Government is Never Frugal, Efficient or Responsible with money
One of the primary reasons we conservatives oppose the expansion of government services is the propensity to incur excessive charges, reckless waste and every kind of fraud. It is a problem of epic proportions. You can be certain that anytime government is involved, it will be needlessly expensive – and the larger and more distant the government is from the taxpayers, the worse the problem will be.
But no matter. Democrats and the left-wing establishment will always proffer for an endless expansion of government – especially at the federal level. Historically, Democrats have been the party of big … as in colossal … government. While Republicans have too often been fellow travelers, they do show a greater devotion to fiscal responsibility.
The problem goes back to President Roosevelt’s New Deal – which was proliferating federal government agencies and programs like free-range rabbits. Consequently, the United States has a federal government that is simply not sustainable – and we have large annual budget deficits and a humongous National Debt to prove it. Unfortunately, the tendency to assume more power and greater cost is not limited to the federal government. States and municipalities play the same game. Consequently, the American taxpayer is increasingly burdened with unsupervised costs, waste and fraud.
Government Efficiency.
The big government devotees often argue that government is more efficient because there is no need to produce a profit. BUT (ß a very big but), government is shown time and time again to incur costs far exceeding the private sector. The proverbial $600 toilet seat is symbolic of the problem – and the problem is greater and more damaging than ever. “Government efficiency” is an oxymoron.
If you need an example of the comparative efficiency between government and the private sector, look at NASA and SpaceX. NASA, once the pinnacle of American achievement, became a bloated bureaucracy plagued by delays and cost overruns. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s company developed reusable rockets at a fraction of the cost and with far greater reliability. It is Musk, not NASA, who has been sending astronauts into space – and even rescuing them.
Quite simply put, government cannot – by its very nature – operate as responsibly or efficiently as the private sector … period. That is not a theory. It is an established fact. And the evidence is not hidden in dusty archives. It is in the headlines every week. The only reason governments can be so fiscally irresponsible is because they can force taxpayers to fill the coffers … or borrow from foreign nations.
Here are a few recent examples of government’s inability to serve as a custodian of the public treasury.
Minnesota’s Mega‑Fraud
Consider the ongoing Minnesota scandal, which federal prosecutors have described as “industrial-scale fraud” in Medicaid and related social service programs. Investigators estimate that as much as half of the $18 billion billed by fourteen high‑risk Medicaid programs since 2018 may be fraudulent. That is not a rounding error.
That is not a few bad actors. That is a systemic failure of oversight, accountability and basic competence. The fraud was so easy, according to prosecutors, that criminals from other states traveled to Minnesota specifically to cash in on what they saw as “easy money. When a state becomes a destination for fraud tourism, something is profoundly broken.
And it is not just Medicaid. Minnesota has also been rocked by a massive food‑aid scandal in which more than ninety people have been charged with stealing hundreds of millions of dollars intended to feed children. Federal officials have warned that Minnesota’s financial management is so lacking that Uncle Sam may cut off the state’s federal Medicaid funding unless it cleans up its act.
Massachusetts SNAP scam
Then there is Massachusetts, where two Boston convenience store owners were charged with orchestrating a $7 million scheme to traffic Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Their tiny storefront – described by investigators as “effectively a closet with shelves and a register” – somehow processed up to half a million dollars in SNAP redemptions per month. It had gone on for years — undetected by the bureaucrats who are supposedly safeguarding taxpayer dollars. These are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a government that has grown too large, too distant and too insulated from the consequences of its own incompetence.
According to official data, Medicare and Medicaid fraud costs taxpayers more than $146 billion annually. Fraudsters bill for services never provided, perform unnecessary tests, or simply invent patients out of thin air. The programs are so sprawling that even the government admits it cannot accurately measure the full extent of improper payments. Many claim that the actual figure is many times the $146 billion.
Workman’s Comp
Workman’s compensation programs are no better. The U.S. Postal Service’s Inspector General has documented case after case of employees claiming debilitating injuries while secretly working other jobs or engaging in physical activities that would make an Olympic gymnast blush. By way of example, man exaggerated his injuries so dramatically that he was ordered to repay more than $130,000 in fraudulent claims. A postal worker claimed she could barely walk yet was caught on video performing athletic feats that would make a personal trainer sweat. These cases are exceptional in that they are among the very few who get caught.
