7 ms·

It befuddles me too. My understanding is that government spending is approved by congress and that all organizations except the Pentagon have passed their audit

It befuddles me too. My understanding is that government spending is approved by congress and that all organizations except the Pentagon have passed their audits. This is not to say that there isn't _some_ waste, fraud and abuse in between the cracks, but any large expense is approved by Congress and the executive can't unilaterally override those spending choices.

PaywallBuster 2y ago
Congress approves the annual budget for each department, it's not micromanaging how it's spent
- varjag 2y ago
  It had approved the budget for USAID which was slashed wholesale.
- KennyBlanken 2y ago
  What exactly do you think a budget is? There's a reason the federal budget is several inches of very thin paper. The budget spells out how much money gets spent for various purposes, programs, projects, etc. Of course they don't specify the kind of paperclips the FAA buys. But they will approve or modify the FAA's budget plan which includes $X for office supplies, $Y for an upgrade to the FAA's network equipment in a branch office, $Z for upgrading some nav beacons, and so on. The executive branch can't defund or "stop spending money on" anything. Nixon decided he just wouldn't spend money on programs he didn't like, and congress very rapidly passed a law that said that the president couldn't do it, because the "power of the purse" rests solely with congress. It certainly can't stop issuing payments for existing obligations, and it especially can't take money back, which M did a day or two ago to NYC because he read a tweet that said NYC was spending money housing migrants in "luxury hotels", which shockingly turned out to be nonsense... That's why all of this DOGE crap is such theatrical nonsense. Congress, representing their state's interests and the interests of those who live in their district, via two separate branches, approves all the budgets. No matter what T and M say, no federal agency can just willy-nilly decide to spend money it's allocated by congress on other stuff.
  - ForHackernews 2y ago
    > The executive branch can't defund or "stop spending money on" anything. Nixon decided he just wouldn't spend money on programs he didn't like, and congress very rapidly passed a law that said that the president couldn't do it, because the "power of the purse" rests solely with congress. That's all great in theory: in actual reality those laws are just words on paper, Congress has no interest in asserting its authority, and enforcement rests with the executive.
    - UncleMeat 2y ago
      Sure. But then the continuous narrative must be that Trump is violating the law. Every single person who supports Trump should have to confront the fact that Trump is doing this in a way that declares the end of our constitutional order and his position as an autocrat.
      - johann8384 2y ago
        I don't think they see a problem with this. My grandfather used to say we needed to get a couple leaders from GE or whatever company was huge and successful then, and let them have free reign for a year.
        ethbr1 2y ago
        I, for one, am glad I'm not living through the legacy of Jack Welch's government management. Companies can declare bankruptcy and fold their hand: governments, notsomuch.
        deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
        insane_dreamer 2y ago
        You end up driving up the share price in the short term and destroying the company in the long term but by then you’re gone as CEO with your golden parachute. Not unlike presidents who will be gone in 4 years time (if second term) and let someone else deal with the consequences of their actions.
- oldandboring 2y ago
  That's not true. At all.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
KennyBlanken 2y ago
FYI, the Marines have passed two audits so far: https://www.marines.mil/News/Press-Releases/Press-Release-Display/Article/4052117/marine-corps-passes-fy24-financial-audit/ https://www.marines.mil/News/Press-Releases/Press-Release-Di... They were even able to account for all their crayons! PT belts on the other hand...
- average_r_user 2y ago
  Crayons were accounted as food supplies? /s
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - giantrobot 2y ago
    It was a line item under "consumables".
- Arn_Thor 2y ago
  Color me surprised. But good on them!
refurb 2y ago
[flagged]
- andybak 2y ago
  I mainly see a ton of likely Chesterton's Fences. Or unintended 2nd order effects. Who knows if the final outcome will be an improvement but it resembles fixing a TV by dropping it from a height and hoping.
  - refurb 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - nxobject 2y ago
      > Your main complaint is your team didn’t win and the other side gets to do things you don’t like. Where did you get this from in their comment?
    - robertlagrant 2y ago
      > Your main complaint is your team didn’t win Where did this come up?
- fabian2k 2y ago
  This is a good example of what I mean. There is no evidence that DOGE is acting on actual fraud and abuse, that is immediately obvious if you consider how broad most of their actions are. And unless you think that the federal government should essentially not exist at all I don't think you can declare all this just "waste".
  - refurb 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - troupo 2y ago
      No. It's on DOGE (and you, since you also claim this) to show that what they cut was waste and abuse, and not the function of the agency they cut.
njharman 2y ago
[flagged]

