Where should reform begin?

Where should reform begin? (Full Version)

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tazzygirl -> Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 2:11:53 PM)
Since my efforts on another thread were not desired, I shall post it here. I believe reform has to start with financial audits. No one has any idea how much waste is going on in the various departments of our government. The largest ones, Medicaid, Medicare, Welfare, SS, IRS, Defense, Education and Transportation quickly come to mind. The best way I can see to audit is with forensic auditors. While I realize most of these types of audits are for lawsuits, who would be better suited to actually audit these agencies? The negative aspect would be two fold.. potential disruption of these systems while the audits are conducted.. and the price tag. Are they worth it? In my opinion, yes. Any other thoughts?

DomKen -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 2:16:42 PM)
Those organizations are audited all the time. You can find a lot of audits at he GAO website. http://www.gao.gov/ Google can find you more done both internally and externally.

tazzygirl -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 2:17:52 PM)
Can we trust the government to do their own audits? I certainly dont.

DomKen -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 2:19:34 PM)
GAO is as independent as they come. It is under Congress not the Executive branch for starters. Also many of the audits it performs are done by private accountants.

tazzygirl -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 2:44:54 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: DomKen GAO is as independent as they come. It is under Congress not the Executive branch for starters. Also many of the audits it performs are done by private accountants. I peeked at your age. Do you recall the year they did the christmas tree for the government, with 640 dollar toilet seat? Those were the prices they were paying under government contracts. Ronald Reagan flipped his lid... and demanded Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger.get to the bottom of it. Instead, he defended the prices. Which is why Weinberger had a toilet seat around his neck any time the Washington post published a pic of him. [image]local://upfiles/502828/120C8C13A35C4E85BFD515B84BECEB53.jpg[/image] Considering the GAO got its start in 1921, I really have trouble trusting them. 640 for a toilet seat, 7500 for a coffee machine... over 400 for a claw hammer....

juliaoceania -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:05:00 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: tazzygirl Can we trust the government to do their own audits? I certainly dont. I do, the GAO has very little pull over what we actually do about our audits, they are basically a bunch of guys who wear pocket protectors, and are really good at math. It was probably due to the GAO that we even knew about those wastes.... did you think knowledge of them just fell out of the sky? The GAO tabulates, the branches of government use this information as they see fit. Good reporters get data from them, and this is why an independent press is so important, because without an independent press we do not know jack squat about reports generated by the GAO

juliaoceania -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:08:14 PM)
About GAO The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. The head of GAO, the Comptroller General of the United States, is appointed to a 15-year term by the President from a slate of candidates Congress proposes. Gene L. Dodaro became Acting Comptroller General of the United States on March 13, 2008, succeeding David M. Walker, who appointed him upon resigning. Gene L. Dodaro became Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on December 22, 2010, when he was confirmed by the United States Senate. He was nominated by President Obama in September of 2010 and had been serving as Acting Comptroller General since March of 2008. http://www.gao.gov/about/ Peer Review Every 3 years, independent organizations perform a peer review of GAO’s system of quality control for work done under generally accepted government auditing standards to determine whether it is suitably designed and operating effectively. The peer review includes a review of audit documentation, tests of functional areas, and staff interviews. The peer reviewers brief the Executive Committee, management, and staff members. An international team from supreme audit institutions performs the peer review of performance audits. An international certified public accounting firm conducts the peer review of financial audit engagements. http://www.gao.gov/about/review.html

willbeurdaddy -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:16:17 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: tazzygirl quote: ORIGINAL: DomKen GAO is as independent as they come. It is under Congress not the Executive branch for starters. Also many of the audits it performs are done by private accountants. I peeked at your age. Do you recall the year they did the christmas tree for the government, with 640 dollar toilet seat? Those were the prices they were paying under government contracts. Ronald Reagan flipped his lid... and demanded Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger.get to the bottom of it. Instead, he defended the prices. Which is why Weinberger had a toilet seat around his neck any time the Washington post published a pic of him. [image]local://upfiles/502828/120C8C13A35C4E85BFD515B84BECEB53.jpg[/image] Considering the GAO got its start in 1921, I really have trouble trusting them. 640 for a toilet seat, 7500 for a coffee machine... over 400 for a claw hammer.... And the prices were clearly defendable, if you understand how government contracts get costed. Furthermore, the GAO doesnt audit defense contracts. Thats done by the DCAA and the DLA., the agencies that write and approve the contracts in the first palce.

