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Is the government too big to manage?

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    Mark Hannah and Thomas Basile discuss the scope of government bloat

  • Duration 6:05
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This kind of horrific it is but why is anybody really surprised when you think about government size the scope of government fraud waste and abuse that we hear about all the time.

And GSA and you've you've done some work in Washington you GSA is sort of like the agency that everybody forgets.

And we talk about cabinet agencies all the time but GSA controls all the federal -- all of the federal infrastructure.

And there's there's an enormous amount of of -- -- and abuse and all these agencies I've worked.

At the state level at this that the -- at the federal level and at the local level.

And this is part of the problem with government overreach when I don't like either -- PSAs that are being a little redheaded stepchild as they say that is kind of ignoring nobody really pays attention or is this happening sure this is actually the situation is I don't think this is sort of assist.

-- -- Problem and then you know and I don't I'm not also not gonna say it's an isolated incident I wanna hear about those cases of you know bloated government spending in and the agencies for which some -- that he and he refers to.

Can be -- here -- some details in the -- decided I could definitely tell you it but I think it's -- -- I'm not gonna defended GSA by any stretch of the imagination here it's it's but I do you think it's important to zoom out.

And sort of look at a culture of blue and corruption that doesn't exist only in the government the federal government but.

It's sort of our culture generally and you look at corporate culture how that has sort of of all directions that devolve.

And the past -- -- you know in the past couple decades and and as sort of culture of entitlement culture of lavish spending that exists.

Not again not just in federal government but in.

And American.

Companies and it.

-- -- -- in state agencies and federal agencies as well.

These folks do it because they know they can get away with you know you've got union protection for a lot of these employees that gives them they if they feel.

According to this this.

Entitlements that -- that they can get away with pretty much whatever they want to do.

We have we and these inspector generals or not.

Are not as forceful in there in the -- investigations or in the penalties enforcement of penalties on people who do waste taxpayer.

Why -- unintended thing is like kind of honesty Norton saying mark because.

You know the fact is that it is systemic and you know and it is done on Wall Street for instance and they're still doing it we're still finding out OK now you know the big bonuses are going to these big fat cats -- blob lovable lot.

But -- let's let's take away let's take with sort of the mentality psychology of why we do it.

I -- when you were were focusing on the government.

They have to know eventually.

Somebody.

Somebody -- their act together is going to -- to to -- on whether it's a -- -- -- -- -- somebody you know who just as discussed.

-- not necessarily -- for every one of these guys dress is a clown making YouTube videos there is probably ten or twenty.

That have gotten away with it before and come knows about this from his experience with these agencies so I gathered up until that you have people -- people getting away with it.

Well I I think that you know.

In terms of political over the entire incident really don't believe he's actually parents.

-- -- really say anything that's happening all the -- -- well priority -- -- -- when I looked at government waste when I was in when I was in in the federal government for instance.

If you could you can see.

The blows just in the size of the staffs of some of these some of these officials the number of people who travel on these trips.

The the folks who you know feel like they need to go to these conferences and and it happens it happens all the time and -- -- there's nothing -- That you can say to convince me otherwise that we could probably run our government with a significantly fewer number of people and and spend a lot less than a lot of these.

It'll hurt the federal government the size of the federal government has actually and and government employees generally has -- to the Obama administration on this third at a different ideally is and that's -- candidate it's about 600000.

People since he took office.

Really who had to get rid of those -- Look there there all right all the revelations right right.

Doesn't look it.

You can you can sort of talking about -- from the federal government especially when you have pictures of guys in bathtubs and and hot tubs and and trips in Vegas it's stokes that I'm doing barriers angry or.

I -- those -- -- -- -- to get -- around and I attribute it looked like a -- sort of an iPod.

I don't know if that doesn't speak.

The big lineup now but I do think that the it's that the popular imagination but the fact of the matter is you look -- you look at some of this and you know the Medicare let's just take Medicare for an example.

I mean there's a lot less waste in Medicare than there is in most large insurance for profit insurance companies in this country.

A lot more efficiency and Medicare and the actual amount of and services they decided -- was based on costs cost of overhead.

And and so look I think we're missing the point here this is this is definitely makes for good conversation it's fun to -- these people in the GSA they definitely they deserve it they deserve it definitely does it isn't isn't binding taxpayers' spending money unduly and completely and encrypted -- some teenagers iPod.

Really misses mark when we're talking about the amount of money that the amount of deficit we have -- a country and the amount of deficit we're going to go into.

I think I think it really galls people about the story and why why people are having such a field day laughing and you don't and poking fun at these guys.

Is because you know of the videos because they made such a mockery is so obvious that they were just enjoying.

Didn't you don't screw the taxpayer basic.

Right they they knew they knew what they were -- I mean that this this wasn't something where you know you had a you know one person here took the liberty one person there is I can't coordinate I don't know sticking up at for -- governor of a I'm not saying I'm not sick but for big government I don't think that these government -- and I think the vast majority of 99 -- in 99% of government employees -- public servants they're doing you know work that they perceive is in the public interest.

They're not going to work every day saying looking in the mirror and saying okay -- and stick it to the -- -- up there that I don't.

Nobody else like -- and so nobody is arguing.

Though nobody is nobody saying nobody is saying okay I that I think that.

What -- because what this does is it highlights for a a public that is already very skeptical about the size of government.

That the government lacks is it's gotten so big and so unmanageable that it lacks a degree of competency to ensure that the taxpayer really is protected.