July 01, 2004

More? Do a better job with what you have!
Posted by McQ

Bird Dog over at Tacitus points out the result of Al Gore's tax initiative to "bridge the digital divide" and bring internet access to the "disadvantaged":

So we have $12 billion down the tubes, higher costs of doing business, and little or no benefit to the common good.

Why is that a surprise? It shouldn't be. 'Tis the nature of the beast.

Yet we have Hillary and Kerry both screaming about rolling back tax cuts when it is clear the problem isn't lack of money but instead waste of money. Its a constant problem with government that no one really addresses.

Hillary bluntly promises "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

But as Bird Dog points out, they can't even account for the money they've spent for "the common good" (whatever that is) with the $12 billion, with a 'b', in this one little program.

Result:

What has that money bought? A rudderless program riddled with fraud and waste.

The e-rate tax is aimed at providing schools and libraries with Internet access. The program, championed by Al Gore when he was vice president, was supposed to help schools allow low-income students to close the "digital divide" and gain new social and economic opportunities. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) began raising questions about it during a hearing on the program six years ago. Since then, its problems have become more apparent. The e-rate fund has distributed $12 billion over six years, and estimates place the amount wasted in the billions. Because of lack of oversight, it's impossible to know the extent of the losses.

No oversight ... they don't even know how much was wasted or lost through fraud. No idea? No clue.

Do we deserve better than this? I should hope so.

Incredible ...

Imagine, if you can, the result if you ran a business like the government is running that program: you'd a) be out of business and b) in jail.

However, in the face of this sort of waste and fraud, the politicians, still holler for more ... and we meekly roll over and give it to them with barely a wimper.

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Comments

What got me is that this is just one program, $12 billion spent and billions unaccounted for. How many other programs are there like this one? In comments section at Tacitus, Irving had some good links to cagw.org. This could be a good conservative campaign platform if Bush will take it.

Posted by: Bird Dog at July 1, 2004 09:26 AM

The best one is how Kerry and Democrats complain about underfunding education, and this week we learn that the states are not even spending the money they are given!

Posted by: Mark at July 1, 2004 10:35 AM

This is why I never vote for increases in education spending (or most spending in general). I ask just three questions:

1. What are you doing with the money we're giving you now?

2. How is more money going to solve this problem, and how will we be able to measure its success?

3. How much is enough? Don't just say, "more," give me a dollar figure so we can start negotiating.

Until those three questions are answered, I refuse to aid and abet them picking my pocket. I really pissed off a teacher in California once by asking her those questions in response to her claim that we don't spend enough on education. (I might add that this same teacher was teaching mathematics, and didn't know the difference between a mean and a median...so perhaps the problem isn't lack of money, but rather lack of knowledge.)

Posted by: Steverino at July 1, 2004 08:15 PM