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Loose Canons
GSA Rocks Vegas!
The federal civil service — Obama’s scandalous governing class — shows its true colors.
One of the few reasons to not mourn the death of Elvis Presley is that the General Services Administration’s event planners would probably have hired him to sing at their October 2010 “conference” at the ritzy-glitzy M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas. Instead, they had to settle for a song celebrating government waste by one of their own.
According to the April 2 report by the GSA’s Inspector General, the “conference” cost $822,751. So, for a mere $2,742 per person in taxpayers’ money, the GSA event featured essential government functions such as a $75,000 team-building session in which attendees were challenged to build a bicycle, a session with an entertainer-mind reader ($3,200), almost $150,000 in food expenses as well as paying for clothing and tuxedo rentals for GSA employees,
GSA’s Public Building Service responsible, as its name implies, for managing federal buildings held the meeting. As the IG report says, “The PBS Region 9 Commissioner/Acting Administrator [Jeffrey Neely] instructed those planning the conference to make it ‘over the top’ and to make it bigger and better than previous conferences.” His orders were followed and it was Neely who approved the expenses.
The IG report resulted in the resignation of the GSA administrator, the firing of a couple of lower-ranking people who had been in the chain of command. But not Neely. He received a $9,000 bonus, apparently for good performance over the year. He has been removed from his job but not fired. More disciplinary action, we are promised, will be forthcoming.
Much more importantly, the IG report opened the lid on the civil service sewer that has been coddled, cuddled, and embraced by the Obama administration like no administration before it. The Obama-enhanced culture of the federal civil service — not just GSA — is that federal agencies have become used to do in their role as our governing class.
According to a January Congressional Budget Office report, federal civil servants are paid better than their counterparts in the private sector. CBO found that because the bureaucrats are given huge benefits (generous retirement and healthcare among them) their total compensation averages 36 percent higher than in the private sector for those with no more than a high school education, 15 percent higher for those with a college degree, and 18 percent lower for those with post-graduate degrees.
As of September 2011, there were about 1.8 million civilians on the federal payroll. Of those, about 420,000 earn a base salary of over $100,000 and can be granted bonuses in addition to their base salaries. According to an ABC report, a federal employee is more likely to die than be fired. Eliot Ness’s “Untouchables” were more vulnerable than the average federal civil servant.
It’s not only that most of these people are overpaid and underworked. It’s that their culture of arrogant exercise of their powers has been turned loose by Obama’s agenda and the Obama administration’s leaders at the top of the bureaucracy who are directing and controlling those under them.
How else to explain “Fast and Furious,” the infamous gun-walking operation that cost the life of Border Patrolman Brian Terry? Or EPA’s decision that it had the power — not granted by law — to regulate carbon dioxide? Or the FCC’s incursions into controlling the Internet? Or rushing a loan to now-bankrupt Solyndra in pursuit of Obama’s “renewable energy” policy while permits for offshore oil and gas drilling are arbitrarily delayed and denied?
Or, for that matter, TSA’s continued abuse of travelers and their expansion of random search operations to trains and buses? Our personal freedom shrinks as they expand.
The federal bureaucracy has been turned loose, and like any group having the power to abuse its power, it does so encouraged directly and indirectly by the Obama administration.
President Obama has promised to go around Congress to govern as he sees fit throughout his term. All the good that congressional investigators such as House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darryl Issa (R-Cal) is pursuing will have little or no effect. On matters such as “Fast and Furious” subpoenas, Attorney General Holder is simply stonewalling. Issa can expect more of that, and not just on “Fast and Furious.”
Obama will protect the bureaucracy that is his willing instrument of governance, and those who infest the federal agencies as permanent employees will be carrying out his will even if a Republican replaces Obama in November.
Why? Because the bureaucrats have become used to it, and it pleases them. The more power they are granted, the more they will use and abuse it until someone stops them. Which is inordinately hard to do for one very big reason.
Every corner of the bureaucracy has a constituency on Capitol Hill with which it communicates directly regardless of the wishes of its political bosses. I saw it twenty years ago when I served in the Pentagon. A direct order to a military person begins action. One to a bureaucrat is the beginning of a debate and frequently the answer to a question comes in the form of more questions in a letter from congressional staffers asking for a justification of the question.
About the Author
Jed Babbin served as a Deputy Undersecretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush. He is the author of several bestselling books including Inside the Asylum and In the Words of Our Enemies. You can follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (85) | Leave a comment
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Pecos Pete| 4.9.12 @ 7:32AM
Defund the suckers.
