The healthcare reform juggernaut, arguably the most radical attempt to remake the economy and the nation’s healthcare infrastructure in history, was supposed to have flown through Congress before the August recess with nary a peep. Instead, as Americans have gotten wind of its alarming provisions and exorbitant costs, the plan appears to be fizzling fast in the summer heat.
Iowa Nonprofit is Latest Earmark Outrage
The Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium (CIETC) is a nonprofit organization that provides job-training services for the Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) program. As extensively reported by The Des Moines Register, the group’s top three executives were recently fired after a state audit found that they collected a combined $1.8 million in salaries over 30 months. Congressional earmarks and breakdown of oversight allowed a cadre of greedy schemers to enrich themselves at taxpayer expense.
Waste on a Plane
Any traveler would prefer champagne, fine dining, and ample leg room on their next plane flight. However, most people either cannot afford a premium class ticket or deem it not worth the extra expense. Charging the tickets to the government has a way of changing the equation. An April 2006 Government Accountability Office report revealed how some public servants are traveling like rock stars at the taxpayers’ expense.
Mrs. Bush, too, Loves the Earmarks
It’s funny how sometimes we just disregard the Constitution and the specific powers it gives to each branch of the federal government. I learned as well as many others in the ninth grade that the power of the purse is given to the Congress, so the citizens have some influence and comments on how their tax dollars were going to be spent. Funny how that never really worked out since there are so many projects funded through earmarks.