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Jewish World Review Sept. 27, 2011 / 28 Elul, 5771 Paying the Dead By Cal Thomas
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | There isn't much about dysfunctional government that shocks me anymore, but this story did. According to a report by the This isn't something new. Inspector General (IG) "Improper payments to dead retirees are up 70 percent in the last five years," cites the OPM report. In one outrageous case, the son of a deceased annuitant kept receiving federal benefits for 37 years after his father's death. OPM didn't learn about the improper payments until after the son died. Of course, the agency never recovered any of the money. Could this be why the government has no qualms about spending other people's money? Senator I wonder how many of the dead and incarcerated got to vote and for whom?
As congressional Democrats and Republicans play another round of "chicken" over what, if anything, can be cut from the bloated budget and engage in phony theatrics over another possible government shutdown, those members who wish to be more responsible with other people's money ought to make the issue of wasteful spending central to the upcoming campaign. After removing the dead and incarcerated from the federal payroll, they can go after an agency that touches all Americans: the The problem is that once a federal agency or program is started, it is easier to find an honest politician than it is to cut something from the budget. Then there's Solyndra, the Also last week, Senate Democrats rejected a continuing spending resolution passed by the House because, among other reasons, it contains cuts in the very solar energy program that funded Solyndra. So just because a company or a person dies does not necessarily disqualify them from receiving additional taxpayer money (borrowed from the Chinese, of course). Eternal life, you see. It is beyond disgraceful that so many elected officials and unelected bureaucrats continue to waste so much of our money, all the while demanding we be taxed more because they can't "afford" to cut a dime and some of us allegedly aren't contributing our "fair share." We are past not being able to afford our government and it's long past time to start cutting them off, much as a parent might stop sending money to a spendthrift college student who wastes it on partying and high-living.
JWR contributor Cal Thomas is co-author with Bob Beckel, a liberal Democratic Party strategist, of "Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That is Destroying America". Comment by clicking here.
© 2011, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
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