Weekly Waste Round-Up 2
In the news this week:
Canada
[Champagne] Living on the Taxpayer's Dime - "The scandal involving a former defence department bureaucrat behind a $143 million invoicing fraud scheme continues to make headlines. [...] This summer, Paul Champagne plead guilty to fraud and breach of trust charges. "I am accepting responsibility for my actions," he told reporters. [...] Between 1994 and 2003 Champagne's activities, in which he received payment for bogus computer maintenance contracts that were never delivered to the government, went largely undetected. Champagne reportedly was able to dupe subcontractors who wanted more details by claiming the work for Department of National Defence was top secret. While working in the department's procurement branch, Champagne earned $80,000 a year. Yet his $1.35 million mansion, vacation homes in Florida and Turks and Caicos, luxury cars and jet-set lifestyle did not raise any serious red flags for nearly a decade." (Political Watch 11.08.07)
Gary Lunn wasting taxpayers money on 'spin doctor'- "...released documents, obtained through access-to-information requests, showing that Mr. Lunn's department signed a $15,989.04 contract last August with Lynda Naveda Consulting Ltd., to screen candidates for a position as the minister's director of communications. The work was required in a rush because the then-director was leaving shortly." (Globe & Mail 24.07.07)
In Ontario, it's easy getting $1M for cricket. But try being...- "Way to go, bureaucrats. Stick it to the guy in a wheelchair. Too bad Spencer didn't know somebody in the cricket club, eh. Maybe they could lend him some of the cool $1 million they got without the same hoops." (Toronto Sun 11.08.07)
United States
Murphy grabs $27.1M in funding - "Congressman Patrick Murphy, D-8, a vocal opponent of wasteful spending on Capitol Hill, has garnered nearly $27.1 million in federal funding for 28 pet projects that were included in massive federal spending bills that recently passed the House.
According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a government watchdog group, Murphy won more money for more projects than any other Pennsylvania House members in the Philadelphia region." (phillyBurbs.com 10.08.07)
Bunks for Drunks: Costs of Seattle's Social Experiment - "If one lives in Seattle, there are clean, furnished apartments in the downtown area for less than $200 a month. It’s a great deal, with one catch: in order to move in, one has to be an alcoholic. Once someone qualifies and takes up residence at 1811 Eastlake, no one will ever tell him or her to stop drinking. [...] Some have called it "bunks for drunks." More than $11 million in local, state, and federal money has been used to construct an apartment building for 75 of Seattle’s worst "public inebriates," homeless alcoholics known for harassing people in the streets when not sobering up in jail. The city hopes that keeping them off the streets will save money and protect the public." (CAGW 26.07.07)
Britain and the UK
Gorbals Mick and a £17,000 bid to hide MPs' travel expenses - "A committee run by the Speaker of the Commons squandered more than £17,000 of taxpayers' money on barristers in an attempt to keep MPs' travel expenses secret. [...] The House of Commons Commission - chaired by Michael Martin - spent two years trying to keep MPs' car, train and plane claims, which ran into millions of pounds, from the public." (Evening Standard 11.08.07)
Every household pays £900 a year to cover bungled Government projects - "Every household in Britain is paying £900 a year to cover the cost of bungled Government projects. [...] Labour has squandered a staggering £23billion of taxpayers' money by failing to control the spiralling costs of hundreds of flagship schemes, figures reveal. [...] The 2012 Olympic Games in London, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, a super-computer for the NHS and the Eurofighter military aircraft are among the projects that have soared over budget. The wasted money would have been enough to build nearly 100 new hospitals." (Evening Standard 13.07.07)
*See also: Weekly Waste Round-Up 1
9 Comments:
Cost of Afghanistan since 2001: $4.1 BILLION.
Cost to build Arctic Bases: ??
Cost to increase prosecution of marijuana possession: ?????
Increased costs due to white collar crime: $20 billion per year
Lets at least run the full gamut eh.
I see the Howard government in Australia has been criticized for using millions in taxpayers $$$ to get re-elected through a political ad campaign.
Well, we could all make a list of those things we don't like the Government spending our tax money on.
However I think there is a difference in those things which are for the personal gain of the politician or his party, and those things that Mikel has listed.