Jack in Wi.| 4.9.12 @ 7:49AM
I used to do a lot of work for the GSA. The only thing I can say is it is generally totally incompetent. I never did run into any personal corruption and shakedowns. It was just bloated incompetence.
oldfart| 4.9.12 @ 8:17AM
Agreed - GSA obviously needs to reduce the 'cut' they take for selling off surplus items. They are making way too much money.
One if by land...| 4.9.12 @ 5:34PM
What a surprise, YOU worked for a gov't agency! I wish you would never comment on here again. Everything you write, even seeing your name, on here boils my blood. I can not say that if I were to run into you in person and discover who you were that I wouldn't beat you into a broken mess.
Bob K.| 4.9.12 @ 11:37AM
Forget everything here but the Las Vegas trip. Get as much publicity about that out as possible! The Republican nominee for President should feature it in his ads. Every candidate running against an incumbent Democrat should feature it in his or her ads!
State and local elected officials are being thrown out of office all over the USA for going on junkets like this. It's been happening for a while here in PA.
Die Fledermaus| 4.11.12 @ 4:38PM
HA! You think Mitt Romney would do this? Come on, he'll make it just as bad.
Republicans are cowards and totally useless when in power. Dems are pure evil.
Appleby| 4.9.12 @ 7:39AM
Fire them all. "Malfeasance in Office" is a good place to start.
Max Berresheim| 4.9.12 @ 3:23PM
I agree. I work in the Private Sector. Had I done a Youtube Video or acted in this manner....I would have been let go. The sad part is I am a Government guy that has to deal with this on a regular basis. I am glad I work for a Powerhouse Corporation...
Darin| 4.9.12 @ 7:59AM
Do not lump GSA with all civil servants, just like you can't label all military based on the actions of Specialist Bradley Manning (wikileaks) or Major Nadal Hussan (Fort Hood shooting). I know many civil servants who are dedicated, hard-working people. The routinely work long hours for no overtime and are constantly looking for ways to save the government money.
Teaghan| 4.9.12 @ 8:02AM
It's Monday, can we skip the jokes please?
Mike Hawk| 4.9.12 @ 9:37AM
They don't need overtime. They are already overpaid and have far better, paid for benefits, than anybody except the big unions. OOps, forgot. They probably belong to the gummint unions.
markenoff| 4.9.12 @ 7:39PM
NAGE. National Association of Government Employees.
I am part of an activated Army Reserve unit that trains Army Reserve units preparing to deploy overseas. Although there are many civilain employees here who try to do right by the Soldiers, for the most part you can't expect any service before 0930, after 1600 or on weekends or holidays even if you have Soldiers training those days.
Die Fledermaus| 4.11.12 @ 4:40PM
Cry me a frickin' river. You sound like someone defended bad teachers.
Until or unless the "good" federal employees (military excluded - they can handle their own) weed out the "bad" ones this crap will continue thanks to the fact they are unionized.
Fire them all and start over. The "good ones" you describe will easily get their jobs back. The rest can go to hell with no pensions and no lifetime, taxpayer funded health plans.
Sammi| 4.9.12 @ 8:23AM
Whoa. Mr. Babbin, this is more than unfair. I am no Obama fan. I am no Obama administration fan. But the GSA, its employees, and the massive number of U.S. national government employees and the whole huge logistics it takes to run them FAR, FAR, FAR PREDATE November 2008 or the inauguration that took place in January 2009.
It is wrong to lay this in the lap of the current White House occupier.
Government largesse and needless expenditures go back before Carter, Ford, and Nixon.
I think we need to ramp down the hyperbole on those over $100,000 base salary salaries. Over 420,000 such national government employees? That number really seems high. Fact check, please.
Can we truly trim and fire unnecessary government employees? Sure! But let's not use bad facts to make the case.
Jeff1000| 4.9.12 @ 8:31AM
Yet Obama promised years ago that he would change the wasteful way that government works. If a man is only as good as his word, then Obama and his administration are just lying corrupt fools.
A. Fox| 4.9.12 @ 10:14AM
You don't need to fact check salaries. I live in MD, so just look for jobs in my state in the Fed. job site (USAJobs.com) and you will see how many jobs are open for hire at the 100K level.
As to benifits...1to3 yrs of service 2wks vacation, 4to15 yrs of service 4wks vacation, over 15yrs of service 5 wks of vacation, from the time you start wk in gov't you get 13 paid sick days and 10 paid holidays. Wait I'am not finished if your dept or agency as flex time you can start when you want and finish 8 hrs. later OR work 9hrs for 8 days plus wk 8 hrs for 1 day to make your 80hrs and get your 10 day off on the pay day (pay is every two wks..26 paydays) and have a 3 day weekend off every two weeks. Show me ONE business that gives you benifits like that!
