The
article on government waste by Adam B. Summers, columnist with the Southern
California News Group, spells it out clearly: “The federal government wastes
taxpayers’ money in thousands of ways, large and small.” Among the examples he
gives is the $3.1 billion the Federal Railroad Administration has made
available for California’s “doomed” high-speed rail project. He then goes on to
describe how the Energy Department has wasted $450 million on a clean energy
project, now six years behind schedule, on which ground has yet to be broken.
However,
with Mr. Summer’s next revelation, I did a double take. He discloses that the
IRS spent $12 million on an archiving system which was never used in any way.
The implication is clear; this branch of government is not functioning
efficiently. I then scratched my head as I contemplated whether we want this
particular governmental organization to be efficient. And more to the point, with
the many funded projects which allocate taxpayers’ monies for functions
thoroughly antithetical to the desires of most rational persons, perhaps waste
is a desirable quality. Consider, for example, a massive federal program
established for the purpose of providing every elected official in the nation
with a 6-figure lifetime retirement benefit together with full family health
care. This is an activity I’d never want to see carried out. In this case, the
less efficient the operation, the better for us all.
Let
me now share my personal bias on the government’s use of those funds collected
from me as a taxpayer. As long as the
money is in my pocket, it’s rightfully mine to spend. Once it passes to the tax
collector, it’s rightfully the government’s to spend. For all practical
purposes, I have no say in how it’s used. Though I may choose to criticize from
afar, there’s nothing much I can do about it. Thus, they may waste it as they
wish or apply it effectively if they’re able. But what really matters is that I
use whatever money is mine to keep with frugality and discretion. The
government may blow what it chooses; it’s far more important that each of us
conduct our own financial lives wisely.
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
If you enjoy this
weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly
Financial Newsletter, as well as my new book, Roadway to Prosperity
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
No comments:
Post a Comment