"THAT'S MY MONEY!" The IRS and Citizen Skim

[George Gardner Jr]

While questioning IRS heads about the more than $50,000 wasted on lavish IRS conventions and sub-par video productions, ranking Congressional Member Elijah Cummings took Faris Fink to task in response to Mr. Fink’s meager apology. Fink incidently, played the role of Mr. Spock in the most notable IRS ‘Star Trek’ parody.

Cummings, a Democrat, uncharacteristically locked arms with the Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. “I live in a block where most people don’t even make $50,000 a year,” exclaimed Cummings , “and yet we can still produce a video that has no redeeming value? None? And spend taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars for that? … And so, I say we can do better.”

Cummings didn’t stop there, however.”But guess what? The money that was spent on that, that’s my money! That’s the lady who got the early bus this morning, that’s her money. The one who makes $35,000 [per year], her. The gentleman up the street from me who makes $45,000 [per year] hauling trash, that’s his money.”

Although Cummings’ words were refreshing, and even a tinge inspiring, his statement on the whole begs the question ‘What about the rest? What about all the other tax dollars, my money and yours, being wasted? Ridiculously irresponsible and wasteful spending is not exclusive to the IRS. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) releases an annual Government “waste list”. Only a small sampling of the most recent waste update totals more than $18 billion in ‘discretionary’ waste . Here are just a few examples;

-$1 million on a fruit fly sexual attractiveness study. -$1.3 million for old fashioned x-rays of prisoners. -$1.5 million on designing a video game controller. -$100,000 on taxpayer funded comedy group tour in India. -$547,430 on a dancing robot that connects to an iPhone. -$25,000 funding a course about “How to be happy”. -$145,000 on a sculpture garden. -$25,000 on an Alabama Watermelon Queen tour. -$697,177 on a climate change musical. -$10,000 on talking urinal cakes. -$35 million on an old fashioned trolly car. -$150,000 for a toy exhibit. -$320,000 for robot squirrels. -$1.4 billion in improper food stamps purchases which included alcohol, condoms, junk food and diapers. That’s OUR Money!

What about that money? The list goes on. In fact, the complete NRCC ‘Waste List’ totals more than $57 BILLION in useless, repetitive and utterly wasteful spending, OUR money. Every single penny has been earned upon the backs of hard working Americans, only to be skimmed by an irresponsible government with an uncontrollable addiction to knee-jerk spending in response to the most irrelevant issues of special interest groups and pointless pet projects.

OUR money, used to finance the governmental desire for shiny and useless things while the nation continues to suffer under the effects of a recession that this same government tells us has passed. Strange bedfellows…

While I do appreciate Mr. Cummings’ sentiment, and more particularly the brief and pointed manner in which it was delivered, I must admit a bit of confusion. Why does a Democrat, who by virtue of Party affiliation as well as voting record, suddenly concern himself with the concept of responsible spending? Could it be that the gentleman from Maryland’s 7th Congressional district is upset that those specific monies weren’t utilized in the effort to further con Americans about the ‘blessings’ of an excruciatingly complicated and costly ‘Affordable Healthcare Plan’ better known as Obamcare? Or perhaps Mr. Cummings would have preferred those resources were tossed into the problematic and statistically ineffective ‘Head Start’ program for early childhood education. I tend to believe that, similar to those who still find some reason to support this administration, Elijah Cummings never really grasped the fact that every dime taken in and tossed away through the cumbersome federal budgeting process is OUR money.

The Good News…?

There is good news. Along with the various scandals plaguing the IRS,  comes the revelation to countless Americans that every decision, every act and every debate and their effects is not exclusive to politicians or party affiliates. The effects of every dime spent by our government are not felt merely by politicians or political groups in search of funding for certain projects. But that we, the people, are directly impacted. While we punch clocks and do the heavy lifting day in and day out, the often meagar wage for which we toil is spent by groups and/or individuals we’ve never met, or in many cases, heard of, on things that have little to no effect upon our lives other than the added discomfort and challenge to those lives.

For every lampshade upon the head of an IRS party-goer, WE enjoy one less well deserved night out with an equally exausted spouse. For every new batch of Food Stamps printed, WE delete various items from our own nightly meal plan. For every dollar spent on making health care more ‘affordable’, WE spend additional time scrutinizing our own Medical policies in search of any benefit we deem simply unaffordable despite its necessity.

Yes, I’m sure that’s it. The realization that others are blowing through our personal resources at a pace well beyond our ability to earn must be the point to all of this. Perhaps Americans will take a moment to embrace the fact that this is OUR MONEY, and our lives, and our country, and perhaps they will join us in demanding to have it all back