Indy| 4.9.12 @ 8:51AM
Government employees should not get bonuses. The GSA should undergo a full audit and yes, cut the budget there is obviously too much waste. No agency / department should have any national conference, most training can be held via video, exceptions can be made for FBI as an examle but for GSA, why they need a national conference is beyond me. Private companies have cut way back on travel expenses, but the Feds?
Bill| 4.9.12 @ 9:10AM
f**************all those bureaucrats.
Nick| 4.9.12 @ 9:28AM
"That nigger lover President Clinton had the pen and vetoed so many good bills passed by the Gingrich-led Congress."
- Written by Bill the Bigot, in the Time for Newt to Do the Honorable Thing thread:
http://spectator.org/archives/.....ent_749403
You're a moron and a racist, Bigot Bill.
GO AWAY!
Bill| 4.9.12 @ 11:01AM
Nick is a moron and racist, bigot NICK. GO AWAY!
Con Chef (NB) | 4.9.12 @ 11:30AM
Get lost, false flagging bigot. Go drink some anti-freeze.
Nick| 4.9.12 @ 11:45AM
Hope you had a Blessed Passover, Con Chef.
And the rest of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, too.
G-d Bless!
Boar Hunter| 4.9.12 @ 12:17PM
Whether anyone does or does not enjoy their Christian holiday will be very much in spite of you, you hypocrite.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.9.12 @ 12:23PM
BH:
Nick's always been really cool to me. What gives?
Nick:
Thanks for your Blessings, my friend. There was a LOT of latkes & matzoh ball soup & leg of lamb roast consumed yesterday. The wife & I had an Easter/Passover dinner. It was really fun.
Nick| 4.9.12 @ 2:04PM
Glad to hear it, Con Chef.
Sounds delicious.
I've got a stomach bug, so, I couldn't eat too much, I"m afraid. Thank goodness for leftovers!
Occam's Tool| 4.9.12 @ 1:24PM
Nick, you continue to be a gentleman and a nice guy. Boar, I can say nothing bad about you, because you are an ace. And Con: Simply The Best.
You three guys are among the main reasons I still comment here. 'Cause you're fun.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.9.12 @ 1:38PM
OT:
Right back at ya, Brother! How was Passover?
Nick| 4.9.12 @ 2:06PM
Thanks Occam. Ditto.
You and Con Chef are aces, in my book.
Nick| 4.9.12 @ 11:36AM
You're a LYING bigot, Bill the Bigot.
I never use those words, because I'm not a racist!
I'm Catholic, so, I don't hate anyone. But people like you make it an effort, that's for sure.
Now, GO AWAY, BIGOT!
Bill| 4.9.12 @ 12:44PM
You're a LYING bigot, NICK the Bigot.
I never use those words, because I'm not a racist!
I'm Catholic, so, I don't hate anyone. But people like you make it an effort, that's for sure.
Now, GO AWAY, BIGOT NICK!
Con Chef (NB) | 4.9.12 @ 12:57PM
Wow. So you're no longer content to call people pedophiles because you know you'll get your ass sued off, so you copy people's posts.
As if we needed any more confirmation that you're a false flag poser who smears his less than pre-school level rhetorical feces all over this site.
Bill| 4.9.12 @ 1:22PM
How many false names you got, Nick, Con Chef...............whatever.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.9.12 @ 1:39PM
Bill the Douchebag Bigot & False Flag poster.
Whatever indeed. Dumbshit.
Nick| 4.9.12 @ 1:59PM
Billy the Bigot,
"How many false names you got, Nick, Con Chef...............whatever."
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!! Wrong!
I'm from Detroit, you see. While Con Chef (NB) is from Pittsburgh.
Where are you from? Nuremberg?
Or, do you spend your time up David Duke's backside?
Now, GO AWAY, RACIST PIG!
Bill| 4.9.12 @ 2:28PM
NICK THE BIGOT!
I'm from FL.
Where are you from? Nuremberg?
Or, do you spend your time up David Duke's backside?
Now, GO AWAY, RACIST PIG!
Con Chef (NB) | 4.9.12 @ 2:42PM
More dazzling displays of intellectual acumen. Amazing.
Louis Jenkins| 4.9.12 @ 9:19AM
"It's not the president's policies you'll have to worry about so much as the people under you who are comprehensively committed to delay and obfuscation. Don't try to change the bureaucrats' minds or attitudes because you can't."
That's why the whole lot of them should be fired. Don't try to change a thing, just get rid of them. We are tired of being lorded over by these people, who make a task of making a task, or argue for the sake of argument.