Social Security
Even Social Security – the sacred cow of American politics – is riddled with fraud. A former Social Security Administration employee in Texas pleaded guilty to stealing the identities of deceased men and using them to file fraudulent survivor benefit claims — siphoning off millions of dollars. In Minnesota (again), a woman impersonated her dead mother for twenty‑five years to collect more than $360,000 in benefits. These are not victimless crimes. They drain funds from programs that millions of Americans rely upon.
And yet, every time conservatives call for reform, the left accuses them of cruelty, heartlessness or wanting to “throw grandma off a cliff.” The truth is that conservatives want these programs to function properly, efficiently and honestly. What we oppose is the blind expansion of government without proper supervision and accountability.
Our Founders Would Be Appalled
America’s Founders understood the dangers of centralized power. That is why the Tenth Amendment explicitly limits the federal government to the powers enumerated in the Constitution. Everything else is reserved to the states or the people. But Washington has spent the last century ignoring that part of the Constitution, expanding its reach into every corner of American life. The result is a federal bureaucracy so bloated that no one can control it, much less oversee it.
The lesson is clear: the larger government becomes, the more waste, fraud and abuse it produces. Bureaucracies do not shrink themselves. They do not police themselves. They do not innovate. They expand, consume and demand more resources. And the taxpayer is left holding the bill.
The Founders did not intend government to run every aspect of American life. They designed a limited republic, with power dispersed and checked. They believed – correctly – that the private sector, civil society and local communities were better suited to solve most problems. They feared the very leviathan that Washington has become.
If America is to remain prosperous and free, it must return to those principles. It must rein in federal power, restore state authority and demand accountability from every government agency. It must recognize that every dollar wasted on fraud is a dollar stolen from hardworking citizens.
The evidence is overwhelming. Fraud is undeniable. The waste is catastrophic. And the solution is the same one the Founders gave us more than two centuries ago — limited government, local control and a healthy skepticism of centralized power. There is only one way to prevent a future economic catastrophe – and that is to significantly reduce the size and cost of government before it is too late.
So, there ‘tis.
So exactly what is your point Larry? Do you believe that these programs should simply be cut because there are problems with them? As someone who looks at the entire picture, I believe that perhaps the government should fund people to look at these programs, find the fraudsters, and thus reclaim the money which has been taken. Instead, we see the republicans continually cutting funding for such activities. One department (which you shockingly did not mention) where there is massive fraud is the IRS. Rather than hiring people to go after those defrauding the government what do the republicans do but cut the IRS budget so there are fewer agents to police the tax cheats. And you think that musk does a better job in space than NASA? Since the end of the moon visits in the 70’s NASA has been chronically underfunded, it is not the fact that government can’t do it, they can. Musk has truly proven very little-there is a huge difference between sending ships to the space station (which has been done repeatedly in the 27 years since the space station has been in orbit-long before Musk’s name was spoken) and going to the moon, landing and bringing astronauts back. Of course there is the bigger area where private enterprise consistently fails vs governments, which is healthcare. Our healthcare is fine if you can afford to pay for it, but dealing with insurance companies is a nightmare if you don’t have mountains of cash and have a serious ailment. Bottom line-just more bullshit from a chronic idiot who never looks beyond what he hears and reads in conservative media….
You sir, are a Knucklehead!! Yes, you Mike!!
Mike,
Your calling Larry a Chronic Idiot proves you prefer name calling rather than proof and that proves you cannot support your beliefs. Notice I didn’t say “Facts”. It’s obvious that you are a Democrat because only a Democrat says we should “EXPAND” to control spending and cut waste. Maybe we should just get rid of Democrat politicians who abuse the very laws they pass. NASA stopped being relevant after the Moon landing by their own choice. They went from Lets Do Ite to Cant Be Done overnight. Look at the string of cost overruns on the shuttle program and the incompetency that resulted in Astronauts dying. Up until the day Musk demonstrated reusable rockets NASA was still saying it cant be done. BTW wasn’t it a DEMOCRAT President that cut NASA’s budget to plow it into more useless welfare programs to buy votes.
