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Government Gold-Plating
From Steve H. Hanke of Cato.
"Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) released his annual Wastebook
this past week. It contains a laundry list of doozies. The U.S.
government’s gold-plating operations included $190,000 to study compost
digested by worms, $297 million for the purchase of an unused mega
blimp, and $1 million on a Virginia bus stop where only 15 people can
huddle under a half-baked roof. These questionable (read: absurd)
expenditures only represent the tip of the iceberg.
Just consider the following: the Speaker of the House currently
receives an annual salary of $223,500, and will receive a payment of
roughly that amount, depending on the years of service, for life. An
annual payment of this magnitude amounts to about five times the average
annual wage in the United States. But that’s not all. For those who
have had different positions in Congress, their retirements can be
augmented. For example, Nancy Pelosi will not receive $223,500 for life,
but roughly double that. Why? Because she is a member of Congress,
currently the House of Representatives’ Minority Leader, and a retired
Speaker of the House. For purposes of computing retirement pay, Congress
adds and accumulates. They do not net.
In addition to supporting members of Congress and civil servants,
U.S. taxpayers support welfare recipients. And they support them
lavishly, too. Hawaii, Massachusetts, and D.C. residents receive
sizeable welfare payments (read: salaries). Indeed, the magnitude of
these payments exceeds the average salary of an American teacher, as
well as a soldier deployed in Afghanistan, by at least $10,000 per year.
The public can forget all the clap-trap they are hearing about
austerity. Indeed, a fairly dull knife could cut billions of dollars
from the U.S. government’s largess.
"
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