The Only Fat Left In The Government Is In Tom DeLay's Head.

Tom DeLay says that, no matter how hard he tries, he just can't find any more fat in the government:

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an "ongoing victory," and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget.

Mr. DeLay was defending Republicans' choice to borrow money and add to this year's expected $331 billion deficit to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief. Some Republicans have said Congress should make cuts in other areas, but Mr. DeLay said that doesn't seem possible.

"My answer to those that want to offset the spending is sure, bring me the offsets, I'll be glad to do it. But nobody has been able to come up with any yet," the Texas Republican told reporters at his weekly briefing.

Wow. That's great news, isn't it? Nothing left to cut, folks. Move along...

Except.

This comes as quite a surprise to most Americans. With federal spending now topping $22,000 per household, polls indicate that 71 percent of Americans are more bothered by how their taxes are spent than by the amount of taxes they pay. The average American believes that about half of his or her tax dollars are wasted.[2]

 

The American people have a point. There is so much fat in government spending—from $300 million bridges to islands with 50 residents in Alaska to billions of dollars in overpayments by federal departments—that it is hard to know where to begin. Declarations of victory are, to say the least, rather premature.

Just so we're clear. This isn't from some "liberal" think tank. This is from the freakin' Heritage Foundation.

At NRO, Ramesh Ponnuru publishes a list from The Heritage Foundation showcasing DeLay's lyin' mendacity:

• The federal government cannot account for $24.5 billion spent in 2003.
• A White House review of just a sample of the federal budget identified $90 billion spent on programs deemed that were either ineffective, marginally adequate, or operating under a flawed purpose or design.
• The Congressional Budget Office published a “Budget Options” book identifying $140 billion in potential spending cuts.
• The federal government spends $23 billion annually on special interest pork projects such as grants to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or funds to combat teenage “goth” culture in Blue Springs, Missouri.
• Washington spends tens of billions of dollars on failed and outdated programs such as the Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Geological Survey and Economic Development Association.
• The federal government made $20 billion in overpayments in 2001.
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s $3.3 billion in overpayments in 2001 accounted for over 10 percent of the department’s total budget.
• Over one recent 18-month period, Air Force and Navy personnel used government-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400 for admission to entertainment events, $48,250 for gambling, $69,300 for cruises, and $73,950 for exotic dance clubs and prostitutes.
• Examples of wasteful duplication include: 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 federal programs dedicated to assuring safe water.
• The Advanced Technology Program spends $150 million annually subsidizing private businesses, and 40% of this goes to Fortune 500 companies.
• The Defense Department wasted $100 million on unused flight tickets, and never bothered to collect refunds even though the tickets were reimbursable.
• The Conservation Reserve program pays farmers $2 billion annually to not farm their land.
• Washington spends $60 billion annually on corporate welfare, versus $43 billion on homeland security.

You conservative out there who think that Republican lawmakers are on your side, think again. Republicans and Democrats in Congress are on each other's side not on the "sides" of conservatives or liberals.

Look through that list above. Is there anything there that either side couldn't do without? If we want to have a government that works, we had better decide soon that the main problem with government is government.

Comments

[Vavoom]

Well, the Advanced Technology Program may be worth it. It encourages private corporations to partake in risky R&D that may or may not be profitable in the end. Such studies can greatly advance the development of instrumentation and other technologies that benefit the military, academia and the consumer. All of that, in turn, sparks the economy. It's a worthwhile expense.

I think I'd better think long and hard about joining the Air Force or Navy.

This was a great post, Daniel. Very well thought out and even handed.

[Daniel]

V,

I agree that the ATP is worthwhile, but I have a few reservations that the money is always apportioned efficiently. We know that government and business are neither exempt from waste, and there are arenas in which government acts as catalyst for development of technologies that might be economically unviable, but I have a philosophical problem with companies that chaffe at government control, but are more than welcoming to government largesse.

Or should that be "government large ass?"