Waste in Government. How do you recommend we clean it up? (1 Viewer)

[Integrityrespec]

Everyone, literally everyone in our government says we have waste, fraud and abuse in our government run programs. So why can't we find a way to fix it without pissing off one side or the other? All kinds of reports done by government agencies and independent groups show there is immense fraud so what's standing in the way? The estimates range well in into the trillions that are paid out to people and groups that should not be receiving funding or for very dubious causes. It's commonly said that government thinks it's their money and it's actually our money, the taxpayer's dollars. So how do we fix it, and pay off our huge debt that has come from the excessive spending?
**I'd like to encourage serious conversation as opposed to rank and file partisan banter.

 

[Xilnik]

Everyone, literally everyone in our government says we have waste, fraud and abuse in our government run programs. So why can't we find a way to fix it without pissing off one side or the other? All kinds of reports done by government agencies and independent groups show there is immense fraud so what's standing in the way? The estimates range well in into the trillions that are paid out to people and groups that should not be receiving funding or for very dubious causes. It's commonly said that government thinks it's their money and it's actually our money, the taxpayer's dollars. So how do we fix it, and pay off our huge debt that has come from the excessive spending?
**I'd like to encourage serious conversation as opposed to rank and file partisan banter.

There may be cases where groups should not be receiving funding or funding is going to questionable causes, but most of what I see is more money going into good causes than is necessary. What we need is an agency that oversees and audits, and then Congress needs to act on those findings. We already have the former, but there is not enough action on what is found. There is also question as to whether the CIGIE is as effective as it could be both in finding waste, fraud, and abuse and in the way it generates those reports.

Welcome to Oversight.gov | Oversight.gov

www.oversight.gov

How Much Could DOGE Save by Implementing Inspector General Recommendations? | The Foundation for American Innovation

The Foundation for American Innovation.

www.thefai.org

 

[Allan]

The estimates range well in into the trillions that are paid out to people and groups that should not be receiving funding or for very dubious causes.

Link please to that wild-ass number.

 

[SenorXm/Sirius]

Do it in a professional and timely manner... Step by step..

Not having some guy running around on a stage with a chainsaw...

 

[j brown's body]

Everyone, literally everyone in our government says we have waste, fraud and abuse in our government run programs. So why can't we find a way to fix it without pissing off one side or the other? All kinds of reports done by government agencies and independent groups show there is immense fraud so what's standing in the way? The estimates range well in into the trillions that are paid out to people and groups that should not be receiving funding or for very dubious causes. It's commonly said that government thinks it's their money and it's actually our money, the taxpayer's dollars. So how do we fix it, and pay off our huge debt that has come from the excessive spending?
**I'd like to encourage serious conversation as opposed to rank and file partisan banter.

Let's identify some. Got any examples?

 

[Allan]

Do it in a professional and timely manner... Step by step..

That's what the GAO is for. Give them more resources.

Not having some guy running around on a stage with a chainsaw...

Elmo is a court jester.

 

[j brown's body]

We might start here:

Pentagon waste is costing taxpayers billions. But Doge’s cuts are way off base | Katerina Canyon

Musk’s team is targeting diversity initiatives and research, which amount to pennies compared with the real spending concerns

www.theguardian.com

 

[iliveonramen]

The estimates range well in into the trillions that are paid out to people and groups that should not be receiving funding or for very dubious causes.
**I'd like to encourage serious conversation as opposed to rank and file partisan banter.

Lol!! You want a serious conversation after throwing out some ridiculous made up number.

If you want to find waste/fraud/abuse you go where the money is. Medicare and Medicare payments to insurance companies. In fact, one of the current Republican Senators in Congress right now can inform us what to look for. He was in charge of a company that fleeced the government for billions.

 

[Ishm]

Everyone, literally everyone in our government says we have waste, fraud and abuse in our government run programs. So why can't we find a way to fix it without pissing off one side or the other? All kinds of reports done by government agencies and independent groups show there is immense fraud so what's standing in the way? The estimates range well in into the trillions that are paid out to people and groups that should not be receiving funding or for very dubious causes. It's commonly said that government thinks it's their money and it's actually our money, the taxpayer's dollars. So how do we fix it, and pay off our huge debt that has come from the excessive spending?
**I'd like to encourage serious conversation as opposed to rank and file partisan banter.

