A Monthly Dispatch from Citizens
Against Government Waste
Broadband Boondoggles
By: Tom Schatz
Wanted: $4.7 billion for a national broadband grant program. Prior experience not necessary.
The 72-Hour Bill: A Struggle to Read Over the Shoulder of Congress
By Erica Gordon
This summer’s tea parties and town hall meetings drew hundreds of thousands across the nation. Although there were many issues of concern including healthcare, cap-and-trade, and the general overspending problems in Washington, citizens were united by one common goal: to remind members of Congress that they work for the American people.
Taxpayer Money Flying Out the Door
David E. Williams
Even if many Americans don’t think that the stimulus package is working, there is still a desire to ensure that the money is being spent wisely rather than being thrown down a rat hole. But, the news that is trickling out from the states does not look good.
Congress Plans to Tap Medicare to Pay for Healthcare Reform
By John Hoff, Guest Columnist
The Senate Finance Committee has reported out S. 1796, its version of a health care reform bill. This was preceded, and indeed made possible, by an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the bill would increase federal government spending by only $829 billion in 2010-2019. With new taxes and reductions in projected spending in Medicare and Medicaid, CBO said this would actually result in a net saving to the federal budget of $81 billion over this period. The bill’s advocates greeted this estimate with relief, tinged with self-congratulation for having produced a bill that, in the current environment, was considered by them to be fiscally responsible.
Healthcare: Everyone Gets a Deal and Taxpayers Get the Tab
By Roger Morse
No one questions that the nation’s healthcare system is troubled and needs to be fixed. Typically, Congress would propose legislation to fix the heart of the problem and then cut whatever side deals are needed to pass the legislation.
Medicare is Afflicted with Chronic Wasting Disease, and it's Catching
By Leslie Paige
All of the healthcare reform bills currently under consideration depend, to a significant degree, upon eradicating waste and abuse from Medicare in order to offset the costs of the new coverage package. Squeezing waste out of Medicare is a laudable goal and an aggressive waste eradication campaign could yield savings of $40 to $50 billion annually (conservatively), or 10 percent, a much higher percentage of fraud than exists in private healthcare systems. Unfortunately, it is a pipedream. Administrations and Congresses going back decades have tried, and failed miserably, to eliminate the waste.
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