Old Soldier| 4.9.12 @ 9:27AM
Government IS waste. The only way to deal with the problem is to refrom the federal civil service - starting with replacing the pension plan with 403b retirement contributions.
Then state eliminating entire Departments and Agencies. Just fire them, please. Here is a partial list to start with:
- Dept of Commerce (minus the patent office) 44,000 employees.
- Dept of Education 5,000 employees.
- Dept of Energy 16,000 employees, 90,000+ contractors.
- Dept of Health and Human Services - who knows how many employees at this point? 100k?
- Homeland Security - 216,000 employees.
- The GSA obviously - 13,000 employees.
- The Dept. of Labor - 17,500 employees
Just a start.
A. Fox| 4.9.12 @ 10:26AM
First off it's not a pension plan it's called an annuity. So let's run the numbers...when you retire OPM takes your last 3 yrs of service and averages them, then you take 1 percent of that number times total yrs of service. So, it looks like this, say you avg. 100K your last 3 yrs. times 1 percent times let's say 40 yrs. your yearly annuity would be 40K or $3,333 per month. But most workers after 30yrs retire so based on that retirement would be 30K per yr. or $2,500 per month.
John Navratil| 4.9.12 @ 10:37AM
Old Soldier,
Kill the patent office, too. "Novel, non-obvious and useful" used to be the guidline. Now we are patenting the "slide-to-unlock" gesture on the iPhone. Alexander Graham Bell beat his competitor to the patent office by minutes and was granted a monopoly. Eli Whitney spent the time his patent was in effect defending it. The use of a metering valve to precisely fill a compressed gas bottle is patented. The software patents are beyond silly.
Throw the USPTO out, as well.
Mike G| 4.9.12 @ 11:07AM
Are there really only 5000 employees in the Education Department? They must be very efficient. As a retired teacher myself, I would have thought it would take many more than that to screw up the education system as much as they have. They must get plenty of help from the state and local school boards.
Mark MacInnis| 4.9.12 @ 9:41AM
Ahem....didn't Obama promise to clean up the government, though, when he ran?
And for those who say, no need to criticize ALL government employees because of the actions of a few: It is the culture that creates the few which will eventually corrupt the many....
C. S. P. Schofield| 4.9.12 @ 9:47AM
Why does ANY organization that wants to present a sober face to the world EVER hold a convention in Las Vegas? Even if nothing really scandalous happens, the publicity cannot be good.
CC| 4.9.12 @ 10:12AM
Ah, like the beloved (by many on this site) military who hold conventions in Las Vegas? All those upstanding family men in the military who go eagerly dashing off to Vegas but who wouldn't know a thing about those strip clubs in Vegas.
Martin Griffith| 4.9.12 @ 11:43AM
I spent 22 years in the military and never attended one function in Vegas, or the State of Nevada for that matter. Check your facts CC.
Skippy| 4.10.12 @ 3:41PM
My daughter is in Branson Mo. today prior to her deployment to Afghanistan.
They call it the Vegas of the midwest, but that's as close as it gets.
Old Soldier| 4.9.12 @ 10:13AM
Las Vegas has some advatages. Except for mid-summer, the weather is nice. Flights are generally cheap and direct. Hotel rooms and training spaces can be cheap - if you care - particularly if you are willing to go off-strip.
C. S. P. Schofield| 4.9.12 @ 12:52PM
I guess I can understand that, but it comes at a price. Las Vegas may be trying to sell itself as "Family Oriented", but I doubt anybody is buying that. If you go to Vegas because it will save your organization money , it has the potential to cost you dearly in terms of Public Relations. And I would have thought that this was fairly common knowledge.
Apparently not.
Old Soldier| 4.9.12 @ 1:42PM
Big difference in a company sending people to Vegas as a reward or for training - on a budget with corporate oversight. The individuals can do as they please in their off-time as adults.
Rather than a government agency blowing hundreds of thousands in cash from taxpayers / borrowed from future generations - because they have a "use it or lose it" budget and are managed by children.
beebop2| 4.9.12 @ 7:10PM
As a former meeting planner, I can answer your question ...
1. Air fare to Vegas (fairly centrally located if you are drawing participants from all locations) is usually available at group buys at a vastly discounted rate.
2. Unless you are an incompetent negotiator, sleeping rooms are fairly inexpensive. Food costs can be negotiated easily. We normally did not have much breakfast available since employees typically had a full breakfast that was then put on expense report (has anyone checked on those yet?).
3. The amounts paid to talent are all very reasonable. If it was a good idea is another matter.
I worked in the private sector. When we spent money (and boy did we!), the costs were budgeted in our annual budget review period and our bills were ultimately paid by the consumer. Whoever managed this didn't have the experience required to do this properly ...
