<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><DIV>Dick,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I don't think it is what the government is spending the money on that is considered the waste. Most people don't object to using government money to buy a wheelchair for a person who really needs one. What they object to is having to buy a wheelchair for $989 that only cost $105 in parts, labor, and delivery. Or having to spend $312 on a medication that only costs 25 cents to manufacture. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Many times taxpayers are paying for services and equipment that isn't even provided or used. $5 for a band-aid that was never applied, and $50 for vital readings that were never taken can really add up fast. A two mile ambulance ride can set us back $1800, easily. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>That is the type of crap most people consider waste and fraud. If me and you can run down to the store and buy something for $1, the government ought to be able to purchase that same item for far less than we can, not have to purchase it for 10 times its market value or production cost. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Over 50% of federal government's expendatures is on medical related services. A good portion of the rest is on defense contracting which is just as fradulant. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Donovan Arnold<BR><BR>--- On <B>Tue, 2/8/11, Robert Dickow <I><dickow@turbonet.com></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR>From: Robert Dickow <dickow@turbonet.com><BR>Subject: [Vision2020] Government waste<BR>To: vision2020@moscow.com<BR>Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2011, 7:22 PM<BR><BR>
<DIV id=yiv1512262359>
<STYLE><!--
#yiv1512262359
_filtered #yiv1512262359 {font-family:Calibri;panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
#yiv1512262359
#yiv1512262359 p.yiv1512262359MsoNormal, #yiv1512262359 li.yiv1512262359MsoNormal, #yiv1512262359 div.yiv1512262359MsoNormal
{margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"sans-serif";}
#yiv1512262359 a:link, #yiv1512262359 span.yiv1512262359MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;text-decoration:underline;}
#yiv1512262359 a:visited, #yiv1512262359 span.yiv1512262359MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;text-decoration:underline;}
#yiv1512262359 span.yiv1512262359EmailStyle17
{font-family:"sans-serif";color:windowtext;}
#yiv1512262359 span.yiv1512262359SpellE
{}
#yiv1512262359 .yiv1512262359MsoChpDefault
{}
_filtered #yiv1512262359 {margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
#yiv1512262359 div.yiv1512262359WordSection1
{}
--></STYLE>
<DIV class=yiv1512262359WordSection1>
<P class=yiv1512262359MsoNormal>With all the talk of budget cuts and trimming government waste, I thought of that term ‘waste.’ I seems that when people talk about waste, it typically reflects a lack of a sense of worth or value on the thing wasted. If I buy a house plant and my roommate hates plants, my purchase was a waste of money. It is a waste of water to drop a <SPAN class=yiv1512262359SpellE>cleenex</SPAN> in the toilet and then flush it away, because it means you don’t value the water. It is a waste of money to spend money on education because, hey, who needs it?… my kids are grown up. They’re still out of work. I made my millions and I was a high school <SPAN class=yiv1512262359SpellE>drop out</SPAN>. Don’t waste my money on taxes for the handicapped. I’m busy watching my wide-screen home theater on my Kris Kraft.</DIV>
<P class=yiv1512262359MsoNormal> </DIV>
<P class=yiv1512262359MsoNormal>Bob Dickow, troublemaker</DIV>
<P class=yiv1512262359MsoNormal> </DIV></DIV></DIV><BR>-----Inline Attachment Follows-----<BR><BR>
<DIV class=plainMail>=======================================================<BR>List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR> <A href="http://www.fsr.net/" target=_blank>http://www.fsr.net</A> <BR> mailto:<A href="http://us.mc381.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Vision2020@moscow.com" ymailto="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020@moscow.com</A><BR>=======================================================</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></td></tr></table><br>
<hr size=1>Be a PS3 game guru.<br>Get your game face on with <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=49936/*http://videogames.yahoo.com">the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! Games.</a>