$700,000.00 - for a single 10-foot wheelchair ramp

[Ferret]

Your uber-efficient, honest government at work.  $700,000 for ONE 10-foot wheelchair ramp, in good ol' San Francisco "Supervisor's Office".  There are no persons requiring it, and I'm SURE there weren't any payoffs, favors, or kickbacks involved.

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/29/BA7I1KMRO0.DTL

 

I have nothing at all against handicapped access.... but I could have done this MYSELF for a mere $100,000 (with a $90,000 net profit) - and $600,000 could have gone to feed homeless people & starving children,  pay for several life-saving surgeries for needy people.... or pay off some of California's ticking-time-bomb debt!

 

Sorry for the rant, but this kind of stupid, corrupt, wasteful shit makes me want to PUKE..... no wonder our country is on the skids.  THIS is one of the reasons I want Federalism, like the Constitution requires.  I HATE the fact that my tax dollars (food from my family's mouth & from my kids' college fund)  will likely be forcefully taken from me by the Federal Gov't - bail out these fucked up, arrogant, self-serving, corrupted shit-heads - when California's ticking debt-bomb finally explodes.   

 

GRRRRRRRR!!!   @$&^$%*#&$%!!!!!!

[PimpedOutPete]

Lol do u need a time out Ferret? I agree, wasteful and probably been done for years.

[Ferret]

PimpedOutPete

Lol do u need a time out Ferret? I agree, wasteful and probably been done for years.

 

I don't need a "time out", I need to put more time *IN*.  This kind of shit is what has bankrupted the country & destroyed our credit & credibility.   

 

And the REAL problem is, no one gets mad ENOUGH about it.  I refuse to just sit by & quietly accept it & watch this garbage happen over & over & over - without saying or doing anything about it.

 

[Blackbart]

Ferret, You really don't realize just how entrenched wasteful spending is in our government system...As a former Government worker I have seen it first hand...What really pisses me off when the blowhards talk about cutting spending they don't talk about the root cause of the overspending...By bringing each compartment of every department inline to cut waste they could save 30-40% of what is being spent right now...The way the system is set up right now every department is rewarded with more money every new fiscal year by spending more than was necessary for the previous fiscal year...

[hxtr]

that is crazy.. Was it made of gold?

 

and they wonder why we are in the shape we are in.

[NickTheGrip]

If you want to puke, here is a list of 50 fraudulent or mis-spent Tax Dollar situations for you. Hell it even makes me want to throw up

I especially like #7

 

Seriously - people should be in jail for this type of stuff. If this was you or me doing this on "main street" we would be "cellies" as Hxtr calls them

 

