How the Government Wastes Your Money

By Jeff Neff

Today, let's look into how the government works -- or doesn't. Having spent over six years working for the government, I've seen how wasteful and greatly unproductive the government really is. We can talk all day about the great things our federal, state, or dare I say local governments have been doing for us with our own dollars, but I want to share some things with you that go to show how wasteful our government really is as compared to privately owned businesses.

Now understand that the majority of government employees are ordinary people who aren't necessarily wasteful people themselves, but the way the system is set up invites the abuse of tax dollars.

A big difference between privately run businesses and government organizations is the actual management of money. When a restaurant owner finds that his employee has been stealing small amounts of food over a period of time, he corrects that employee. Or sometimes the owner may allow his employees to take home a few extra pies or meals for free. Either way, if the employee steals the food or if the food is given to him; the owner takes a financial loss. This doesn’t have to apply to the food industry only. Companies who do allow freebies usually limit how much is handed out, and do it sparingly.

Any company with a payroll must deal with managing their employees' schedules and a great deal of time goes into avoiding paying out too much overtime. Of course it is sometimes needed, but private businesses would rather limit its use. Doing it this way leads to saving money and the better use of employees' time.

Between "freebies" and overtime pay, private companies tend to get the most out of their money. What about the government? This may apply to any level of government, but in my federal experience over the last six years, freebies are handed out like candy.

While restaurants adjust for how much food they buy and sell, they always try to minimize how much food is actually thrown away, while the government only increases its size and production of materials.

For a government entity, money saved is money wasted. If they do not deplete their budget, their budget is decreased the following year. This is not a myth or a joke. Money allotted for a specific purpose must be spent to ensure future funding. In a certain place I used to work at, money that was saved in my department throughout the fiscal year was given to all employees as a bonus for Christmas, only after management vehemently searched for ways to use the majority of it for useless purchases.

We had unnecessary office renovations. We got new vehicles, printers and computers to replace ones which were already in perfect condition. Ever heard of a government surplus auction?

This explains the amount of overtime given or mandated to government employees, since the money seems to just appear out of nowhere. Supervisors don't worry about budgeting when all they are concerned with is spending as much money as they can.

This is why new taxes appear and why existing taxes are increased.

What kind of savings can we make in our local government? That’s a question our local officials need to ask themselves when they oversee budgets. Does the city really need new vehicles, computers, or other "replacements" for its departments? Ordinary citizens like us can bring wasteful spending like this to their attention by attending council meetings, writing a letter to the editor, or simply by voting out the wasteful spenders.

Instead of finding new ways to spend money, we need to start saving money first.

Jeff Neff