Von Mises Jr.| 4.9.12 @ 9:48AM
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the ruling class created nothing and detested work. Work was for the serfs and slaves, while the Lord of the Manor and the Aristocracy lived on taxes and rents paid by the laborers.
With the end of serfdom and the rise of the bourgeoisie after the Industrial Revolution, the productive and inventive people became the new 1%. At the same time this embarrassed the old regime for their incompetence and sloth. It was these displaced Nobles, Aristocracy, magistrates, educators of the old regime and their intellectuals that gave us the 99% versus the 1%. It was not the unthinking OWS dope that devised this age old conflict.
So this is what Obama, the Bushes and the Progressives (regressive actually) in both ruling establishments and the bureaucrats strive for. It is to be taken care of from taxes and rents, and to relegate the small business owners and successful businessmen back to serfdom. That was what was on display in Las Vegas.
C. S. P. Schofield| 4.9.12 @ 1:08PM
You are mixing your periods a little. Being Ruling Class aristocracy in the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods was hard and dangerous ( so were most positions in society). A lot of that was due to unending squabbling between Princes, Churchmen, etc., but often there wasn't much a particular member of the Ruling Class could do other than polish up his armor and ride to battle. His Lord probably wouldn't have listened to him, even if he had had a reasonable peace proposal.
It was in the 17th and 18th centuries that the Aristocracy turned into work shy bums. Accustomed to the wealth brought in by large tracts of land, they failed to adapt to the scientific revolution in farming (the first of several), sneered at the men who made the Industrial Revolution (Trade, my dear. We just can't POSSIBLY go into Trade!), and were generally as useful as an inflamed appendix. America kicked their first batch of Aristocrat wannabes directly in the plums in the Civil War. Britain failed to do so until after WWI, and promptly replaced them with another set, the Western Intellectuals (or Western Ineffectuals). America had in the meantime worked through at least one additional set of would-be Artistos, the Social Darwinists (We're richer then you, which proves we're better than you. Swine).
Von Mises Jr.| 4.9.12 @ 2:09PM
Being a Ruling Class aristocracy in the Middle Ages meant that you sent your knights off to fight. Working as an indentured servant or as a knight was in tribute to the ruling class. The reason the serfs accepted indentured service is that the knights would keep the barbarians at bay. They sacrificed liberty for security.
Once the Middle Ages ended, the world was not the same. You might get killed in a religious war such as the Reformation, but not likely by Genghis Khan.
You may be more informed about history than me, but I understand the economic issues and learned them from Mises and Tocqueville.
Anthony| 4.9.12 @ 10:00AM
One of the great conservative thinkers, I think it was Burke, once said something to the effect that one's efforts in using the instrumentalities of government for the benefit of the individual, leads to the same instrumentalities doing things to the people.
So, Obozo's army of 1.8M bureaucrats stand ready to stick it to us, while they laugh all the way to the bank!!
Sagger| 4.9.12 @ 10:26AM
In 9 1/2 months that army of 1.8 million bureaucrats will be headed by Mitt Romney. Will that make any difference? And this "army" was remarkably smaller during the years 2000 - 2008?
One could and should be asking the same questions in our home states. Does, for example, having a GOP governor in South Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, Indiana, Louisiana, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, and Ohio mean that these states greatly trim back their state government employee numbers?
My hunch tells me a flat and resounding "no." These states that have current Republican chief executives probably have not trimmed the government employment rolls one bit.
That's why properties are reassessed so often and property taxes go up. State licensures. Fees for driver license renewals. Increases in state sales taxes. Luxury item taxes.
Let's not be delusional. Can anyone really point to a government leader who has bulldozed through firing government employees and shutting down state government agencies? Name names. Cite years it occurred.
A. Fox| 4.9.12 @ 10:36AM
You can't because their has not be one state or local government that has. All governments at all levels are repressive. But you must remember at least half of all people are dumb, can't read or understand anything written past the 6th (maybe 8th) grade. They are not taught to think just follow the loudist mouth or the biggest bully in government service.
kw-37| 4.9.12 @ 10:38AM
"The federal civil service -- Obama's scandalous governing class"
I am growing tired of the class warfare hoopla coming from the Right. I am a Federal employee, and I am also a conservative. If you want to cut Federal pay - fine. If you want to cut Federal employee numbers - fine. But quit lumping all of us together as a wasteful group. Many of us do fine work for the American people every day.
This is beneath Conservatism, and it is exactly what the Right accuses the Left of - class warfare.
Rick V.| 4.9.12 @ 3:01PM
Thank you, KW - I'm right there with you.
