Ridiculous government waste

With all the talk of fiscal cliff, sequestration, the continuing resolution, and raising the debt ceiling (again), I’ve yet to hear any politician on either side of the aisle focus on government waste.

It is fact that both parties so egregiously waste money that they come to blows and hurt family paychecks when they could be looking at ways to save that would benefit everyone.

We have programs that are double-, even triple-funded to do the same thing. Why? Because some congressman or senator wants their name on a legacy project. 

I’ve talked to administrators that have begged congressional staff to dissuade the passage of such redundant bills. They get told that the bill will be passed anyway because the senator wants to tell his constituents that he did something about some cause or another. The result produces zero impact on the cause du jour and more millions down the toilet.

And then we have the much-ballyhooed “congressional squatters.” These are congressmen that refuse to use the housing stipend they receive to rent a place in the D.C. area and instead pocket the money and sleep in their offices.

They usually claim it’s to keep them in the mindset of serving the people, but what is does is show a penny-wise and pound-foolish attitude. Due to these misers, Capitol Hill is forced to keep the heating, cooling, and electricity running 24/7, costing us taxpayers millions a year. They save themselves a few thousand by refusing to rent a crash pad with several other congressmen, and they cost the nation literally millions.  

Read Williams's, author of the book Reawakening Virtues, content on RightSideWire.com. Become a fan on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter.

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