Weekly Waste Round-Up 1

In the news this week:

Canada

Additional MPs a waste of cash- "In Ottawa, our Conservative government wants to add 22 new members to the House of Commons - in order to reflect the growing population. Ontario would get 10 more seats, British Columbia seven and Alberta five if the proposed legislation passes. Provinces without growing populations, or even with dwindling ones, won't lose any seats. [...] Speaking of getting what you pay for, more MPs don't come cheap. Do Canadians really want to spend another $141,000 a year per MP, plus benefits and office expenses and their gold-plated pension plan? With more MPs will come more Cabinet posts, and that's another $66,700 each (plus the $141,000)." (The Barrie Examiner 18.5.07)

Premier's racked up about $1 million in gov't flight time- "Premier Dalton McGuinty has used government aircraft flights worth up to $1 million to reach destinations as close to Queen’s Park as Hamilton and Niagara, an investigation by the Hamilton Spectator has revealed. Details of McGuinty’s travels came to light through summaries of government aircraft flights from 2002 to the summer of 2006 acquired under the Freedom of Information Act. [...] While the costs are not summarized anywhere, a Spectator analysis suggests the premier’s in-the-air time alone would have, conservatively, cost more than $600,000 at the standard government rate of $2,000 an hour. Add on time waiting for the passengers on the ground and before and after flights, and the cost approaches $1 million or more. [...] By number of flight legs flown, McGuinty was the biggest user of the government’s two-plane fleet of executive Beechcraft turboprops, accounting for about one in four authorized flights since he was elected in October 2003. (Ottawa Sun 17.5.07)

Study by the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality a waste of taxpayers money- "At least 80 per cent of women surveyed in a new study say they have been approached in a sexually overt way while at a singles bar." (CTV.ca 18.5.07)

United States

Taxpayers foot bill for $40G farewell- "U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan has left taxpayers holding a $40,000 bill for an emotional farewell letter that trumpets his accomplishments as he prepares to depart for a six-figure job in academia." [...] "Meehan, who once decried the use of taxpayer-funded mass mailings, sent the two-page letter to more than 100,000 constituents in his congressional district, which is now girding for a $1 million special election to replace him." [...] “This is a very expensive good-bye, and there’s no need for it,” said David Williams of Citizens Against Government Waste, which tracks congressional spending. “Why is it that taxpayers are always the first ones to foot the bill for everything that goes on?” (Boston Herald 18.5.07)

$1.2 million for state owned golf courses wasteful spending- "A national taxpayer watchdog and a Tennessee think tank have teamed up to expose wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars. The Tennessee Pork Report is the second annual report released by citizens Against Government Waste and the Tennessee Center for Policy Research." [...] "The report cites $1.2 million to subsidize failing state owned golf courses and $350,000 for computers and printers that were never used." (WKRN.com 15.5.07)

Britain and the UK

£10bn pa on pensions black hole- Every family in Britain must spend an extra £400 this year making up a shortfall in public sector pension funds. Official figures show that the cost of pensions for the country^s state workers is expected to reach £29 billion this year. But contributions from employers and employees total just £19 billion, leaving a "black hole" of £10 billion which must be paid for by the taxpayer. This extra cost is the equivalent of each of Britain^s 25 million households being given a bill for £400 to cover the shortfall." (Telegraph 10.5.07)

Tax credit errors waste £1.9bn- "Another £1.4bn is likely to be written off in overpaid tax credits, according to a report from a committee of MPs. The Public Accounts Committee said this would bring losses from overpayments to £1.9bn. A revamp to the system meant it would pay £500m more a year, it added. The new tax credit system started in 2003, but it has been plagued by complexity, overpayments and fraud." (BBC 8.5.07)

NHS spending set to exceed £92 billion- "New Labour had its limits, even in 1997. Those limits were made flesh by the appointment of Frank Dobson as Tony Blair’s first health secretary. For all the changes which the NHS has seen since then, there has been an underlying Old Labour consistency to the government’s approach to the NHS over the past decade: spend as much money as possible, fiddle with the management structures, and all will be well with the wonderful NHS. But if that was the answer, then one has to wonder what on earth was the question. Tony Blair’s legacy, after a decade in charge of the NHS, is a false dawn on reform and waste on an unprecedented scale." [...] "Much attention has focused recently on the chaotic £12 billion NHS IT project (estimated by the public accounts committee to end up costing £20 billion)." [...] "But that is a pinprick compared with the overall sums thrown at the NHS’s fiscal black hole. By the end of this financial year, NHS spending will be £92 billion – a rise of over £50 billion a year since 1999. But to what end? Even the King’s Fund, one of the NHS’s stalwart defenders, has conceded that three quarters of the increased spending disappears each year in costs rather than ‘activity’ (the jargon for treating people)." (The Business Online 18.5.07)