An Open Letter To Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, and Others In Congress Who Are Freaking Out About DOGE

 An Open Letter To: 

• Senator Elizabeth Warren

•  Senator Chuck Schumer

• And the other members in Congress who are freaking out because Trump is identifying questionable spending of taxpayer wealth around the world

Many of you are having fits because Trump, via DOGE, is identifying how billions of taxpayer dollars are being paid out on some very questionable projects around the world. You were silent when the money was being spent but somehow you all  now find it offensive that Trump is bringing to light where and what our tax dollars are  being spent on, a basic right that we should have since we paid for these expenses and projects.

Let’s look at some of these expenditures and find out if we have the same priorities  relative to how these taxpayer dollars are being spent:

If you thought it was a better idea to spend $20 million on a “Sesame Street production in IRAQ” then to help out Patterson High School in Baltimore where over 75% of their high school students are performing at elementary school levels in math and reading and about a third of those students are performing at no higher than second grade level in math and reading, then you and I have different priorities.

If you thought it was a better idea to spend $5.5 million on “LGBT issues in  UGANDA” then to help out schools in Chicago where about 75% of Chicago Public School students could not read at grade level and 83% could not function in math at grade level, then you and I have different priorities.

If you thought it was a better idea to spend $4.5 million to “combat misinformation is Kazakhstan” then to fix the reality that American kids perform far below the kids in dozens of other nations when it comes to standardized tests (as administered by The Program for International Student Assessment), then you and I have different priorities.

If you thought it was a better idea to spend $3.9 million for “LGBT  causes in the western BALKANS” then to provide safe shelter for our 770,000 homeless Americans, then  you and I have different priorities.

If you thought it was a better idea to spend $2,1 million to help the BBC “value the diversity of LIBYAN society” then to help the 47 million Americans that are having trouble feeding themselves and their families, living in “food insecure households,” then you and I have different priorities.

If you thought it was a better idea to spend $6.0 million for tourism in EGYPT then to help the over 100,000 Ameircans who overdose and die every year because they could not get medical help to help them overcome drug addiction, then you and I have  different priorities.

If you thought it waa a better idea to spend $2 million to fund sex change operations in GUATEMALA  then help the 26 million Ameircans who cannot afford health insurance for their families, then you and I have different priorities.

If you thought it was a better idea to spend $7.9 million for a project that “would teach SRI LANKAN journalists how to avoid binary gendered language” then to fix the Social Security and Medicare programs that are hurtling towards financial  insolvency, then you and I have different priorities.

If you thought it was a better idea to spend $1.5 million to “rebuild the CUBAN media ecosystem,” then to provide additional funding in cities across the country suffering from skyrocketing crime rates, then you and I have different priorities.

Of course, there is no right or wrong answer, just different priorities. But apparently, I think it is better to spend billions of valuable taxpayer dollars helping out our families, neighbors and communities in need while you folks think it is a better idea to spread our limited tax dollars around the world, from Egypt to Uganda to Vietnam to Cuba and to dozens of other countries around the world on projects that seem quite inane. 

And I find your priorities despicable, shallow, and  disgusting.

**********************

If you agree that we need to deseat every member of Congress for their lack of success and accomplishment, then please consider going to the following petition link to help the cause:

https://www.change.org/p/deseat-congress-reset-freedom

**********************

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

https://www.amazon.com/Love-My-Country-Loathe-Government/dp/1604942789/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=love+my+country%2C+loathe+my+government&qid=1607716020&sr=8-1

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.reason.com

http://www.cato.org

http://www.openthebooks.com

http://www.conventionofstates.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w

 

By The Numbers: Wasting Money On Washignton Rugs and Other Office Equipment, Americans are In A Pessimistic Economic Mood, and Congressional Members Continue To Waste Money

On a periodic basis we do some posts that fall under the theme of “by the numbers.” Rather than trust what American politicians tell us about reality, we like to examine the real numbers and the real reality in the world to understand what is actually going on.

Relying on politicians, and their cohorts in the media, to tell us what is reality is always a sucker bet. They have their own agendas and goals, usually centering around their needs and self-enrichment. So we need to look at the reality of the numbers to determine what is really going on. Previous analyses of “by the numbers” can be accessed by entering the phrase in the search box above.

1)The Federal government spends a lot of money. Unfortunately, as we have pointed out far too many times in this blog, it also wastes a lot of money:

• According to reporting by the Washington Free Beacon, the White House “slightly” overpaid for a plain, beige area rug it recently purchased.

• The 12 foot by 9 foot rug was purchased for $2,735 back in October.

• The cost of the rug was a whopping $1,972 but outrageous delivery and padding costs increased the overall cost by almost $800.

• The Beacon news report checked out the manufacturer and style with a rug retailer who says they could have gotten the exact same rug for about $1,600, a price that includes shipping and padding.

• Thus, the White House paid a markup of over 70%.

• Other carpet companies checked out by the Beacon said that this type of rug by this manufacturer should cost about $10-$13 per square foot or $1,000 to $1,300.