1. The federal governmentmade at least $72 billion in improper payments in 2008.
2. Washingtonspends $92 billion on corporate welfare (excluding TARP) versus $71 billion on homeland security.
3. Washingtonspends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federalproperties.
4. Government auditors spent the past five yearsexamining all federal programs and found that 22 percent of them–costingtaxpayers a total of $123 billion annually–fail to show any positive impact onthe populations they serve.
5. The Congressional Budget Office published a“Budget Options” series identifying more than $100 billion in potential spending cuts.
6. Examples from multiple GovernmentAccountability Office (GAO) reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economicdevelopment programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs servingat-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs fundinginternational education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72safe water programs.
7. Washingtonwill spend $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink moreresponsibly on the job.
8. A GAO audit classified nearly half of all purchases ongovernment credit cards as improper, fraudulent, or embezzled. Examples oftaxpayer-funded purchases include gambling, mortgage payments, liquor,lingerie, iPods, Xboxes, jewelry, Internet dating services, and Hawaiianvacations. In one extraordinary example, the Postal Service spent $13,500 onone dinner at a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, including “over 200 appetizers andover $3,000 of alcohol, including more than 40 bottles of wine costing morethan $50 each and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere and JohnnyWalker Gold.” The 81 guests consumed an average of $167 worth of food and drinkapiece.
9. Federal agencies are delinquent on nearly 20 percent of employee travel charge cards, costingtaxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
10. The Securities and Exchange Commission spent $3.9 million rearranging desks and offices at its Washington, D.C.,headquarters.
11. The Pentagon recently spent $998,798 shipping two 19-cent washers from South Carolina to Texasand $293,451 sending an 89-cent washer from South Carolinato Florida.
12. Over half of all farm subsidies go tocommercial farms, which report average household incomes of $200,000.
13. Health care fraud is estimated to costtaxpayers more than $60 billion annually.
14. A GAO audit found that 95 Pentagon weaponssystems suffered from a combined $295 billion in cost overruns.
15. The refusal of many federal employees to flycoach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades.
16. Washingtonwill spend $126 million in 2009 to enhance the Kennedy family legacy inMassachusetts.Additionally, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) diverted $20 million from the 2010 defense budget to subsidize a newEdward M. Kennedy Institute.
17. Federal investigators have launched more than 20 criminal fraudinvestigations related to the TARP financial bailout.
18. Despite trillion-dollar deficits, last year’s10,160 earmarks included $200,000 for a tattoo removal program in MissionHills, California; $190,000 for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody,Wyoming; and $75,000 for the Totally Teen Zone in Albany, Georgia.
19. The federal government owns more than 50,000 vacant homes.
20. The Federal Communications Commission spent $350,000 to sponsor NASCAR driver David Gilliland.
21. Members of Congress have spent hundreds of thousands oftaxpayer dollars supplying their offices with popcorn machines,plasma televisions, DVD equipment, ionic air fresheners, camcorders, andsignature machines–plus $24,730 leasing a Lexus, $1,434 on a digital camera,and $84,000 on personalized calendars.
22. More than $13 billion in Iraq aid has been classified aswasted or stolen. Another $7.8 billion cannot be accounted for.
23. Fraud related to Hurricane Katrina spending isestimated to top $2 billion.In addition, debit cards provided to hurricane victims were used to pay for Caribbean vacations, NFL tickets, Dom Perignon champagne, “Girls Gone Wild” videos, and at least one sex change operation.
24. Auditors discovered that 900,000 of the 2.5 million recipients of emergencyKatrina assistance provided false names, addresses, or Social Security numbersor submitted multiple applications.
25. Congress recently gave Alaska Airlines$500,000 to paint a Chinook salmon on a Boeing 737.
26. The Transportation Department will subsidizeup to $2,000 per flight for direct flights between Washington, D.C.,and the small hometown of Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY)–but only on Mondaymornings and Friday evenings, when lawmakers, staff, and lobbyists usually fly.Rogers is amember of the Appropriations Committee, which writes the TransportationDepartment’s budget.
27. Washingtonhas spent $3 billion re-sanding beaches–even as this new sand washesback into the ocean.
28. A Department of Agriculture report concedesthat much of the $2.5 billion in “stimulus” funding for broadband Internetwill be wasted.
29. The Defense Department wasted $100 million on unused flight tickets and never bothered tocollect refunds even though the tickets were refundable.
30. Washingtonspends $60,000 per hour shooting Air Force One photo-ops infront of national landmarks.
31. Over one recent 18-month period, Air Force andNavy personnel used government-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400 on admission to entertainment events, $48,250on gambling, $69,300 on cruises, and$73,950 on exotic dance clubs and prostitutes.
32. Members of Congress are set to pay themselves$90 million to increase their franked mailings for the 2010 election year.
33. Congress has ignored efficiencyrecommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services that wouldsave $9 billion annually.
34. Taxpayers are funding paintings ofhigh-ranking government officials at a cost of up to $50,000 apiece.
35. The state of Washington sent $1 food stamp checks to250,000 households in order to raise state caseload figures and trigger $43 million in additional federal funds.
36. Suburban families are receiving large farm subsidies for the grass in their backyards–subsidies thatmany of these families never requested and do not want.
37. Congress appropriated $20 million for “commemoration of success” celebrationsrelated to Iraq and Afghanistan.
38. Homeland Security employee purchases include 63-inch plasma TVs, iPods, and $230 fora beer brewing kit.
39. Two drafting errors in the 2005 DeficitReduction Act resulted in a $2 billion taxpayer cost.
40. North Ridgeville, Ohio,received $800,000 in “stimulus” funds for a project that itsmayor described as “a long way from the top priority.”
41. The National Institutes of Health spends $1.3million per month to rent a lab that it cannot use.
42. Congress recently spent $2.4 billion on 10 new jets that the Pentagon insists itdoes not need and will not use.
43. Lawmakers diverted $13 million from Hurricane Katrina relief spending to builda museum celebrating the Army Corps of Engineers–the agency partiallyresponsible for the failed levees that flooded New Orleans.
44. Medicare officials recently mailed $50 million in erroneous refunds to 230,000 Medicarerecipients.
45. Audits showed $34 billion worth of Department of Homeland Securitycontracts contained significant waste, fraud, and abuse.
46. Washingtonrecently spent $1.8 million to help build a private golf course in Atlanta, Georgia.
47. The Advanced Technology Program spends $150 million annually subsidizing private businesses; 40percent of this funding goes to Fortune 500 companies.
48. Congressional investigators were able toreceive $55,000 in federal student loan funding for a fictionalcollege they created to test the Department of Education.
49. The Conservation Reserve program pays farmers $2 billion annually not to farm their land.
50. The Commerce Department has lost 1,137 computers since 2001, many containing Americans’ personaldata.

