"For years, I have argued that the idea of balancing the budget by eliminating government "waste, fraud, and abuse" was a canard. In 2020, I wrote that "there really isn't that much waste, fraud, and abuse in the system." In 2024, when President-Elect Trump announced the creation of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, I said that the phrase was a meme with no real substance to it."
"The first example of government waste is the luxury airplane that appears to have helped end Kristi Noem's tenure as homeland-security secretary. NBC News first reported last month on the Boeing 737 that the Department of Homeland Security had leased and requested to buy for $70 million, along with two Gulfstream jets purchased for a reported $200 million. The 737 features "a bedroom with a queen bed, showers, a kitchen, four large flat-screen TVs and even a bar.""
A writer reconsiders previous arguments dismissing government waste, fraud, and abuse as negligible problems. For years, the writer maintained that eliminating such waste was unrealistic because it was uncommon and easily preventable. Recent examples have prompted reconsideration of this position. The Department of Homeland Security leased and sought to purchase luxury aircraft, including a Boeing 737 with bedroom, showers, kitchen, and bar amenities, for approximately $70 million, plus two Gulfstream jets for $200 million. These purchases were justified for deportation operations, despite government typically chartering standard flights for such purposes. This case contributed to Kristi Noem's removal as homeland-security secretary and represents concrete evidence of substantial government spending inefficiency.
Read at The Atlantic
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