Scandals demonstrate arrogance of power in federal government

LA JOLLA, California — In the last few weeks, two enormous scandals shook a usually nonchalant and numb populace and even the politicians Right and Left. We will call them “The GSA extravagance in Las Vegas” and

“The Secret Service debauchery in Cartagena.”

The GSA, whose very existence was hitherto known to very few, is a government agency which, we now discover, is supposed to “rent and lease government property”  and to promote ‘efficiency”

in the government. (I have just learned that thousands of buildings are vacant and idle !) Apparently, the GSA way to enhance efficiency  is to hold “conferences” in 10-12 different “regions” for hundreds of  their bureaucrats . The scandal burst , this time, in Las Vegas. It was reported that 300 participants were dined and wined for three days , and showered with lavish gifts. It cost the taxpayers about $864,000  and maybe more.

We saw them on TV celebrating, eating and drinking, dancing and being entertained. We also watched with disgust their leader, a certain Jeff Neely, nude in a hot tub, laughing and enjoying himself, near a tray holding two glasses of red wine. Neely has received a BONUS of $ 9,000 in 2011.

 The US Congress is holding hearings, with the incensed officials decrying the abuse in unison, no one defending the revelers at OPM ‘s expense (Other People’s Money.)  Neely took the fifth. In the meantime, he has been suspended, but he continues to draw a salary of $ 179,000 a year (!); (maybe he will find another job to occupy himself for the duration, which may take two years.)

 The president is still silent, waiting to see “if it is true.” Hillary Clinton was shown on TV a little tipsy, holding a big mug of beer, and laughing loudly; not a very dignified picture for a  U.S.Secretary of State.

We the people have many questions: Why do we need GSA at all? There are already calls in the Congress to do away with it; they need to be encouraged. And if it is necessary, why this multitude of “conferences?” and why in Las Vegas? and who approved them?and their extravagant waste? And if this one was caught, how many others occurred? for how many years? in how many venues? in other government agencies? How many millions have been wasted while many cities and towns all over the country have fired firemen, policemen, teachers, and nurses for lack of funds, while  ordinary citizens have lost their jobs and/or their houses? This is not only scandalous; it is obscene, and should never recur. The perpetrators or those who allowed them should be punished administratively and maybe criminally, and should be made to restitute the money spent beyond their regular pre-authorized per diem.

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We were still reeling from the Las Vegas news when we were hit by a more ominous affair, the Secret Service debauchery in Cartagena, Colombia. Two days before the arrival of the President for an international “conference,” it was discovered that a dozen  Secret Service agents and about a dozen military agents, who were dispatched to Cartagena  to prepare for the event, were found partying in their hotels with 21 prostitutes. The scandal broke out because one of them refused to pay $47  to his hooker, who, after a heated dispute,  called the police.

To date, many of them have been returned home; some of them lost their security clearance, others lost their jobs. Chief of Staff General Dempsey apologized for the military men”who let down their boss.” The Colombian ambassador called for an apology from the US over the scandal.

Why is this more serious than Las Vegas? Because the GSA misconduct involved “only money.” The Secret Service people have endangered national security and the life of the president for whom they were sworn “to take the bullet.” It was reported that they were drunk and asleep, with the itinerary of the president, and maybe other secrets, for everyone to search and copy. Without fantasizing about Mata Hari situations, it is not far-fetched to suspect that,among those sex workers, there could be agents of foreign countries spying  for valuable information.

Here,too, we may assume that it is not the first time or the first place that such dangerous recklessness was displayed. (At the closing of this article, I learned that similar debauchery occurred in El Salvador in March 2011 , and we should brace for more bad news.)

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Why is this happening?

First, because the government is too big and too complicated. As I wrote before, there should be a commission of non-partisan experts to trim the government, eliminate what is not necessary, reduce what is.

Second, new laws and rules need to be promulgated that limit the human appetites , a la Madison who said, “If men were angels, we won’t need the police.” (a Hobbesian right view of society).

Third, the elected leaders , rather than using their positions to enrich themselves, should educate their subordinates with the two best tools known to educators:  example and exhortation. The second is useless, or even counterproductive, without the first (A father who smokes cannot admonish his son on the bad effects of smoking.)

Sorry to say that the examples given by the leaders are very bad: To cite only a few, from the top down:

*Congresspersons’ junkets are well-documented, and very costly, and are emulated by lower ranks.

*  Reporters counted 21 (now maybe more) public appearances by President Obama , clearly for propaganda purposes in his re-election campaign at taxpayers’ expense (planes, secret service, entourage, hotels etc…costing millions.) And he continues to do so.

* His 13 year-old daughter’s trip to Mexico with 12 companions and 25 security guards ,with planes etc… was not only imprudent but very onerous to the taxpayers (est. at 1.3 million dollars)

* Before the trip to Mexico, the first family took 16 vacations (!) (the one in Hawaii only cost 1.6 million dollars.)

*The First Lady;s trip to Spain cost half a million dollars. It was a 5-day junket (reimbursed 2% to the Treasury). There is no excuse for any First Lady, of any party, to spend OPM with such insensitivity

to the needy and the suffering.

*The “franking privilege” (not paying for their mail stamps) of Congresspersons is very costly. It was recently reported that one Congressman’s privilege cost $ 487,000 last year. Obscene abuse.

* Civil “servants” flying far away with their families for a five-minute ribbon-cutting ceremony.

* The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) spent one million dollars in one event at OPM’s (Other People Money) expense.

Sadly, these are only a few examples, but they seem to be the rule, not the exception, of a culture of arrogance, abuse of power and authority, and maybe crimes.*
Yetiv is a freelance writer based in La Jolla.  He may be contacted at isaac.yetiv@sdjewishworld.com