BTW please feel free to name call me. I personally don’t care, and it would just prove how right I am.
Namer, Calling Larry an idiot is not name calling, it is a statement of fact. I did not disagree with Larry’s instances of government excesses, what I did call out was that he (and Republicans in general) are not looking for solutions to problems here (or at least not solutions that work). You are welcome to disagree, but private enterprise is not the solution in my opinion. I pointed out that our Medical System (which is basically controlled by private enterprise, ie the insurers) is basically broken when compared to other first world countries. I also pointed out that the Republican plan of cutting IRS funding so that they have fewer agents to go after rich tax cheats was certainly not a wise move. I pointed out that the Musk organization which is tasked with developing out space exploration has been awarded billions of dollars, but to date most of their accomplishments have been based on what had already been done by NASA, sending rockets to the space station. So, yes, I have refuted what Larry implies with his article, and I suggest that you read my comments closer before you decide to bad mouth me. And, though it shouldn’t be necessary to point out, the deficit has only gone down recently during Democrat administrations (Clinton, Obama, Biden) compared to Bush and Trump, so maybe the Democrats actually do know what they are doing in fiscal matters compared to Republicans….
MF: while I agree with you in spirit, think you are misstating a couple of things. First, Democrats did not bring the debt down, they lowered the rate of the deficit increase. You can say they lowered the deficit, but bleeding is bleeding. They only decreased that rate. A start, but even Biden only made three years and blew it in the fourth in his quest to retain power.
Our healthcare industry is broken far beyond insurers who are not the only bad guy in this. Specialists are another egregious outage. Sure, everyone needs health insurance, a lot of money floating about, but they my 2-6% profit margin, pretty tight. Frankly, I remember the days before they took a lead and prices were awful. Then they became our 800lb gorillas getting us most favored prices.
It’s a totally broken market top to bottom and I use pricing to prove it. I’m doing taxes, so it’s easy. The list price is $850; medicare pays $200, my private insurance pays $40. IOW — discount is 72%. And that’s low. In any other market, we would arrest them from price fixing. But without medicare and insurance, I’m paying $850. Instead I pay premiums and not much else. Against $850, good deal. Here’s the real rub: the uninsured pay $850 which is actually paid by my medicare/insurance payments that are jacked up to cover the uninsured. That’s totally broken.
I’m with Bernie: Medicare for all, let the government argue the prices. We use tax dollars to get our 80% coverage for what medicare says they cover, they set the bar for basic coverage, we can buy insurance to cover the other 20%, things that medicare does not cover, optional things like plastic surgery, to keep the industry alive for awhile and basic healthcare becomes a right, not a privilege. As George Washington intended when he gave free vaccines to our folks in service of making us a country.
Then we can go after the specialists who price gauge the living heck ouyt of us. But no, insurance companies are not the sole problem here which starts with pricing IMO.
Frank, I haven’t had time to look at WB post lately, but my comments were focused on the word ‘deficit’ rather than ‘debt’. Obviously, unless we have a surplus, the debt goes up.
MF: I hear ya, this is a numbers time of year for me as I close out 2025, set my plan for 2026, EOY charities, and taxes, taxes, taxes. Just hit the post when my eyes glaze over from the screen. This year not too many programs so planning easier. But on a mission from God to drop one bracket in taxes, Trump’s targeted attack on deductions hard to overcome.
Yes, deficit, not debt was your focus; I tried to convey, in deficit, lowering the rate of increase is a good start but does not end the deficit and a smaller increase is still an increase. Think Reagan was the first to coin that concept, didn’t solve anything then, does not now. Just a good start.
Happy New Years, and Happy Insurrection Day, belatedly.
There is fraud in government, however Larry’s anecdotes are not statistically valid. Also, I can match each of them in the private sector, easily. Historically there’s the Tulip Mania in the 1600’s. South Seas bubble of the 1700’s. Today, can you say Enron? Nestle baby formula? Remember Bernie Madoff? How about those Volkswagon tailpipes? Theranos in Slicon Valley. Mt Gox Crpto Exchange Heist. FTX collapse, another crypto scam. In recent times alone, we are talking billions in fraud. Enron alone was a 63B bankruptcy on top of $45B in shareholder dollars and $2B in pension funds.
