Department of Government Efficiency

[Clint45]

In the DoD alone, probably 20% of their budget goes to: waste, graft, fraud, overcharges, and kickbacks.

The last time the Pentagon was audited, IIRC they were unable to account for a few billion, then instead of digging deeper the matter was dropped.

Someone places an order for 50,000 overpriced widgets... which are never used... then 20 years later they're found in a warehouse... and then, of course, there are things like the infamous $15,000 toilet seat, lol.

[.455_Hunter]

In the DoD alone, probably 20% of their budget goes to: waste, graft, fraud, overcharges, and kickbacks.

The last time the Pentagon was audited, IIRC they were unable to account for a few billion, then instead of digging deeper the matter was dropped.

Someone places an order for 50,000 overpriced widgets... which are never used... then 20 years later they're found in a warehouse... and then, of course, there are things like the infamous $15,000 toilet seat, lol.

The problem with the DoD is that after auditing, the waste, graft, fraud, overcharges, and kickbacks will remain while important beneficial programs will get cut.

[FoxtArt]

The problem with the DoD is that after auditing, the waste, graft, fraud, overcharges, and kickbacks will remain while important beneficial programs will get cut.

You're one of the few that get it across the GOV. And it's not just waste/fraud/graft/etc. It's also how government employment flat out works.

Sure, a ton of federal employees should be trimmed back. But they won't.

They can cut budgets and layoff people, but they'll keep the dead wood and layoff contractors left and right (the ones that do the work), then ask the poor (contractor) souls that remain to do the work of 8 people for 1/2 the pay.

Then when essential services that the contractors uphold fall apart, they'll blame the budget cuts.

The Federal dead wood isn't going anywhere, their wages and raises aren't going anywhere, it's all legislated, protected, etc....

In our gov, federal employees hold a lot of meetings and charge timecards. Most departments it's the contractors that do the "real work", in part to conceal the # of true federal employment, but more importantly, to f* people over. Contractors usually get bottom-barrel benefits and lowest-bid wage categorization. Then it's the "federal employees" who decide how to "direct" the contractors. On average you're looking at 1 fed to 2 contractors or more.

99% of the fed employees will still be there even if we do trim a full T. [And it's this category that needs the most reduction, TBH]