U.S. Government Purchases 760,000 Pounds of Ham for $1.191m, at a Cost of Approximately $1.50 per Pound, Agriculture Secy. Vilsack Defends Purchase

We are living in some scary economic times and I must say I was appalled to learn that the government is literally throwing money away on ridiculous things. Why am I not surprised at the level of waste at the hands of elected officials. According to recovery.gov, the following contracts were awarded:

RECOVERY.GOV//AWARDED: $2,531,600 FOR 'HAM, WATER ADDED, COOKED, FROZEN, SLICED, 2-LB'...
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $1,191,200 FOR '2 POUND FROZEN HAM SLICED'...
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $351,807 FOR 'REPLACE AND UPGRADE THE DUMBWAITER'...
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $1,562,568 FOR 'MOZZARELLA CHEESE'...
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $5,708,260 FOR 'PROCESS CHEESE'...
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $16,784,272 FOR 'CANNED PORK'...
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $1,444,100 FOR 'REPAIR DOOR BLDG 5112'...
RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $541,119 FOR 'INSTALL TRAFFIC SIGNAL'...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement in defense of this ridiculous ham purchase:

"Through the Recovery Act, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made $100 million available to the states for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which acquires food that is distributed to local organizations that assist the needy – including food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens.

The Recovery Act funds referenced in press reports allowed states to purchase ham, cheese and dairy products for these food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries that provide assistance to people who otherwise do not have access to food. This program will help reduce hunger of those hardest hit by the current economic recession.

The references to "2 pound frozen ham sliced" are to the sizes of the packaging. Press reports suggesting that the Recovery Act spent $1.191 million to buy "2 pounds of ham" are wrong. In fact, the contract in question purchased 760,000 pounds of ham for $1.191m, at a cost of approximately $1.50 per pound. In terms of the dairy purchase referenced, USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) purchased 837,936 pounds of mozzarella cheese and 4,039,200 pounds of processed cheese.

While the principal purpose of these expenditures is to provide food to those hardest hit by these tough times, the purchases also provide a modest economic benefit of benefiting Americans working at food retailers, manufacturers and transportation companies as well as the farmers and ranchers who produce our food supply." Source: United States Dept. of Agriculture

Thank God for transparency. As millions of Americans are losing their jobs, it's amazing that the government can still waste millions of dollars rather than channel some of this money into helping people avoid foreclosure, find employment and to even help the states that have double digit unemployment rates, among other problems. If these purchases are for soup kitchens, how come so many are little closing their doors for lack of funding and food? Stay tuned. This soap opera is developing......

SHOCK: Social Security Administration Defends $700,000 Conference at Swanky Arizona's Biltmore Resort

SHOCK: While unemployment levels continue to climb and foreclosure surge, a Social Security Administration motivational management conference was held at the swanky Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa last week at a cost $700,000, according to ABC15 Investigators. An administration official said that costs for the conference included airfare, hotel entertainment, dancers, motivational speakers, and food. So, one person at SSA said that the conference was essential, even as Social Security faces a real threat of running out of money in the not-too-distant future. Whatever happened to WebEx or some other type of teleconferencing technology? Why spend so lavishly in tough economic times? The Congress should demand answers immediately. Oops. How could I forget. They have the same problem with spending lavishly at our expense too.

A spokesperson from the SSA's regional office said the conference was essential, that teleconferencing was not an option, and that all 675 managers needed to meet in person. The SSA provided ABC15 with a list of courses provided at the conference, which included "Techniques to Empower You," "Mentoring the Generations," and "Emotional Intelligence."But the information provided by the SSA did not mention an after-hours casino trip, family members staying at the hotel, or the 20-minute dance party ABC15 observed.

Rooms for the conference were booked at $85 per night, far below the $400-plus room rate in prime season.The SSA said the entire conference was put out to bid and all employees flew coach class, including the commissioner. The conference cost was still a tough pill to swallow for taxpayers."It sounds like a big rip off to me," one Phoenix resident said."That's not right," another Valley resident told ABC15 after watching video of conference events. Social Security trustees said in May the program will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in 2016, and the program's trust fund will be depleted by 2037. Source: ABC 15

Social Security Administration released a statement that is actually laughable.

"This was a training conference. The location was selected through the government's competitive bidding process. The facility that was selected was the lowest bidder, and we paid well-below the prescribed government rate," Leslie Walker, Regional Communications Director, Social Security Administration.

There is no other way to describe this, but simply as a disgrace. Since when is dancing a part of a training conference? This is another example of the waste in the government and it is reprehensible, especially given the current economic conditions. Didn't President Obama say on the campaign trail that he would have his people cut waste from government spending? I know he has been in office for less than a year, but this is waste that needs to be cut ASAP.

Click here to watch an interview with a Social Security representative