Come on old man, find a new tune.
His real goal is that Larry wants to move everything and anything to the private sector based on urban myths and anecdotes. Or stop doing the things government does altogether. Yes, there is fraud, Elon Musk just “larried” us with his myths, all of which did not prove any fraud except Musk lying to us from the git go as Trump wasted our tax payer dollars.
Give it a rest, old man, with your old rerun ideas.
His anecdotes seem right, but his main infrastructure cases are wrong as follows:
Social Security: USDA’s paymentaccuracy.gov says: “only 0.3 percent of Social Security benefits are improper payments, which are typically caused by mistakes or delays.”
Workman’s Comp; From PBS: ‘In the summer of 2000, an independent team of experts — J. Paul Leigh, Ph.D., Steven Markowitz, M.D., Marianne Fahs, Ph.D., M.P.H., and Philip Landrigan, M.D. — published a book titled, “Costs of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.” In it, they estimated the national price tag for fraudulent claims to be 1.2 billion dollars, roughly one-fourth of the insurance industry estimate. Conceding that $1.2 billion is still a lot of money, the Leigh team put it into perspective by explaining that it was only about two-percent of all workers’ compensation dollars spent in their sample year of 1992. Whether the true fraud rate is less than one-percent or as high as two-percent, it is hardly “quite common.”
Yes, the numbers on fraud are big, but so are the programs, thus the percentage of fraud is often minimal. Still needs to be rooted out, but Larry wants to toss the baby out with the bathwater for 2 or 3 percent.
He states: “Government is Never Frugal, Efficient or Responsible with money.” This is a bold lie. Do anyone really believe that government has never done a single thing that’s either frugal, efficient, or responsible with money? Not one thing? That’s what he said: never. Trump also, never frugal, efficient or responsible with money? Never? Even Reagan?
Just keep baying at the moon with your generalities not grounded in facts.
I don’t even have to go far to find a counter example: Obama’s energy program, even with the Solyndra failure, turned a profit and ignited alternative energy industry in America. A profit for EVERY DOLLAR we invested. PROFIT. That’s just amazing. It also made alternative energy an industry that survives today, and under Biden’s guidance thrived so much that even Trump, using all the power he has to shut it down: CAN’T.
I am sorry, but Larry’s old school thinking from the 60’s and 70’s does not fly against the facts of 2025. He says: Democrats and the left-wing establishment will always proffer for an endless expansion of government.” The truth is that, under Trump 1.0, the total number of full-time, civilian federal employees grew by an average of 0.9% per year between December 2016 and December 2020. In comparison this growth rate was higher than the average annual increase of 0.3% during the second term of the Obama administration. Given the additional $17B he’s pumping into ICE, it will grow in his second term too.
Historically, and Larry is history, federal employment numbers peaked at 3.4 million in 1990 under Reagan/Bush management and the most recent low was in March 2014, with 2.7 million under Obama’s management.
Come on man, give us a break.
Larry and I agree we spend too much, have too much debt and need to fix it. I have said it took The Greatest Generation 35 years to pay down WWII until the Republican Fountainhead, Reagan began the trend the other way. Both parties, not Larry’s personal demons, the Democrats, participate. More Democratic administrations have addressed than Republican on both the cost and revenue sides of the ledger. BUT — unlike Larry’s blaming us, I say only WE can solve this together. And it will take decades.
And Larry’s concept to either shut it down, or, worse yet, privatize the whole shebang is foolhardy. The New Deal had issues but was a Good Deal saving millions from tragedy. Larry wants to save the unliving while killing the living. Cuts like USAID are just cruel for a nation that can afford more.
Instead of bitching and moaning about the whole thing as wrong and it’s one side’s fault and somehow the private sector is always better, let’s work together to make it better for all. Yes, we need ROI for each and every program. We need to expose waste, fraud, etc. We do not need to throw the baby out with the bath water, and Larry, government does some things right and is the appropriate place to do them.
And the founder’s differed on government in these aspects too, just as we do today.