$285 BILLION in waste and fraud by the Pentagon over three years-- where is the outrage?

[spooked911]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/us/politics/20data.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

"A Pentagon study in January found that it had paid $285 billion in three years to more than 120 contractors accused of fraud or wrongdoing."

That's real money, folks.

When the deficit hawks have cut AT LEAST $100 billion from the pentagon budget, MAYBE THEN they can look at other government spending-- other spending that tends to HELP people instead of blowing people up.

Until then, they need a healthy dose of STFU.

[midnight]

1. I know that DOJ doesn't like fraud of medicare, but this might be alright...

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[mdmc]

3. no heat fo' da poor

[Poboy]

4. This point needs to be pounded on and rec'd to the moon.

[rucky]

5. I fail to see how those cuts will help...

destroy the underclass.

[spooked911]

10. Right--

how silly of me to forget that.

[somone]

6. They just write it off as bonuses to the MIC

[polichick]

8. Absolutely! Just like Halliburton, who moved to Dubai...

...so that U.S. taxpayers could never get the money back.

[WCGreen]

7. that could pay for most of the social program funding for three years...

[Raster]

9. Where is the outrage indeed! I remember when Rumsferatu* announced that ...

...an audit had found that $2.3 TRILLION, yes TRILLION, could not be accounted for by the Pentagon. Where was the outrage then? Well, 9/11 happened. And all the outrage just quietly disappeared.

[snappyturtle]

11. No money to the Pentagon....let tptb there go to the contractors

who were paid although accused a fraud or wrongdoing. Those contractors may be found in the top percentage of U.S. income 'earners' who are enjoying tax cuts and other benefits bestowed on their royal highnesses. imho

[Enthusiast]

12. The outrage?

The outrage is expressed by anti-labor Teabagger governors.

[Poboy]

13. .

[chill_wind]

14. K&R.

http://nationalpriorities.org/en/resources/federal-budget-101/budget-briefs/federal-discretionary-and-mandatory-spending/

[Poboy]

34. good pie graph

[chill_wind]

36. A couple more for the general bookmarks:

Website:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending

[Poboy]

39. Thank you!

[former9thward]

15. Social Security is not the 'third rail' of American politics.

The Pentagon is. NEITHER party is willing to touch it.

[area51]

31. +1

All that waste right in front of them; two wars of choice, multiple bases we don't need. Stop the wars of choice, bring home the soldiers, offer them jobs in repairing the crumbling infrastructure and training in the medical professions since we have a nurse shortage and a GP doctor shortage.

[Rex]

16. The crime here folks is that all that money could have been used

to pay for universal healthcare or a works program to get people working again OR any of number of things we so desperately need in America - the rebuilding of our crumbling infrastructure, more money toward the BP mess and cleanup, more money to economically disadavantaged children in high risk areas...and so on.

Yet, no one will 'pay' for this mistake and Congress will not try to fix the problem. Siagh.

[Poboy]

17. .

[Taitertots]

18. The government is using the military to steal trillions of dollars

While the ignorant masses are whining about the Fed and the bailouts (loans).

[SDuderstadt]

19. The government is...

stealing money from itself?

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Curmudgeoness]

20. And this is just the tip of the Pentagon waste. Yes, waste.

We don't even have to talk about spending that will keep our country safer, we just have to look at money they just lose or waste.

I throw this in to every discussion I have about federal budget problems. This is where some big money savings will come from.

[spooked911]

21. This $285 billion came from a study from Bernie Sanders earlier this month

http://www.vermontbiz.com/news/february/sanders-report-exposes-285-billion-pentagon-contractor-fraud

"The Pentagon awarded $285 billion in three years to companies that defrauded it, according to a report produced at the request of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The study has generated editorials and columns in newspapers and magazines around the county."

But I sure never heard of this before today. Better late than never...

[avaistheone1]

22. Billions? TRILLIONS of dollars at the Pentagon are completely unaccounted.

K&R

[underseasurveyor]

29. +1 Thats what I'm talkn about.

Trillions of dollars are...... where?
:mad:

[walldude]

38. Yup... 2 trillion.. MISSING.

Missing. But we need to save money by cutting social programs.

[progressoid]

24. But look how safe it has kept us from the Brown people and the Commies and the Muslins.

:scared:

[SaveAmerica]

49. Messicans, Muslins, and Commies

Oh my!

[seeviewonder]

25. K & R

Thanks!

[slipslidingaway]

26. knr nt

[upi402]

27. Oh come on, TV News never even mentioned that!

So it must not be true. If it were true, I'd have been told to think it by now!
:sarcasm: :banghead: :grr:
There's been outrage here for a very long time.

[Hannah Bell]

28. that's nearly 1/8 of the social security trust fund. in 3 years.

[chill_wind]

35. Wish somebody would make a visual comparison chart of THAT

so more people could get these concepts bored into their brains and living consciousness.

[Initech]

30. Those people who are against government spending need this beaten over their heads daily.

This is wasteful government spending. We're spending billions finding a war we're not winning based on fraud and lies. Where is the outrage from our elected officials?

[Poboy]

32. .

[Blue_Tires]

33. wait...we're not allowed to bring those kinds of topics up, EVER

:sarcasm:

[walldude]

37. 285 billion? That's nothing... they are missing 2 trillion

Yeah missing. 2 Trillion dollars is unaccounted for at the Pentagon. I've screamed about this for years. No one gives a shit, it was spent "fighting for our freedom".