Look, the world is not going to end because the White house overpaid by 70% for a simple rug. The problem is that the Federal government does this all the time, as we have previously discussed, which probably results in billions and billions of taxpayer dollars wasted over the years on overpriced or unneeded or kickback induced, bloated purchases. And no one ever gets called onto the “carpet” for this wasteful spending.

2) To expand on our previous point, the Washington Free Beacon has also uncovered some other ridiculous government purchases:

• In January they reported that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence spent $12,134 on four office chairs, or about $3,000 per chair.

• A quick search of the Staples website shows that the most expensive office chair offered by Staples can be had for $911, about one third the cost of these chairs and that Staples has dozens and dozens of office chairs that have high ratings and cost less than $500 each.

• Back in October the paper reported that Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, spent over $2,000 for ONE pair of drapes for his office drapes that the reporter called “uninspiring.”

• Back during the Obama administration, the government spent $52,000 on curtains for the Manhattan residence of the ambassador to the United Nations, not for the office of the ambassador, but for the home of the ambassador.

No wonder we have a Federal government that has a national debt of $30,000,0000,000,000 when those in power in Washington continue this type of unnecessary and wasteful spending. The numbers do not lie and the numbers keep on coming when it comes to waste.

3) While wasteful spending by the Federal government continues to rise, overall consumer sentiment and dissatisfaction with the Biden administration continues to decline:

• Consumer sentiment dropped to the worst level since 2011 and 2022 inflation expectations rose to a 41 year high.

• The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index dropped to 59.7 in March from 62.8 in February.

• This is in contrast to the sentiment number a year ago which was 84.9 and thus, has dropped a whopping 25 points in only 12 months.

• Consumers expect prices to rise 5.4% in 2022.

• In addition, the Department of Labor reported that the consumer price index soared 7.9% over the past 12 months and jumped a large .8% in just one month.

• “Consumers held very negative prospects for the economy, with the sole exception of the job market,” said Richard Curtin.

• The highest-ever share of households expect their finances to worsen in the coming year with the gauge of future expectations declined to 54.4, the weakest level since 2011.

Not a pretty picture being painted by these numbers. Americans are pessimistic and not happy and most of that blame lies at the feet of the Washington ruling class and the inept Biden administration.

4) One of the biggest improvements we suggested in our book, “Love My Country, Loathe My Government” was the principle that the Federal government could not spend any Federal tax money on any project that did not significantly benefit at least five states. For example, if New York state wanted to build a bridge inside the state, the Federal government would be prohibited from paying for any portion of that construction, it would be the responsibility of that state’s taxpayers to build that bridge that only they would benefit from.

This principle would then really reduce excessive and wasteful Federal government spending and eliminate the reality that the most powerful, most senior members of Congress could no longer use Federal taxpayer money to the benefit of only their constituents at the expense of the rest of the country and to polish up their reelection chances.

Unfortunately, that principle was never put into place and we are again faced with the annual Federal budget madness that spends taxpayer money on local projects that local residents should be paying for as illustrated in the recent so-called Omnibus spending legislation:

• The list of pet projects in the legislation spans a mind boggling 367 pages.

• Senate Majority Chuck Schumer leader is the leader in this wasteful spending with well over 140 Federally financed projects in this budget legislation for his state of New York, all geared for his state residents and funded by the rest of the country.

• Senator Patrick Leahy got 79 of his projects into the legislation at a cost of $162 million Federal taxpayer dollars.

• Senator Joe Manchin has at least 32 projects costing almost $50 million.

• Senator Catherine is in for $38 million of Federal taxpayer funding for her state.

• “It’s totally pork-barreling,” said Thomas Schatz, the president of Citizens Against Government Waste. "For at least some of them, we can see which member of Congress has requested the earmark and do further investigation into where it is, what it’s doing, who it’s for”

Let's be honest, this is just Federal overreach perpetrated by incumbent politicians who want to show their voters how good they are at shaking down the rest of the country’s taxpayers. If a local government or state government needs local or state funds, let the taxpayers in those areas pay for it. If they do not want to pay for it, then the rest of the country should not step in and wastefully spend one something that the local voter base is not willing to step up to.

The current system is not fair and equitable: it is based on Congressional seniority and power, the more powerful get more Federal taxpayer funding no matter how stupid or trivial the local project is.

Another depressing set of numbers, courtesy of the American political class: Washington bureaucracies continue to overpay and waste taxpayer money on even the most trivial purchases, consumers and voters are not happy and are very pessimistic about the economic situation and trend in the country, and Washington politicians continues to skim Federal taxpayer dollars for their own voters at the expense of the rest of the country for the sole purpose of helping themselves get reelected.

The numbers don't lie but politicians do.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

https://www.amazon.com/Love-My-Country-Loathe-Government/dp/1604942789/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=love+my+country%2C+loathe+my+government&qid=1607716020&sr=8-1

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.reason.com

http://www.cato.org

http://www.openthebooks.com

http://www.conventionofstates.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w

 

 

February, 2020, Part 1, Political Class Insanity: Lying Politicians, Pompous Politicians and Inept Politicians.

