I still have this naive belief that bureaucrats and politicians will occasionally do the right thing – even if for no other reason other than to cover their rear ends after being caught doing something flagrantly wasteful and reprehensible. So when Senator […]
read more...The latest issue of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report contains some rather damning information about government incompetence in the United States. America ranks only 68th in the “Wastefulness of Government Spending” category (page 373) and 49th in the “Burden of Government Regulation” category (page 374). Singapore, by contrast, ranks first in both of […]
read more...I realize that national defense is one of the few legitimate functions of the federal government, but that doesn’t mean the Pentagon budget isn’t riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse. Here’s a jaw-dropping example reported by Bloomberg. A U.S. contractor in Iraq overbilled the Pentagon by at least $4.4 million for spare parts and equipment, […]
read more...While I’ve been somewhat critical of Senator Coburn’s willingness to raise taxes, I’ve never doubted that he is a sincere and tireless fighter for smaller government. Indeed, his staff periodically share examples of government waste that boggle the mind, though I don’t share many of them on the blog since I’m afraid people will become […]
read more...Last week, we compared a bone-headed display tpqof incompetence by the German government with a perverse form of harassment by a local government in the United States. We have another America-v-Europe contest, but the roles are reversed. This time, the buffoons in Washington get dinged for a spectacular screw-up, and it is a local government […]
read more...Here’s a great example of family values, but only if you think it’s noble for a husband, wife, and daughter to conspire together to rip off taxpayers. I guess the family that steals together, stays together. Here are some of the details from the Daily Caller expose. A special investigation by The Daily Caller has […]
read more...It gets my blood boiling that the crowd in Washington is talking about raising our taxes when the budget is so riddled with excess spending. Here are two stories that illustrate the waste, fraud, and abuse that is pervasive in the federal budget. Our first example is about unemployment benefits fraud. I’ve noted on several […]
read more...I have a confession to make: I have a hard time making up my mind. At times, I am overcome by indecision. To be more specific, I can’t figure out which department of the federal government should be shut down first. In the past, I’ve written about the squalid waste and corruption at the Department […]
read more...Maybe I’m just old fashioned, or maybe I’m a bit stiff-necked, but I will never relent in my opposition to tax increases so long as the crowd in Washington is spending money on things that are not appropriate functions of the federal government. But that’s just one obstacle that has to be overcome. I will […]
read more...