[chill_wind]

40. 2.3 trillion. That alone was about $8000 for every man, woman and child in America

at the time it was reported. The things we've forgotten so soon!

Missing. Just f*#king MISSING. Suck it up America.

Defense Department Cannot Account For 25% Of Funds — $2.3 Trillion
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/29/eveningnews/main325985.shtml


**************

Thanks for reminding of that, which puts the obscene amount of fraud and waste into even far greater perspective. And that wasn't the end of it.

2005
Audit: U.S. lost track of $9 billion in Iraq funds
http://articles.cnn.com/2005-01-30/world/iraq.audit_1_iraq-reconstruction-stuart-w-bowen-iraqi-money?_s=PM:WORLD

2006
The Case of the Missing $21 Billion{/b}
http://baltimorechronicle.com/2006/060806Lindorff.shtml


2007
How the US sent $12bn in cash to Iraq. And watched it vanish
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/feb/08/usa.iraq1

2010
US 'fails to account' for Iraq reconstruction billions
Billions have gone to rebuild Iraq but much of the money is impossible to trace, says a US audit

A US federal watchdog has criticised the US military for failing to account properly for billions of dollars it received to help rebuild Iraq.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10774002

And whatever the case in this latest instance (just reported today Feb 21): the Iraqis have again a new problem.

$40 billion 'missing' from Iraq accounts (DFI money).

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidANA20110221T121159ZSSH64

[Poboy]

41. great post!

[SDuderstadt]

42. You DO realize the $2.3 T was not...

"missing", right? The Pentagon had a myriad of accounting systems which were not coordinated with each other.

No one is saying that is not problematic, but it's just plain false to claim $2.3 T was ever "missing".

[walldude]

43. Sorry.. unaccounted for.

Not missing.

You actually believe that there is a 2.3 trillion dollar accounting error?





Really?






:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[SDuderstadt]

44. Most, if not all of it...

has been reconciled. Do you deny that?

I never said it was an accounting error. I said it had to do with the complexity and non-standardization of Pentagon accounting systems and processes.

Of course, it's a lot easier to engage in conspiracy theories, because many people just swallow them uncritically.

[Bigmack]

45. Me: "Sorry Mr. IRS...

the money I was going to pay you somehow got messed up in my accounting. It's not missing. Soon as I find it, I'll get back to you."

I'm not picking on you, SDuderstadt, I just think the double-standard is glaring.

[SDuderstadt]

46. Instead of jumping to conclusions...

why not educate yourself as to the actual FACTS?

Start here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20050106103834/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2002/n04032002_200204033.html

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002hxm

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bigmack]

52. Dunno why you're pissed...

I was just making light of the fact that their books are fucked up. If they get better.. good.

It's just that I can't do the same with IRS without being penalized.

Missing money? How about missing gear? 200,000 weapons in Iraq...
http://articles.cnn.com/2007-08-06/world/iraq.weapons_1_iraqi-soldiers-and-police-iraqi-units-body-armor?_s=PM:WORLD

Nuke parts...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-kall/pentagon-over-1000-nuclea_b_108225.html

Big stuff...http://www.al-moharer.net/moh191/alternet191.htm

I remember a supply guy in our outfit stole a jeep and sent it home in parts.

[SDuderstadt]

53. I merely suggested you check out the actual facts..

dude.

[walldude]

56. ROFLMAO... the first sentence in your second link says:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The military's money managers last year made almost $7 trillion in adjustments to their financial ledgers in an attempt to make them add up, the Pentagon's inspector general said in a report released Friday.

So they cooked the books and still couldn't come up with the missing money and you use that to defend the Pentagon... :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Nice try.

[chill_wind]

48. And they did :-) ("get back to us")

AccountingWEB.com

Adjustments Made to Pentagon Books
Posted by AccountingWEB in on 03/06/2000 - 10:40

How's this for creative accounting? According to the Pentagon inspector general, money managers in charge of the Pentagon's books made almost $7 trillion in adjustments last year so figures would balance.

And the news gets worse ... lost receipts account for $2.3 trillion of the total, and about $3.5 trillion were corrections made to mistakes in prior adjustments, which represent a Defense Department accountant's attempt to correct a discrepancy.

All is safe, however, with our defense; Lisa Jacobson of the General Accounting Office (GAO), says that the lack of proper accounting does not make the Pentagon less efficient. What it does, though, is inhibit the Pentagon's ability to make sound business decisions.

http://www.accountingweb.com/item/13678

They're talking about the AP article.

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002hxm

[Mojeoux]

47. That's what I just asked last night!!

And the money lost to idiotic bribes in Iraq and Afghanistan isn't even in this estimate.


I read in a thread last night by a California business woman who said her construction worker employees were content and that Construction Unions threaten her.

She pays $15 an hr and says that the $40 an hour the Union guys get would put her out of business.

Then she talked about how pissed off she was at lazy government workers.

I don't get it.

[SaveAmerica]

50. Hey there, Spooked! I want to "like" this thread of yours, shall I start a new 1 asking for examples

of fraud, waste, and abuse?

I have a couple that my husband told me from his deployment to Iraq.

[chill_wind]

54. I really hope people read the entire article linked in the OP

from beginning to end and what it's about. It really is just fekking unreal!

[Poboy]

55. .