Wasteful & Fruitless Spending

River!!! Welcome back. Your first entry back reflects, somewhat, what our country has a whole lot of: programs start to help others, then fall apart due to lack of funds, organiziation, and personnel. It is so frustrating to hear on the news all the good things going on... little chunks of goodness spread out over the area of the world, helping some people, leaving many countless more out. There was one such news story on last night, about what is being done with medications that were prescribed but the patient may have died, or the patient's prescription was changed, leaving their first prescription untouched. I'm talking about like goes on at nursing homes, where lots of meds are given. They're in blister packs. What happens to those millions of dollars worth of helpful drugs, drugs that are not expired, that are vital for patients with heart conditions, who need blood thinners, pain killers, .... any kind of condition for the elderly and sick, there were drugs, thousands and thousands of packages, unopened, sitting in boxes. A nurse was shown popping out each pill from the blister packs... not just one nurse, other people as well... their job was to take the prescribed drugs, pop them from the blister pack into a baggie. A nurse took a two-gallon sized zip lock baggie to the toilet, held it over, and flushed them all down. She does this repeatedly, flushing away millions maybe billions of dollars worth of meds because they were prescribed, but the patient is dead now, or no longer on that Rx. Why? The question was asked... why can't poor people, or homeless people who need drugs get this medicine? It's already paid for by our tax dollars!!!! All paid for, flushing down the toilet. Where is the sense in this? Welcome back, River. I'll be back to read more. Just glad to hear you are back. bea

http://journals.aol.com/bgilmore725/Wanderer/

It is amazing how our government wastes taxpayer dollars and funds fruitless programs. Bea is absolutely correct when she asks, "Where is the sense is this?"

My previous entry tells of the price of wings, just one combat aircraft, costing 45 million dollars. Although I mention my support of a strong military defense, wouldn't the world be a better place if we didn't need those weapons of mass destruction? The war machine.

In last Friday's issue of the Las Vegas Review Journal (18 April 2008) a number of "spending" issue articles were printed. One mentioned how the political fight over spending Billions of more dollars for the Iraq war was unfolding in Washington.

Another mentioned how the federal and state government were cutting back on funding of services for the homeless and the poor. The Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services said, "Such cuts are necessary because growth and difficult economical times have increased demand for public assistance while federal funding is set to decrease and state funding has remained stagnant."

Huh? Poverty, hunger, homelessness and other social factors are rising and the state and federal governments are cutting back on social services funding?

Food stamps and other social services programs are targeted for cuts. Children will be wildly effected by the cuts as well as those in the least position to help themselves.

The division is on track to spend $81 million dollars on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program for 2008, and $87 million of 2009 if changes aren't made. But, only $75 million was allocated for the 2008 program, resulting in a shortfall. (Two stealth fighter planes).

Last night on the local news, there was a story about "a new group" of homeless people being found among the homeless population. This new group is the wave of people who just recently lost their homes due to the foreclosure crisis in Las Vegas. One woman had been earning $100,000 per year, but lost her job and struggled to keep her mortgage payments up. She had found a new job, but soon lost that one too. She was unable to prevent the financial crisis which followed and is now among the "new group" of homeless people in Las Vegas.

At a time the government(s) should be helping out more, they are instead making cuts.

The U.N. warns of a "silent tsunami" bringing waves of poverty around the world caused by rising food prices. Over 100 million and counting are sinking into poverty and hunger world wide. More than 20 million children. 25,000 people a day are dying from hunger-related causes, the U.N. claims. Rice, wheat and corn prices have skyrocketed with the U.S. government being partially to blame because farmers were encouraged to grow corn for biofuels instead of wheat for food crops. The price of rice has risen in Asia from $460 per metric ton to over $1000 in less than two months. The food crisis has pushed food prices at their highest level since 1945.

Americans and the world are in for some bumpy rides in the days ahead.

Here is the connecting of dots and the dotting of the i's and crossing of the T's that go with this story.

In the same newspaper telling of up and coming cuts in social programs, an article tells that the U.S. Senate approved spending $45 million (is there something magical about that price tag?) on funding for a proposed magnetic levitation train to link Southern California with Las Vegas. The passed bill is the largest cash infusion on the project's 20-year history, the article said. The money will be used to fund environmental studies for the first leg of the project. (Fancy research).

The bill only needs to be signed by President Bush. U.S. Senator Harry Reid said the high-speed train is needed to "ease traffic congestion on Interstate 15."

Folks, are you ready for this? You have read this far, so, you might as well finish the rest of the story. The total cost estimates for the project, the Review-Journal article says, have reached: $12 billion!

You figure it out, because I can not. Like Bea says, "Where is the sense in this?"

Thank you for joining me.(Us) God Bless You.

And always remember, JESUS LOVES YOU!

River

Las Vegas, Nevada

Saturday, 26 April 2008

Tags: Wasteful Spending, Homelessness, Poverty, Las Vegas, Magnetic Levitation Train, Social Issues, Wasted Medicines, World Hunger, Politics,

Written by riversharki Blog about this entry

This entry has 2 comments: (Add your own)

#2 Comment from aimer
4/27/08 11:11 AM | Permalink

Hi River, you and Bea are so on target, there is no sense in it. I just gave a presentation at a conferenece yesterday where I was talking about poverty in the US, especially the huge number of children who live in poverty. We have the ability to eradicate poverty but we lack the will. So far, the cost estimat4e for the war in Iraq is $500 billion. I think that spending that much on eradicating poverty would probably make a significant difference in the lives of millions of people.--Sheria
#1 Comment from sybilsybil45
4/26/08 11:40 PM | Permalink

Hi River, Bea is so so right. The same happens over here in the UK. althought I do think to a lesser extent...at the moment...There seems so little we can do. Love ones neighbour seems to be the hardest thing for politicians to do. Why should this be I wonder is it just to easy..everyone wants to employ "experts" to examine why or how they should be doing the simplest of things that any 10 year old could tell them exactly how to do whatever it might be...does this make any sense...like you I don't think so. (You know my sister has travelled the world trying to get governments interested in helping to alleviate child poverty and it always remains in her mind how shocked she was at the poverty she saw in the US. She says she thinks that it came as such a surprise to her..even the poverty in India did not compare with that shock she said.)
Anyway what little we can do thank goodness we can continue to do and that is pryy pray knowing that one day in Gods time all will be well. But it sure is a testing time. Love Sybil xxx
Love one another.

http//:journals.aol.co.uk/sybilsybil45/villagelife

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