There is nothing wrong with the concept of DOGE. I have run similar functions across large organizations myself and made huge gains in operating margins. The problem with the DOGE we have under Trump is that it is purely a Trump political tool targeting headlines instead of real results. If you want real, long term results, DOGE needs to be bi-partisan with a bi-partisan agenda, and staffed with experienced, respected people who make well informed and rational suggestions. Right now we have a totally partisan agenda coupled to headline hunting by people who know zero about what they are doing when they look up from their spreadsheets, which is why DOGE is the disaster that it is.

 

[Peacenik]

Everyone, literally everyone in our government says we have waste, fraud and abuse in our government run programs. So why can't we find a way to fix it without pissing off one side or the other? All kinds of reports done by government agencies and independent groups show there is immense fraud so what's standing in the way? The estimates range well in into the trillions that are paid out to people and groups that should not be receiving funding or for very dubious causes. It's commonly said that government thinks it's their money and it's actually our money, the taxpayer's dollars. So how do we fix it, and pay off our huge debt that has come from the excessive spending?
**I'd like to encourage serious conversation as opposed to rank and file partisan banter.

I remain unconvinced there is tremendous waste and fraud.

You don't have the highest reputation around here for valid information.

You saying so causes me to believe the opposite is true.

Where are your links?

Are they right wing extremist sources?

 

[Peacenik]

We already have the GAO.

We never needed doge.

doge is redundant government waste.

 

[Integrityrespec]

There may be cases where groups should not be receiving funding or funding is going to questionable causes, but most of what I see is more money going into good causes than is necessary. What we need is an agency that oversees and audits, and then Congress needs to act on those findings. We already have the former, but there is not enough action on what is found. There is also question as to whether the CIGIE is as effective as it could be both in finding waste, fraud, and abuse and in the way it generates those reports.

Welcome to Oversight.gov | Oversight.gov

www.oversight.gov

How Much Could DOGE Save by Implementing Inspector General Recommendations? | The Foundation for American Innovation

The Foundation for American Innovation.

www.thefai.org

For clarity,
CIGIE stands for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. It is an independent entity within the Executive Branch of the U.S. Federal Government, established in 2008. Its primary mission is to address integrity, economy, and effectiveness issues that transcend individual government agencies.

The Integrity and Efficiency seems to be where we are being shorted. Both parties dole out money for silly, wasteful and politically advantageous purposes. The oversight is clearly lacking. A good example of mismanagement is the DOD who hasn't passed an audit in decades, and medicaid where they estimate as high as 30% of people who receive benefits but should not. Numbers always vary because of improper management and I believe intentional hiding of spending by our government.

I read an article yesterday about the 27 separate CIO's at the National Institute of Health, one for each department. They don't appear to get the job done despite having so many "watchdogs". Sounds like waste and inefficiency to me.
Chief information officer is a C-suite job title given to the executive in charge of information technology initiatives and strategy. The CIO oversees the computer systems required to support the organization's unique objectives and goals. The CIO role was established in the 1980s.
So, say again what they actually do and why we need so many. Sounds like waste.

I figure there is a lot of this.

 

[Integrityrespec]

Link please to that wild-ass number.

Well, not sure that without partisan banter, but here you go.

The federal government has reported estimated improper payments exceeding $2.7 trillion since 2003, which includes overpayments, inaccurate recordkeeping, and fraud. While not fully accounting for all fraud and abuse, these figures highlight a significant financial drain on taxpayer resources. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that the government loses between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud alone.

Heck, the government is so bad at policing itself that they pay our millions to private citizens who report the abuse. Governments job that they can't do?

Fraud & Improper Payments

GAO examines fraud and improper payments in federal programs.

www.gao.gov

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/09/how-medicare-and-medicaid-fraud-became-a-100b-problem-for-the-us.html

Medicare Fraud Lawyer | Report Medicare Fraud | Billing Fraud

If you've witnessed Medicare fraud in your workplace, you may be able to claim a reward from the federal government. Contact our attorneys today.

www.employmentlawgroup.com

Medicare fraud outrunning enforcement efforts

Citing massive budget and staff cuts, federal officials are set to scale back or drop a host of investigations into Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse — even though cracking down on government waste and cutting health care costs have been top priorities for the Obama administration. The...

publicintegrity.org

 

[Greenbeard]

Hire Al Gore to clean it up again.

 

[bomberfox]

Getting rid of lobbying capabilities for defense contractors and learn from Israel when it comes to procurements.

