The latest proof that the Obama administration wants to inflict pain on the American people is the story of the White House shutting down its tours effective tomorrow. Last night on Special Report, syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer criticized the administration for going golfing with Tiger Woods, then shutting down tours of the White House:
"So I suggest that perhaps he curtailed the travel, or perhaps auction off the set of clubs and he might be able to allow those Iowa tots to come through the White House," Krauthammer added. "I'm not cynical enough – I’m trying."
This will create a backlash if it isn't already. The day that the administration talked about the pain sequestration was causing air travellers was the day it announced that the TSA had spent $50,000,000 on new uniforms for its workers.
If put to a vote of the people, they'd would pick keeping TSA agents working rather than spending $50,000,000 on uniforms. In fact, that vote wouldn't be close.
Sen. Coburn, (R-OK), has put together a series of Youtube videos titled Sequester This in which he highlights duplicative programs. In all, the General Accountability Office, aka the GAO, has identified 1,362 duplicative programs (and still counting) that spend $364.5 billion each year.
In a recent speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Coburn made this criticism:
Next one, housing assistance. We have 160 programs, separate programs. Nobody knows if they’re working. Nobody in the administration knows all the programs. I’m probably the only person in Congress that does because nobody else has looked at it. Twenty different agencies. We’re spending $170 billion. If we’re really interested in housing assistance, why would we have 20 sets of overhead, 20 sets of administration? And what would it cost to accomplish the same thing?
"We don't know if these programs are working...Why would we have 20 sets of overhead, 20 sets of administration?" That speech should become America's battle cry against the stupidity of sequestration as currently configured.
Sen. Coburn figures consolidating some of these programs while eliminating others would save taxpayers at lea.st $100,000,0000,000 annually. It isn't a stretch to think that that's a conservative figure That figure could substantially higher.
Rather than keeping White House tours for families going, this administration chose to spend money on a lavish golf outing with Tiger Woods and spending $50,000,000 on TSA uniforms.
That's how public opinion backlashes start.
Comments