Tag Archives: Government programs

40 Billion

BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from TheFeeheryTheory.com

Teach a man to fish. That’s the biblical admonition.

The Food Stamp program doesn’t do much of that, and that’s probably why we need to rethink our whole social safety net.

House Republicans voted to pass legislation that would save taxpayers about 40 billion dollars of spending on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.

That’s a big number, and I’m pretty certain that it won’t become law. Continue reading →

Duck Sex and Essential Government (Part II)

BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON

When last we commiserated about the sex life of ducks, we questioned why taxpayers were being billed (billed—ducks—get it?) for million-dollar National Science Foundation (NSF) research into the corkscrew-like genital appendage on the female duck that deters the unwanted advances of the male.

The study, now in its eighth year, is just one of hundreds of taxpayer-funded projects that presumably hold the promise of scientific discovery and the eventual benefit to society worth the investment. And maybe that will turn out to be the case.

Though science projects are a budgetary breeding ground of questionable spending priorities and outright waste, there are others much worse.

Remember the Las Vegas retreat for General Service Administration employees? How about the Internal Revenue Service spending $49 million on conferences? Continue reading →

Healthcare Stats You Can Use

BY FRANK HILL
Reprinted from Telemachus.com

  1. 1% of the US population, about 3.1 million people, use 35% of all healthcare expenditures each year. The specific people in this number change each year due to death or recovery.
  2. 5% of the US population, about 15.5 million people, use 60% of all healthcare expenditures each year. The specific people in this number change each year due to death or recovery.
  3. Many, if not a majority of these people are in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
  4. Healthcare now consumes 18% of GNP. It is expected to consume 20% of GDP by 2021.
  5. Chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and strokes account for most of our expenditures.
  6. Anywhere from 35%-50% of all healthcare expenditures can be attributable to these four conditions. Continue reading →