[TBB]

I would say I'm gonna be sick but I am - quick fix - Rugger for pres - the rest of us for Congress/Senate

[Noears711XI]

Shit I need a Government contract like that. Dam I am in the wrong business

[Bushape]

I know exactly what you guys are talking about. It is a bunch of shit and nobody will ever do a damn thing about it. Our government really sucks when it comes to managing thier money (our money).

I built my wife a wheelchair ramp that was 29' long for about $200. With 1 1/8" plywood for the decking. Sturdy motherfucker. You could drive on it. SHit I should of had a government contract, would of been over $2 million. The state said that they would of done it and paid for it but only from a licensed contractor, which I was for 20 years but went out of business when I became disabled.

 

[PimpedOutPete]

My wife is amazing at doing the books.. I could loan her out for several Million!  *lol*  and she is a US citizen as well..

[Ferret]

NickTheGrip

If you want to puke, here is a list of 50 fraudulent or mis-spent Tax Dollar situations for you. Hell it even makes me want to throw up

I especially like #7

 

Seriously - people should be in jail for this type of stuff. If this was you or me doing this on "main street" we would be "cellies" as Hxtr calls them

 

1. The federal government made at least $72 billion in improper payments in 2008.

2. Washington spends $92 billion on corporate welfare (excluding TARP) versus $71 billion on homeland security.

3. Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties.

 

Many of those I have seen, many I have not.  Kinda wish I hadn't.   Again, GRRRRRRRRRRRR.

 

I really don't mind gov't spending as long as it is justifiable & HONEST.  This is just a case of politicians paying bureaucrats to approve & over-pay for the hiring the politician's buddies to do the work, who in turn make campaign contributions back to the politicians, and so on & so on.

 

Just think how many wheelchair ramps they could have put in with that $700,000 - had they been even REMOTELY honest or efficient about it.  There are hundreds of thousands of unemployed construction workers that could have (like Bushape) made EXCELLENT, long-lasting wheelchair ramps for several hundred locations.... where they are actually NEEDED - instead of just ONE.

 

But NO, these lyin, grinning horse's asses had to bribe each other & keep their own over-blown budgets inflated, so that the rich get richer & the poor go without.  "Public servants" my ass.

 

THIS is why I want smaller gov't.  The less money & less power..... THE LESS CORRUPTION.  Period.

 

If they had found a church, a small business, or honorable civic group - gave THEM $700,000 to put in as many wheelchair ramps as they could around the city - they could have had hundreds or even THOUSANDS made.  And where they are actually NEEDED.  Sickening.

[PimpedOutPete]

They are all crooks...from the federal/state/county level...They all excepted the cash without question... Its like Reaganomics (Trickle down effect).. but with a-holes... *lol*