Is fraud really as common as sunshine in Florida?

"What could we have done with $650B? For starters, we could have a Navy which matches China right now. Maybe bigger. Here is a better one. If this is what it is year after year, think of how much of our almost $40T national debt would not be there right now. The next time a Democrat tells you we are not taxed enough, tell that person to put a sock in it. With this much fraud, we are way, way overtaxed." 

What is the most alarming thing that Nick Shirley has found so far? Fraud is as common as sunshine in Florida. It is endemic. It is prolific. It is all over the place. Why? Government money, which nobody owns, is low fruit on the tree. Fraud is in, or can be in, federal money, state money, even local money. Everyplace where there are not the checks and balances, like the private p/l sector has, there is a very good chance you will find some degree of cheating. Of fraud. Of out and out stealing.

Think about that just for a minute. In Minnesota, where the fraud might hit as high as $9B, this might just be the canary in the coal mine for the rest of the country. Minnesota is a small potatoes state. With a modest state budget, if we can lose $9B, what does that mean for much bigger and bluer states - like California? Has Gavin Newsom, just like Tim Walz, played fast and loose with monies which came into that state also?

None of what has been discovered by Nick Shirley and others has come as no surprise to Elon Musk. After his days at DOGE, he got a bit of a shock just by peaking under the tent for a short while. He KNOWS there is A LOT of fraud, waste and abuse in the federal government. So much so, he thinks 10% of the federal budget might be wasted or stolen. With a federal budget of $6.5T in 2025, and if 10% was lost or stolen, that would be $650B. Let that sink in for a minute.

I think rather than block grants doled out by the federal government, we need to change to a reimbursement upon valid receipt system. Kind of like private business does. The government has proven they are good at "throwing money at things", but now we are also finding out they are very poor at auditing where the money really goes. I think we should take some of those 85,000 new hire IRS agents which Biden foisted upon us, and sig them on the fraudsters. Wait - what? Have the IRS go after bad guys instead of normal citizens? Gasp! What a concept! 

What could we have done with $650B? For starters, we could have a Navy which matches China right now. Maybe bigger. Here is a better one. If this is what it is year after year, think of how much of our almost $40T national debt would not be there right now. The next time a Democrat tells you we are not taxed enough, tell that person to put a sock in it. With this much fraud, we are way, way overtaxed.