Hey let's run the full gamut. What you're calling for Mike is a desire to have seen the Taliban continue to dominate in Afghanistan, Canada give up sovereignty in the north, turn Canada into Holland as the marijuana capital of North America and...wait actually the last one is right. Crime of any kind needs to be dealt with including...ahem...drugs. Although how increased costs due to crime is government waste per se is a bit of a stretch.
C'mon mike, no spin, admit turning Canada into some kind of socialist society with sky-high taxes, where the government owes you a living and throw in a heaping of Holland's loose laws including drugs, prostitution and euthanasia is your dream society. Maybe a little negotiating with known terrorists just to top it off. I think I finally realize when you leave a comment in another blog, why you don't sign in with your name which would allow people to check out your own blog. You don't want them in your corner challenging you which they can't if they can't find you.
Ha, I thought that would get a good rise out of all the bored tories out there. Government waste is government waste, you guys just don't want to admit that SOCIAL spending has as much (or more) redeeming value as military spending. Yes, heaven forbid that money be used to make a drunks life decent instead of paying the same amount and having the deadbeats in jail where they belong!
As for Holland, I'm thinking Spinks has never been there, because absolutely I'd recommend it.
In fact, Canada IS Holland, if you actually look at what canadians want. Even the US is virtually identical to Holland, if you actually look at what the PEOPLE want.
But you guys are in the slim minority, the barely 20% who actually support the nations policies. As for debates, my name is on all my comments unless I forget, and there's only five NB blogs I go to so its always out there. I WANT people to find the website, well, its Charles' interviews but I think they should be heard by as many as possible. You guys are STILL posting anonymously so I don't think Spinks is in any shape to throw stones on that account.
Nope, you can click on my name right in the comments and go right to my site and see where I'm coming from. That can't be done with you mike. Your choice but for someone with such a prolific blog it seems odd not to promote it.
I highly doubt the majority of Canadians want a free for all society with open drug use, open prostiution, and euthanasia for all includign babies. I'd welcome a referendum on that one. Heck SSM didn't get put to a referendum because the Liberals were pretty sure what the majority of Canadisna would say at the time. They would have nixed it.
Not sure if I agree with the Afghan war being a waste, mikel. It's a just war being fought for a just cause. Not sure if the same can be said for the illegal war a couple of doors down in Iraq?
Well, ya gotta love that. Even Spinks contrariness comes in handy. I assumed if I clicked 'other' and put in my website that clicking on the name would go to the website. Glad to know that doesn't work, thanks so much.
That of course was my point, that one person's 'waste' is another persons 'intergral spending'. Thats YOUR opinion, and others have their own view. $4 billion to kill ten percent of the population and reduce the country to cinders may not seem a 'waste', but people can call it what they want.
And I'd join you in that desire for referenda because virtually every poll out there has a clear majority SUPPORTING all those things. Just go to Angus Reid or any pollster and start reading.
That's far from the case about the liberals. Canadians, like most people, are VERY democratic when they have the opportunity. The liberals have NEVER held referenda. It's not surprise that even in New Brunswick Lord is the only Premier to have a referendum in the over a century of Canada's existence. And If it weren't against their policy they would have LOVED to put SSM out for referenda-politicians HATE contentious issues because they ALWAYS cost them votes.
So that certainly wasn't the reason to not have a referendum. We didn't have one for the same reason that the tories whined about referenda-until they got elected. And for the same reason that after the 1993 referenda it was said often that 'we won't see another referendum for another hundred years'.
That's for two reasons. First, when people see a referendum on one issue, then they quite rightly ask why they can't vote on other, usually more important issues.
And second, the 93 referendum terrified the federal government. If canadians had voted for the charlottetown accord we'd probably have referenda every year or so because it would have been proven that we'd tow the governmetn line.
Instead, it showed what every american knows, that the people's interests are FAR different than their governments.
About the ONLY reservation that can be given is that because politics has fallen so far to the wayside that often it is hard to get people to vote. So for example its well known that younger people don't vote, and its well known that younger people generally have no problem with SSM. So, IF they don't vote then you get a false positive.
However, that can be changed, hell, in Australia they have mandatory voting.
I put the website on here, lets try if this works...
Glad to help.
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