The Bishop| 4.9.12 @ 10:39AM
Beware the permanent bureaucracy! As a recent retiree of a very unpopular federal agency, I can tell you that the GSA fiasco is much more the norm than the exception. The travel costs incurred by federal employees are horrendous and it's not because they are booking at Motel 6 (even if they've left the light on for them).
Just go to http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21287 and research what they are paying in lodging and meal costs anywhere in the United States and you will see that it's huge.
I was a manager within my agency for almost 15 years and, thanks to employee union coercion and agency reluctance to battle the union attorneys, could not fire anyone unless they stole something or broke the law in some other way.
No matter who is elected they will be overseeing the entrenched permanent bureaucracy (and guess which ideology that represents).
The various inspector generals find only blips that never result in permanent change.
We are perilously near being lost.
Bill| 4.9.12 @ 11:00AM
Romney's VP list:
1. Pat Toomey
Pros: PA is a swing state, former Club for Growth leader.
2. Marco Rubio
Pros: FL is a swing state, the Latino votes.
3. Mitch Daniel
Pros: a great "fiscal conservative", helped passed the "Right-to-Work" law.
4. Kelly Ayotte
Pros: a Catholic, former AG, and the women votes.
5. Chris Christie
Pros: NJ will turn red, former litigator, a fiscal hawk governor.
6. Paul Ryan
Pros: WI will turn red,a fiscal hawk legislator.
7. Bob McDonald
Pros: a fiscal and social conservative, southern heritage.
8. Pam Bondi
Pros: "photogenic" AG of FL, the women and Italian-American votes, and chief litigator on the multi-state lawsuit against Obamacare.
Cons: 46, yet Single-lady
8. Ken Cuccinalli
Pros: southern heritage, another crusader against Obamacare
Cons: he's running for VA governor in 2013
9. Jeb Bush
Pros: FL will be red, the Latino votes
Cons: Bush clone
10. Ron Johnson
Pros: WI will turn red, private sector experience, Tea Partier
Cons: WI politics depends on this summer recall election orchestrated by the union thugs
My pick: Gov. Chris Christie
Obama will be forced to campaign in a "safe" blue state, NJ, while Gov. Christie will be favorite to deliver NJ for GOP. Gov. Christie will help fix the economy and never surrender to the big-labors or bureaucrats. He vetoed the same-sex marriage bill. Recently, he traveled Israel and vowed to thwart Iran's fascist regime and its nuclear threat.
President: Mitt Romney
VP: Chris Christie
Bill| 4.9.12 @ 11:00AM
Romney's VP list:
1. Pat Toomey
Pros: PA is a swing state, former Club for Growth leader.
2. Marco Rubio
Pros: FL is a swing state, the Latino votes.
3. Mitch Daniel
Pros: a great "fiscal conservative", helped passed the "Right-to-Work" law.
4. Kelly Ayotte
Pros: a Catholic, former AG, and the women votes.
5. Chris Christie
Pros: NJ will turn red, former litigator, a fiscal hawk governor.
6. Paul Ryan
Pros: WI will turn red,a fiscal hawk legislator.
7. Bob McDonald
Pros: a fiscal and social conservative, southern heritage.
8. Pam Bondi
Pros: "photogenic" AG of FL, the women and Italian-American votes, and chief litigator on the multi-state lawsuit against Obamacare.
Cons: 46, yet Single-lady
8. Ken Cuccinalli
Pros: southern heritage, another crusader against Obamacare
Cons: he's running for VA governor in 2013
9. Jeb Bush
Pros: FL will be red, the Latino votes
Cons: Bush clone
10. Ron Johnson
Pros: WI will turn red, private sector experience, Tea Partier
Cons: WI politics depends on this summer recall election orchestrated by the union thugs
My pick: Gov. Chris Christie
Obama will be forced to campaign in a "safe" blue state, NJ, while Gov. Christie will be favorite to deliver NJ for GOP. Gov. Christie will help fix the economy and never surrender to the big-labors or bureaucrats. He vetoed the same-sex marriage bill. Recently, he traveled Israel and vowed to thwart Iran's fascist regime and its nuclear threat.
President: Mitt Romney
VP: Chris Christie
Indy| 4.9.12 @ 11:13AM
Please start your own blog so you can focus on the VeeP, why post on every thread at TAS?
Bill| 4.9.12 @ 11:26AM
I value people's opinion.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.9.12 @ 11:32AM
"That ni**er lover President Clinton had the pen and vetoed so many good bills passed by the Gingrich-led Congress."
http://spectator.org/archives/.....ent_749403
That's nice. No one values YOUR'S, Bill the Bigot. Get lost, schmuck.