Fellow -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:25:26 PM)
Reform should start with establishing a well-armed Reform Party.

hlen5 -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:26:06 PM)
Tazzy, I think auditing is a great idea, but doesn't that just ensure x dollars went to YZ fund? We need to comb through YZ fund to see what fat is there.

juliaoceania -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:26:47 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Fellow Reform should start with establishing a well-armed Reform Party. I think it should start by reforming the party system, period... publicly funded campaigns would be nice

Hippiekinkster -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:33:24 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: juliaoceania quote: ORIGINAL: Fellow Reform should start with establishing a well-armed Reform Party. I think it should start by reforming the party system, period... publicly funded campaigns would be nice Exactly. And since our elected sycophants will never reform themselves, we the People need to force the issue with a Constitutional amendment.

MrRodgers -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:35:24 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: DomKen Those organizations are audited all the time. You can find a lot of audits at he GAO website. http://www.gao.gov/ Google can find you more done both internally and externally. Well the real audits that need be done...will never be done. The Defense dept., CIA, the federal reserve. WR Grace, the founder of WR Grace Chemical headed something called...The Grace Commission. This was way back in the 80's when Reagan commissioned them to find waste, fraud & abuse...we could save billions. Grace was on the old PBS program Firing Line with the late B. Buckley Jr. and said neither the Pentagon or the CIA would even let them into the building.

willbeurdaddy -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:36:22 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Hippiekinkster quote: ORIGINAL: juliaoceania quote: ORIGINAL: Fellow Reform should start with establishing a well-armed Reform Party. I think it should start by reforming the party system, period... publicly funded campaigns would be nice Exactly. And since our elected sycophants will never reform themselves, we the People need to force the issue with a Constitutional amendment. Just a reminder that it was Obama who broke the pledge to accept public funding and the limits that went with it. Arguably he would not have been elected without the extra money.

Real0ne -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:37:10 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: DomKen Those organizations are audited all the time. You can find a lot of audits at he GAO website. http://www.gao.gov/ Google can find you more done both internally and externally. where is the federal reserve, the un, the imf the bank of england, how about switzerland, after all financial is global. I dont even see the federal reserve in there ken, maybe you can help me find it?

Real0ne -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:38:23 PM)
hackers and backdoor action is expensive

juliaoceania -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:47:13 PM)
quote: Just a reminder that it was Obama who broke the pledge to accept public funding and the limits that went with it. Arguably he would not have been elected without the extra money. And this is meaningful how? Like it is a real threat that we might have a real public servant and not someone who is just a continuation of Bush?

tazzygirl -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:52:40 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Fellow Reform should start with establishing a well-armed Reform Party. We get a Reform party... who is to say it wont be filled with those who dont like the other two, but want to line their own pockets?

tazzygirl -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:53:41 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: hlen5 Tazzy, I think auditing is a great idea, but doesn't that just ensure x dollars went to YZ fund? We need to comb through YZ fund to see what fat is there. Thats why i suggested a forsensics audit... it does comb through to see where money went.

MrRodgers -> RE: Where should reform begin? (5/20/2011 3:55:06 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy quote: ORIGINAL: Hippiekinkster quote: ORIGINAL: juliaoceania quote: ORIGINAL: Fellow Reform should start with establishing a well-armed Reform Party. I think it should start by reforming the party system, period... publicly funded campaigns would be nice Exactly. And since our elected sycophants will never reform themselves, we the People need to force the issue with a Constitutional amendment. Just a reminder that it was Obama who broke the pledge to accept public funding and the limits that went with it. Arguably he would not have been elected without the extra money. ...and nobody had any right to expect him not to accept any money he could. The right loves to ask the left why they don't fall on their own swords...to make any protest. Funny, if it wasn't so ridiculous.

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