 

[Simon W. Moon]

Everyone, literally everyone in our government says we have waste, fraud and abuse in our government run programs. So why can't we find a way to fix it without pissing off one side or the other? All kinds of reports done by government agencies and independent groups show there is immense fraud so what's standing in the way? The estimates range well in into the trillions that are paid out to people and groups that should not be receiving funding or for very dubious causes. It's commonly said that government thinks it's their money and it's actually our money, the taxpayer's dollars. So how do we fix it, and pay off our huge debt that has come from the excessive spending?
**I'd like to encourage serious conversation as opposed to rank and file partisan banter.

As a general approach
How would you do it where you work?

Would you find it acceptable to have folks w/o any field-specific experience int he field come in and make changes from the top down based on their understanding of what you do?​

​

Or should the insights, observations, and changes come from people who work in the field and understand the systems, goals, and processes?​

 

[Stealers Wheel]

Everyone, literally everyone in our government says we have waste, fraud and abuse in our government run programs. So why can't we find a way to fix it without pissing off one side or the other? All kinds of reports done by government agencies and independent groups show there is immense fraud so what's standing in the way? The estimates range well in into the trillions that are paid out to people and groups that should not be receiving funding or for very dubious causes. It's commonly said that government thinks it's their money and it's actually our money, the taxpayer's dollars. So how do we fix it, and pay off our huge debt that has come from the excessive spending?
**I'd like to encourage serious conversation as opposed to rank and file partisan banter.

There are several mechanisms in place to accomplish what we want.

For example, Medicaid has a whistleblower incentive. If someone blows a whistle on any of this, it is investigated. If the allegations are true, the organization, whether it is a hospital, doctor, or other healthcare provider or equipment supplier, they are heavily sanctioned and the whistleblower is handsomely rewarded. I personally know of one case where the provider was fined $3 million and the employee was given over $750k for their efforts. In another case, five whistleblowers shared $7million of a reward.

A lot of the waste comes from contracts that are incredibly wasteful. Contractors are granted to supply medical devices in excess of what is really needed. These contracts need to be rewritten to avoid this waste. It can be done if we want.

 

[Argent]

There are countries with effective and efficient governments. Study those and cherry pick what can be adapted to work here.

Change relationships with monied and powerful outside interests to diminish their influence on politicians.

Attempt to educate voters so they choose better candidates rather than engaging in knee jerk voting whenever the economy gives them frowny faces.

 

[Allan]

The federal government has reported estimated improper payments exceeding $2.7 trillion since 2003,

That adds up to 117 billion per year. How much of that did Elmo find?

 

[BabaVoss]

Everyone, literally everyone in our government says we have waste, fraud and abuse in our government run programs. So why can't we find a way to fix it without pissing off one side or the other? All kinds of reports done by government agencies and independent groups show there is immense fraud so what's standing in the way? The estimates range well in into the trillions that are paid out to people and groups that should not be receiving funding or for very dubious causes. It's commonly said that government thinks it's their money and it's actually our money, the taxpayer's dollars. So how do we fix it, and pay off our huge debt that has come from the excessive spending?
**I'd like to encourage serious conversation as opposed to rank and file partisan banter.

It takes work and real effort to improve efficiency. I doubt those stories if "immense" waste and fraud, but of course there is going to be some. That's true in any large organization.
The approach must include an ongoing effort - it should never be a one time fix. That is just a or effort.
You have to install systems and incentives for continuous improvement.

 

[Minerva]

Getting rid of lobbying capabilities for defense contractors and learn from Israel when it comes to procurements.

How does Israel do their procurements differently?

 

[What if...?]

With a scalpel.

Not a sledgehammer wielded by a blind imbecile.

 

[bomberfox]

How does Israel do their procurements differently?

The easiest being that defense industries are not allowed to lobby or give donations to politicians.

 

[What if...?]

As a general approach
How would you do it where you work?

Would you find it acceptable to have folks w/o any field-specific experience int he field come in and make changes from the top down based on their understanding of what you do?​

​

Or should the insights, observations, and changes come from people who work in the field and understand the systems, goals, and processes?​

^
This is why Unions sit on the boards of many European corporations.

Bean counters with their new Business degrees often come up with ideas that won’t actually work.

The representative of those who actually execute plans is right there to explain why it won’t work before money is wasted trying and failing.

 

[Simon W. Moon]

^
This is why Unions sit on the boards of many European corporations.

Bean counters with their new Business degrees often come up with ideas that won’t actually work.

The representative of those who actually execute plans is right there to explain why it won’t work before money is wasted trying and failing.

EVERYTHING
happens where the rubber meets the road