Bill| 4.9.12 @ 6:02PM
Con Chef is a racist moron bigot. Go Away.
Indy| 4.9.12 @ 11:36AM
This thread is about the GSA wasting taxpayer $ not VP candidates. Again, please start your own blog and you can seek the opinion of many more than readers here. Let's stick to the topic. I'm sure TAS will have an article at some point in the near future about VP candidates, that will be the place to post your comment, not here on this article, that's all I'm saying.
Dmac | 4.9.12 @ 11:37AM
What I don't understand is why no one is in jail. Surely some law was broken. Here we are a good four years after the collapse of the economy and no one is going to jail, government can't stop spending and the same politicians keep getting re-elected.
A country of laws, isn't that what our government keeps telling us? Maybe it's a country of laws for those that are ruled and a free for all for the rulers?
Mike Hawk| 4.9.12 @ 11:53AM
Just who will prosecute them? Eric Holder's DOJ? You have to be delusional.
Martin Griffith| 4.9.12 @ 11:38AM
I take exception to this article and the way that it lumps all federal employees into one cesspool of incompetency and wastefulness. I've been a civil service employee of the Department of Defense for about four years, following a long and arduous career in the military. While I agree that there is room for improvement, I know for certain that abuses such as the Vegas blowout by the GSA are not the commonplace occurrence that you would imply. Additionally, the salary figures you outline should be accompanied by the agencies and departments that this applies to. For example; in my current organization there may be 3 out of thousands of workers who earn more than 100,000 per year. That is a far cry from the nearly 50% figure you outline in your editorial. Again, I can concede that excesses occur, but there are many who are good stewards of taxpayer funds and have no inhibitions when it comes to reporting abuse. I would classify myself and most of my peers as middle-class, but most have spent at least 20-30 years serving our country both in and out of uniform. There are good stories to tell here as well - please don't overlook them and demonize all of us just to highlight one example of abuse.
Slacker| 4.9.12 @ 12:52PM
Your post is enormously depressing.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.9.12 @ 11:38AM
The ironic thing about this story is how all we've heard from the Occupados is how evil the "One Percent" are, with their excessive spending & high living. Now, in THIS instance, we have the GOVERNMENT, an entity that MUST be paid for by taxes (as opposed to a business that people may think are "corrupt" & therefore can choose NOT to patronize) engaging in all of the Robin Leech-esque excesses of the "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous."
I don't give a crap about luxury. I like nice hotels. I like nice food. I like having a great time. If I were a polytheist, Epicurius would be my favorite god. But when a "president" starts his admin by telling PRIVATE entities NOT to have their conventions in Vegas, then turns around & does the exact same thing for the employees of his governmental leviathan, it just galls me to no end.
Hypocrisy, thy name is liberalism.
Occam's Tool| 4.9.12 @ 1:26PM
Indeed, Con. That being said, Vegas is an ick. Too much cheap cigarette smoke. I'm looking forward to hitting Ruth's Chris in Minneapolis, soon.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.9.12 @ 1:41PM
I LOVED Vegas when I went. And I don't gamble. I went to eat & drink myself into oblivion. And I can't wait to take the Ole Lady with me next time.
Jerry| 4.9.12 @ 11:42AM
Back to the Topic of government waste, etc.
I returned (Katrina evacuation) to New Orleans from Texas to work for FEMA. I quit after about 6 months as I couldn't stand for the ineffeciencies of working for the government. The managers, and those working long enouhg to become managers, mani goal is to DO NOTHING so they can stay government employees longer.
I was told Directly by a top manager Not to Go to a Parish and their meetings because they might say something 'Bad about FEMA and we don't want your feelings hurt'. I said 'Are you kidding? I'm a Vietnam Vet and a few words won't hurt my Feelings!' Answer - don't go. Ok, I quit.
This is a small example of the go slow, don't make decisions management goals of government employees - thats why we need so many. And, don't start mentioning wasteful meetings - too many and most a waste of time.
Mike Hawk| 4.9.12 @ 11:55AM
If you liked that, wait till they get put in charge of 'health care'. The answer for any inquiry will literally be 'drop dead'.
Controse| 4.9.12 @ 12:19PM
I thought what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
cicero| 4.9.12 @ 1:02PM
The last President to cut the beaurocracy was Thomas Jefferson, who cut it in half, includding the Federal judicciary. Obama, as I recall, added 40,000 federal workers in his first "stimulus" plan. As far as I know, they are all still on the job. Clinton, who was going to do away with the era of big government, cut some beurocrats fromt he payroll, but then immediately hired the same people as contract employees, doing the same thing, but for more money. The only way to cut the size of government is to do away with actual departments and programs. That presupposes that whatever they were doing will not be contracted out and continued under another name. The people have to take their country back. If they choose not to do so, they will deserve what ever they end up with.
