View Single Post
Old 12-05-2011, 12:15 PM   #27
Warfish
JetsInsider.com Legend
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 35,000
[QUOTE=long island leprechaun;4264886]I think there's a distinction here between fraud and waste.[/quote]

Indeed, thats appropriate.

[quote]In all truth, I think government is better at exposing fraud than private industry due to transparency.[/quote]

We would disagree on the value of transparency, when that transparency is obscured via a number fo other mechanics, including obfuscation by overwhelming detail. I.e. burying it in a pile so large, no sane person will actually sift through it all to find it, and even if they do, it's one small thing in a sea of things (the "it's not really bad, it's only 500 million" defense). Generally speaking, this is Governments main defense again the taxpayer who pays the bills.

[quote]Ironically, I think government is worse in regard to waste, not because of poor ethical oversight, but because most waste in government is legislated and sanctioned. Somebody approved the payment of $600 for a toilet seat in government. It wasn't deception.[/QUOTE]

I agree that much of it is a byproduct of the way the system itself, of budgeting and spending, is designed. Use it (hence validating the need/request for it) or lose it (sinc eyou must not have needed it) for next cycle plays it's part in the much ballyhoo'ed $600 crapper.
Warfish is offline