Survey Reveals Overlapping Gov’t Programs Cost Taxpayers Billions

Something the government can cut to save money.


Survey Reveals Overlapping Gov’t Programs Cost Taxpayers Billions - Financial News for the Best Bank Rates | Go Banking Rates

A new U.S. government survey revealed taxpayers are footing the bill for hundreds of programs that in some way overlap each other. The massive study conducted by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) has resulted in the recommendation that many of these programs become the target of federal spending cuts to save taxpayers money.
Numerous Overlapping Programs

The GAO discovered that the U.S. government currently has hundreds of programs in existence that overlap each other. While all of the programs have their benefits, the study found the many are so similar they’re wasting money. An example of the overlapping includes:

* 15 agencies overseeing food-safety laws
* 20+ programs to help the homeless
* 80 programs dedicated to economic development
* 82 programs to improve teacher quality
* 80 programs to help disadvantage people with transportation
* 47 programs for job training and employment
* 56 programs to help people understand finances

While the GAO didn’t place a specific price tag on the amount of spending that was overlapping, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who pushed for the report, said reducing the duplicative spending could free up anywhere from $100 billion and $200 billion in tax dollars.
Suggestions from the GAO

In the study, the GAO made suggestions about how the government could effectively save money for taxpayers while putting a dent in the federal deficit. Some of those suggestions include:

* Create a single food-safety agency: To eliminate some redundancy, the GAO suggests creating a single food-safety agency. For instance, right now the Food and Drug Administration makes sure that chicken eggs are “safe, wholesome, and properly labeled” while the Department of Agriculture “is responsible for the safety of eggs processed into egg products.” Consolidating these efforts could save a lot of money.
* Cut surface transportation programs: The GAO found that five divisions within the Department of Transportation account for 100 different programs that fund surface transportation projects highways, railways and safety issues that could be consolidated.
* Reduce redundant teacher programs: The report identified over 80 programs spread across 10 federal agencies, 53 of which are small, receiving $50 million or less with dedication to similar goals.
* Combine economic development programs: The GAO found that 60 percent of the over 100 programs dedicated to economic development issues fund only one or two activities, making them “the most likely to overlap because many of them can only fund the same limited types of activities.”

If I had my way, there would be a bill on the floor today to get rid of these overlapping programs. I don't have a philosophical problem with social spending, but lets not be silly about it and do the basic management tasks required.

Absolutely, cut redundancies. Just return top tax rates to pre-Reagan levels first so we actually know what needs to be cut vs. what is simply being starved of funds by Republicans.

I wouldn't call organizations with similar goals to be automatically "overlapping." Overlapping would be when both actually perform the same task for the same people.

Of course, there surely is a ton of streamlining we can do with government at all levels. I hope it gets done.

Also, is jamesrage suggesting we should roll a bunch of smaller programs into a larger, single, central federal body?

So, big, complex and convoluted bureacracies are bad, afterall?