GeoWashington| 4.9.12 @ 3:17PM
America is in decline.Our president is destroying America faster than Mugabe destroyed Zimbabwe. Our national debt is growing 12 billion dollars every day. We have no energy policy, no budget, no jobs policy, and our military is being dismantled. We don't seem to have any leadership anywhere anymore.
All this is happening because nobody seems to care anymore.
All our public leaders seem to be incompetent or unethical--this is what happens when you don't have moral leaders anymore. He seems to see himself as a Castro, or a Chavez, or a Robert Mugabe with no hindrance from a Supreme Court or rule of law. In other words, he thinks he is leading a banana republic and it will be when he's finished.
Pat| 4.9.12 @ 3:54PM
“Make it bigger and better than previous conferences” – an admonition frequently heard in the private sector as well. Corporate honchos also treat themselves, their wives, mistresses and members of the Board of Directors to an annual or semi-annual retreat. The official reason is “planning” – the real reason is getting drunk, eating lavish meals, enjoying name entertainers performing their act and some after business hours playtime in the local nightspots surrounding famous vacation resorts.
The good folks of Boise, Idaho or Tulsa, Oklahoma have a right to be proud of their communities but national conventions and corporate vacations disguised as business conferences don’t go anywhere near these cities. Various Florida locales, the Valley of the Sun, Los Angeles and everyone’s favorite, Las Vegas, on the other hand see plenty of private company retreats.
But the significant difference is private corporations soak their stockholders for these self-indulgences. The BOD members would object in the stockholders’ name if they also weren’t slugging down 15 year old scotch and watching the entertainers. Is it any surprise our government honchos believe they deserve the exact same “perks” as private sector Movers and Shakers?
Just as parents leave the kiddies at home when heading off for casino land, the private corporations leave their cubicle drones back at the office when they “reward” themselves. So, who in the GSA went to Vegas? You can bet it wasn’t some lowly GS-11. And you can also bet it wasn’t only the 1% who paid the conference bills. Us lowly middle class taxpayers paid for this blowout and all we got from this federal version of a Roman orgy was a lousy souvenir t-shirt. Is this a great country or what?
rhoetus| 4.9.12 @ 5:24PM
We are all tax-slaves feeding the Federal over-lords until we die. Repeal the 16th Amendment.
Steve Jay| 4.9.12 @ 5:59PM
It's pretty hard to change things like this once they get started. I believe that Ronald Reagan said something to effect that the closest thing to eternity on this earth is a federal program. I have listened to my confused friends, ie. liberals, complain about just this sort of thing and in the very next breath declare that the answer to our economic problems is to raise taxes on the "rich". Even after I lay out to some extent the vastness of government waste, their primary concern is still centered on raising taxes. If we can get genuine conservatives in place to make a difference I do hope that conservatives the nation over can work to support those persons.
idalily| 4.9.12 @ 11:10PM
And progressives want to put government bureaucrats in charge of our health care. Frightening, isn't it?
Ron| 4.9.12 @ 11:50PM
I work in the civil service and hope they fire every last one of the GSA employees who thought they were untouchable. It gives those of us who work hard (and understand who is paying us) a bad name.
Wren| 4.10.12 @ 12:47PM
The Atlanta based CDC (Center for Disease Control) -- taxpayer funded -- just held in March a big conference in Vegas.
Any intrepid reporters want to check that conference out for its legitimacy?
swansong| 4.17.12 @ 3:08AM
$75,000 for the Bike building seminar. This was a feel good exercise. Supposedly they made 24 bicycles for poor kids. That would be over $3,000 a bike.
My grandson chose as his Eagle Scout project, re-habbing used bicycles to give to the children of farm workers in a little town near San Jose.
He and 3 other boys, also working for their Eagle collected donated (free) bicycles. They amassed 46 bikes in all. My son, a Scout leader bought all the parts and paint and supervised the repair. When the bicycles were finished, the bikes looked brand new - new tires, reflector lights, speedometers,new saddles - everything. Then my son rented a big U-Haul and filled the big U-Haul tank with gas and took the bicycles down to the children. Another Scouting group already had a fiesta in progress waiting for Santa's Boy Scout helpers to arrive with the bikes.
This is how charity can operate, left alone. My son would not even itemize the money he spent on financing the project by declaring it on his income tax as charity.Charity to him is something you do without recompense. Reward is seeing his second son awarded his Eagle.
The GSA is typical of how government operates - the chicken thief mentality from the White Huse down.