iPods, lingerie and Uncle Sam
Your tax dollars hard at work. From the Washington Post:
Federal employees used government credit cards to pay for lingerie, gambling, iPods, Internet dating services, and a $13,000 steak-and-liquor dinner, according to a new audit from the Government Accountability Office, which found widespread abuses in a purchasing program meant to improve bureaucratic efficiency.
The study, released by Senate lawmakers yesterday, found that nearly half the "purchase card" transactions it examined were improper, either because they were not authorized correctly or because they did not meet requirements for the cards' use. The overall rate of problems "is unacceptably high," the audit found.
The GAO also found that agencies could not account for nearly $2 million worth of items identified in the audit ...
But wait, it gets better! The lingerie and other undergarments, totaling $360, went to jungle-training exercises in Ecuador. (Who wants to bet it was leopard-print?) And the iPods, all $800 bucks' worth, were purchased by a NASA supervisor who -- and I stress, this is true -- had his name engraved on each of them. Obviously there are more egregious cases in the GAO study, but these are the most fun ones.
Granted, this is but a drop in the budgetary bucket, and as Lurita Doan of the General Services administration (which issues the purchase cards) told the New York Times, the current card system saves about $1.8 billion in admin costs each year.
Still, this kind of makes me want to become a rabid libertarian. Or a government employee.
I would like to point out that Apple engraves iPods without charge. Having your name and agency engraved would be a way to help prevent it from getting switched with another identical iPod.
I do not know the details of this case, but they are a robust and convenient way to store data and can be used to present slide-shows when attached to a projector at a conference.
This case could be legitimate, the gambling, dating, etc., cannot be.
Posted by: Jason | April 09, 2008 at 07:55 PM
All I can say is that they better have those employee's pay back all that money they spend.
Posted by: Frank | April 10, 2008 at 11:34 AM
I have a problem, not only with the people who misused the credit cards but with those who are supposed to be administering the consequences. The Washington Post article said this problem was reported in 2002. That was six years ago! The offenses continued in 2005 and 2006.
The article also said the OMB would appreciate help from Congress in disciplining federal employees who have misused their cards. Why do they need help? These people have stolen taxpayers' money. They should be fired, prosecuted, and required to pay restitution. We need a special law for this?????
Posted by: Trish | April 12, 2008 at 12:01 PM