PaywallBuster 2y ago

Congress approves the annual budget for each department, it's not micromanaging how it's spent

varjag 2y ago
It had approved the budget for USAID which was slashed wholesale.
KennyBlanken 2y ago
What exactly do you think a budget is? There's a reason the federal budget is several inches of very thin paper. The budget spells out how much money gets spent for various purposes, programs, projects, etc. Of course they don't specify the kind of paperclips the FAA buys. But they will approve or modify the FAA's budget plan which includes $X for office supplies, $Y for an upgrade to the FAA's network equipment in a branch office, $Z for upgrading some nav beacons, and so on. The executive branch can't defund or "stop spending money on" anything. Nixon decided he just wouldn't spend money on programs he didn't like, and congress very rapidly passed a law that said that the president couldn't do it, because the "power of the purse" rests solely with congress. It certainly can't stop issuing payments for existing obligations, and it especially can't take money back, which M did a day or two ago to NYC because he read a tweet that said NYC was spending money housing migrants in "luxury hotels", which shockingly turned out to be nonsense... That's why all of this DOGE crap is such theatrical nonsense. Congress, representing their state's interests and the interests of those who live in their district, via two separate branches, approves all the budgets. No matter what T and M say, no federal agency can just willy-nilly decide to spend money it's allocated by congress on other stuff.
- ForHackernews 2y ago
  > The executive branch can't defund or "stop spending money on" anything. Nixon decided he just wouldn't spend money on programs he didn't like, and congress very rapidly passed a law that said that the president couldn't do it, because the "power of the purse" rests solely with congress. That's all great in theory: in actual reality those laws are just words on paper, Congress has no interest in asserting its authority, and enforcement rests with the executive.
  - UncleMeat 2y ago
    Sure. But then the continuous narrative must be that Trump is violating the law. Every single person who supports Trump should have to confront the fact that Trump is doing this in a way that declares the end of our constitutional order and his position as an autocrat.
    - johann8384 2y ago
      I don't think they see a problem with this. My grandfather used to say we needed to get a couple leaders from GE or whatever company was huge and successful then, and let them have free reign for a year.
      - ethbr1 2y ago
        I, for one, am glad I'm not living through the legacy of Jack Welch's government management. Companies can declare bankruptcy and fold their hand: governments, notsomuch.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
      - insane_dreamer 2y ago
        You end up driving up the share price in the short term and destroying the company in the long term but by then you’re gone as CEO with your golden parachute. Not unlike presidents who will be gone in 4 years time (if second term) and let someone else deal with the consequences of their actions.
oldandboring 2y ago
That's not true. At all.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

KennyBlanken 2y ago

FYI, the Marines have passed two audits so far: https://www.marines.mil/News/Press-Releases/Press-Release-Display/Article/4052117/marine-corps-passes-fy24-financial-audit/ https://www.marines.mil/News/Press-Releases/Press-Release-Di... They were even able to account for all their crayons! PT belts on the other hand...

average_r_user 2y ago
Crayons were accounted as food supplies? /s
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- giantrobot 2y ago
  It was a line item under "consumables".
Arn_Thor 2y ago
Color me surprised. But good on them!

refurb 2y ago

[flagged]

andybak 2y ago
I mainly see a ton of likely Chesterton's Fences. Or unintended 2nd order effects. Who knows if the final outcome will be an improvement but it resembles fixing a TV by dropping it from a height and hoping.
- refurb 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - nxobject 2y ago
    > Your main complaint is your team didn’t win and the other side gets to do things you don’t like. Where did you get this from in their comment?
  - robertlagrant 2y ago
    > Your main complaint is your team didn’t win Where did this come up?
fabian2k 2y ago
This is a good example of what I mean. There is no evidence that DOGE is acting on actual fraud and abuse, that is immediately obvious if you consider how broad most of their actions are. And unless you think that the federal government should essentially not exist at all I don't think you can declare all this just "waste".
- refurb 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - troupo 2y ago
    No. It's on DOGE (and you, since you also claim this) to show that what they cut was waste and abuse, and not the function of the agency they cut.

njharman 2y ago

[flagged]