If they need ideas about where else to look, they can consult Martin Gross, author of a series of books about the "government racket" (that's one of his titles actually). It may interest the Post to learn that there are 70 different programs in 13 different federal agencies addressing the problem of teen drug abuse. There are 160 different job-training programs, 50 homeless assistance programs, 27 programs to avert teen pregnancy, and 90 programs on early childhood development. According to a recent Government Accountability Office report, "at least 12 federal departments and agencies were responsible for hundreds of community development programs that assist distressed urban communities and their residents. Historically, there is but little coordination among the agencies, posing an unnecessary burden on communities seeking assistance." To say nothing of the taxpayers.
Nor do federal departments and agencies even know where all of the money goes. In "National Suicide," Gross recounts, "In one recent year, the federal government could not account for $24.5 billion it spent. Buried in the Treasury Department's 'Unreconciled Transactions Affecting the Change in Net Position,' is the fact that the enormous sum is unreconciled -- that is, it is missing."
This is rich: The GAO also found that "The IRS could not verify $3 billion of its expenses" as the agency "had not kept its own books and records with the same degree of accuracy it expects from taxpayers."
Medicare fraud alone accounts for an estimated $60 billion annually, according to the Wall Street Journal. A Philadelphia cardiologist convicted of defrauding the program to the tune of half a million dollars explained to a Senate committee, "The problem is that nobody is watching. The system is extremely easy to evade. The forms I sent in were absolutely outrageous."
It doesn't surprise conservatives to find waste, duplication, and gross overspending in the military and in the security agencies of government. We know that this is inevitable in government programs. As Milton Friedman said, "No one washes a rented car." It's not at all clear that the Post understands the larger lesson.