It is another month which means it is again time to review the latest political class insanity from Washington and around the world. Political class insanity takes many forms including the wasting of taxpayer wealth, criminal fraud within government programs, inane and stupid political quotes and actions, the inability to create and implement effective and efficient government programs, stupid and ill performing economic policies and strategies, and other forms of insanity that continue to evolve and surprise and shock us.

Let’s get started:

1) Before going any further on this topic let me say that I realize how horrible it must be to lose a loved one. The pain and grief is overwhelming. And to lose a loved one suddenly is even more gut wrenching since it is unexpected.

So I do not want to come off as uncaring here but it does kind of disgust me that someone would try to leverage the sudden loss of a loved one for political gain:

• In December, 1972, Joe Biden’s wife Neillia and his infant daughter were killed in a tragic car accident.
• The police investigation showed that she had driven into the path of a semi tractor trailer driven by Curtis Dunn.
• Dunn’s truck flipped over trying to avoid the collision.
• The prosecutor in the case concluded that rumors of alcohol use by all involved was unfounded and no charges were brought against Dunn.
• And yet, Biden claimed his wife and child were killed by a drunk driver in both 2001 and 2007 at University of Delaware gatherings.
• Not satisfied to lie/misrepresent facts in 2001 and 2007, in 2008 slandered Dunn and blamed the truck driver’s alcohol drinking for the accident even though there was no factual basis to the claim: “A tractor-trailer, a guy who allegedly — and I never pursued it — drank his lunch instead of eating his lunch, broadsided my family and killed my wife instantly and killed my daughter instantly and hospitalized my two sons …”
• Delaware resident, Pamela Hill, has now demanded a public apology from Biden for slandering the name of her now deceased father.
• Specifically: “We need to set the record straight and clear my father’s name right now before this goes any further.”

So sad that he suffered these sudden loses and so pathetic that he would leverage those losses for political gain and slander an innocent man in the process.

2) Let’s turn to a news article from 2009 by Charles Hurt that I recently came across. Mr. Hunt was writing for the New York Post and gives another example of how politicians like to make rules and also like to ignore them at their whim:

• New York Senator Chuck Schumer was on an airplane flight when a flight attendant asked him to turn off his cell phone as the plane got ready for takeoff.
• Rather than respect the rules, the flight attendant, and the pilot who announced that cell phones had to be turned off, Schumer continued his cellphone discussion.
• Schumer asked if he could finish his conversation but the attendant said no, they were waiting for him to finish his call so the plane could then take off.
• According to the article: “The state’s senior senator ended his call, but then launched into an argument with her, claiming he was entitled to continue his chat until the cabin door was closed.”
• Schumer then called the flight attendant a “bitch” to his traveling partner after the flight attendant walked away for not allowing him special consideration.

Schumer eventually apologized for the comment but only after the press got hold of the story and it spread far and wide, making one doubt whether he was truly sorry or sorry because he got caught behaving like a five year old. Just another example where a politician thinks they are more important than they really are. England has royalty, we do not, despite what the political class thinks so turn off the darn phone and follow the rules like the rest of us.

3) This story raises a troubling issue with two possible answers, neither of which is good: are California politicians and the state government processes they operate that incompetent or they that nefarious that they are involved in a massive financial cover up

The following discussion comes from the Real Politics website and highlights a legal effort they have underway to open up the state government financial books of California:

• According to Real Politics, California is the only state in the union that does not open up its financials and checkbook for review.
• Opening up the state accounting books would provide the ability for outside sources to review and assess how California is spending taxpayer wealth.
• However, when Real Politics submitted a request to get access to the so-called state “checkbook” to see what expenses were being incurred by the state government, state Controller Betty Yee rejected the request.
• While this rejection was against state law, the reason given for the rejection was that the outrageous claim “that the controller couldn’t locate a single one of the 49 million bills she paid last year.”
• And yet Yee claimed that 99.7% of all state paid bills were proper and legit even though she could not provide the information to support that claim, shredding any credibility she has.
• So the state government paid out hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer wealth and yet could not locate any of the bills???
• Are those running the government that incompetent or are they hiding some big time corruption or both?
• Left with no other choice to find out what is happening to $320 billion a year in the state budget, Real Politics has had to go to court to get the information.
• Their lawsuit wants a line by line detailed accounting of state government expenditures.
• Their track record is pretty in these types of cases since they have “never lost a state checkbook transparency fight. In 2012, we successfully sued Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka (R), and, in 2018, we sued Wyoming State Auditor Cynthia Cloud (R).”

If a private sector accountant said they he or she could not find the checks that the company had paid out they would likely come under immediate criminal suspicion. Auditors would be called in, the SEC and other government agencies might become involved and there would be a thorough scrubbing of the financials. But as a government employee, the California state Controller thinks she can just shrug her shoulders and say the government lost millions of bills?

Seems like the “Chuck Schumer” syndrome we just discussed, the political class passes the rules and laws for the rest of us but they seem to think they can get a pass whenever they want even if it involves shenanigans involving a whopping $320 billion.

Alright, this is a good start to this month’s political class insanity: lying politicians, pompous politicians, and incompetent politicians and government workers. Sounds about right.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

https://www.amazon.com/Walter-Bruno-Korschek/e/B002KYU08Q/ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:


http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org
http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w