Government is the problem

Barton Hinkle has an excellent opinion piece in yesterday's Richmond Times Dispatch (July 1st) regarding how improper and unconstitutional it is for government to seize OPM and do many of the things it does.

During this July 4th week, it is an excellent read.

I certainly agree with W. William, especially on this point: "There is only one answer to why we enjoy these goodies today and not yesteryear. It's the growth in human knowledge, ingenuity along with specialization and trade... coupled with personal liberty and private property rights."

Sadly we are losing some of what allowed us to prosper and rise to greatness, namely "personal liberty and private property rights." Especially the former with each measure our Executive Branch of Government takes to "make us safer."

I also agree with Parker regarding the government's penchant for taking our money and (in my opinion) spending it irresponsibly. I wrote an opinion piece for the Daily Press which I think is somewhat relevant, so I'll reproduce it here. The title is from the Government Report cited.

"The Costs to the Taxpayer Are Enormous."

Do you personally know anyone who prefers to spend significantly more money than necessary for a product or service?

If you had the option of choosing a contractor to do a job for you, would you choose from among several that could do it to your specifications for around $1,000.00 or the one who could do an inferior job and charge you $7,390.00?

Why am I asking you these seemingly inane questions? Because I want you to read a report submitted to the Government Reform Committee (oversight.house.gov/documents /20060727092939-29369.pdf)
which examined contracting at the Department of Homeland Security.

I have frequently heard or read accusations of cronyism. This report supports them. "The DHS IG [Department of Homeland Security Inspector General] also found that DHS contracting officers do not receive sufficient training in ethics." He "raised concerns" about "the 'close relationship' between procurement officials and the private sector…."

The public was told that the Department of Homeland Security was created to increase the effectiveness of several Federal agencies and advance our safety following the September 11th attacks. According to information in this report it has done neither.

Many citizens in the United States pay about a third of their income in taxes. That means a great many of us work four months out of every year to benefit someone else.

A list at the end of the report shows who's benefited from the Department of Homeland Security.

And we're not on it.

Charles

P.S. Have a safe July 4th.
-C