How $21 Trillion in U.S. Tax Money Disappeared. “Full Scope Audit” of the Pentagon

a reply to: Zaphod58

Could you imagine how much money could be saved if units were allowed to roll any money not spent into the next years budget.

originally posted by: LightSpeedDriver
a reply to: OccamsRazor04

So we're back to Rumsfeld's statement of basically "It's not missing, we just can't account what we spent it on"?

If any business did that, they would have major problems with the government/finance institutions/IRS I would think.

CAUTION!!! CAUTION!!!! Remember what happened right AFTER Rumsfeld's horse manure alibi...

Personally, I’d check the hidden books of the Clinton Foundation during HRCs tenure as Secretary.

a reply to: 727Sky

*Wonders what the combined wealth of the super rich is* I'll bet ya $1 it's around 21 trillion.

a reply to: Irishhaf

Oh god, that would be huge. Hell, just the three programs I mentioned would save somewhere around $15B.

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

And it still took months to pacify one little town in Iraq while our soldiers spray painted cardboard and stuck it to the sides of their "armored vehicles."

a reply to: 727Sky

Trillions apparently vanish somehow during each new president...

a reply to: chrismarco

It didn't vanish though, that's the point.

Therein, another task that President Trump is very good at, business financial accountability. He should demand that the assigned Deputy Director, the head of all CFO's of federal agencies , force them all to show the books that account for this money, lest they all be fired.

WP - Chief Financial Officers, US

The Chief Financial Officers Act, enacted in 1990, created a chief financial officer in each of 23 federal agencies. This was intended to improve the government's financial management and develop standards of financial performance and disclosure. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) holds primary responsibility for financial management standardization and improvement. Within OMB, the Deputy Director for Management, a position established by the CFO Act, is the chief official responsible for financial management.

For national security reasons, sources that cannot be revealed, at least show a line item:

Black Budget Projects - ----------------------------------------------------------$___________________

At least it would serve official notice that this is how things are run.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: LightSpeedDriver

And you're not responsible for several thousand programs running somewhere near a trillion dollars annually, that had little to no oversight when being set up. Yes, it's a badly broken system, no one denies that, but it's not going to get fixed overnight.

That sounds like either a straw-man argument or a logical fallacy. Or maybe some other reason I do not know the name for.

Listen. If I was tasked with reliable, accurate and timely accounting it would happen, whether it was for the government or a private corporation. It is the law. And if I didn't comply I would be held responsible possibly with a risk to my own liberty.

You appear to be either an apologist or you say the rules do not apply to the government because they are the government. I mean no disrespect but your reasoning sounds extremely flawed.

a reply to: LightSpeedDriver

With the sheer dollar amount we are talking about here I totally agree with you.
Billions I can see.
21 trillionthough.
That is an unimaginable number.

a reply to: LightSpeedDriver

OK, sure. I've only been bitching about the Pentagon screwing things up longer than most of you were aware of anything of the sort, but I'm an apologist. Whatever. There's a hell of a difference between explaining why it happens and being an apologist, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Interesting that the amount of money unaccounted for is also the amount of national debt.

a reply to: drewlander

Check this one out.
Another 21 trillion unaccounted for..

www.gaia.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

As was already mentioned in this thread this "accounting problem" has been going on since at least 2001 and yet you explain it like it's normal. It doesn't float my boat, it sinks it. 21 trillion must weigh a lot.

But as you say, whatever. Your country and your money.

This isn't what it sounds like. I've explained this on here before, but I can't find it so I'm just going to link this guy who explains it in fairly simple terms:

Off-site

Basically, if all the money that has supposedly "disappeared" was really spent on something nefarious, we wouldn't have a military because it pretty much accounts for all the money that's been allocated for military spending for the past so many years. Where do you think we buy all our equipment and pay all our troops? The money got spent, and through accountability of assets it is accounted for, they basically just don't have all the receipts.

In addition to CFO disclosures, an accounting of the GSA would be in order as well.

Form: GSA49 Requisition/Procurement Request for Equipment, Supplies or Services Current Revision Date: 07/1991

(shows ya how they are keeping up with the times....)



Form (PDF)


An audit of all GSA request numbers should be tallied as well. Sure, the special projects and details could be classified, but every granted GSA request is supposed to be tagged with a requisition number and an amount.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: 727Sky

Unaccounted for is not the same as missing. If I go fill up my gas tank and spend $50 and don't keep the receipt that money is now unaccounted for.

In the context of government and taxpayers.... Unaccounted for us missing.

See, at work if I use $50 to fill up a gas tank and don't keep the receipt.... That money is missing.

To me it is like having "misc" larger than other line items in your budget...


Wack off the zeros and assume the govt budget is a household income of like $100,000 and you will see how ridiculous it is... using 2011 numbers but still gets the point across.

Some stats about the US government:

U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
Recent budget cuts: $ 38,500,000,000

Now, remove 8 zeroes and pretend it’s a household budget:

Annual family income: $21,700
Money the family spent: $38,200
New debt on the credit card: $16,500
Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
Total budget cuts: $385

a reply to: 727Sky

Here's a thread I wrote half a year ago with additional analysis and information:

The 20 Trillion Dollar Secret

originally posted by: 727Sky
even with military spending a whopping $500 for a carpenters hammer and 800 dollars for toilet seat that money could buy a lot of either...Oops sorry that was a while back (1990s ?) and supposedly they were going to fix that....

That certainly hadn't changed by the 2000s. On my deployment to Kosovo I worked in the TOC with the fullbirds and the one star general, and I used to see the invoices from KBR (Halliburton). Nails were $10 each and carrying wooden cots from the truck into the barracks were invoiced at a $100 each cot.

These workers were local Albanians and Serbs who had to go through security to get on post, and then through security to get out and go home. And they made $500-600 a month, which was GREAT money for their economy. And every day they each carried and set up $10-20,000 in cots to get paid $20 for the day's labor by KBR.

Ridiculous.

And good thread!