Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discovers MASSIVE waste of military funds

[AlwaysFocus]

But people's responses in this thread highlight a hypocrisy. So the posts are still relevant. But thank you for your efforts policing this thread. You get one internet point.

Stop derailing the threads

[Streetbull]

In a recent tweet, Ocasio-Cortez stated that $21 TRILLION of Pentagon financial transactions from 1998 to 2015 “could not be traced, documented, or explained.”

UNBELIEVABLE!!! That means out of the $8.5 TRILLION that was allocated to the military from 1998 to 2015, they WASTED or LOST $21 TRILLION of it. I'm literally shaking right now, since we could've been using that money to fund Medicare for all (including the poor victims of the caravan). Someone needs to get to the bottom of this. Thank God for Patriots like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The people that voted for her...if they knew what she was and voted for her anyway...then theirs is a crime beyond forgiveness.

[Aesthetical]

https://www.thenation.com/article/pe...-budget-fraud/

Unfortunately, her numbers arent made up. They come from an Earnst & Young audit of the Pentagon, which cost over $400 million.


"The phony numbers are referred to inside the Pentagon as “plugs,” as in plugging a hole, said current and former officials. “Nippering,” a reference to a sharp-nosed tool used to snip off bits of wire or metal, is Pentagon slang for shifting money from its congressionally authorized purpose to a different purpose. Such nippering can be repeated multiple times “until the funds become virtually untraceable,” says one Pentagon-budgeting veteran who insisted on anonymity in order to keep his job as a lobbyist at the Pentagon.

The plugs can be staggering in size. In fiscal year 2015, for example, Congress appropriated $122 billion for the US Army. Yet DoD financial records for the Army’s 2015 budget included a whopping $6.5 trillion (yes, trillion) in plugs. Most of these plugs “lack[ed] supporting documentation,” in the bland phrasing of the department’s internal watchdog, the Office of Inspector General. In other words, there were no ledger entries or receipts to back up how that $6.5 trillion supposedly was spent. Indeed, more than 16,000 records that might reveal either the source or the destination of some of that $6.5 trillion had been “removed,” the inspector general’s office reported."



And obviously, you arent giving enough credit to our govt if you think they cant lose more than what is budgeted.

reposting for all those who skipped over on purpose

[7rmr]

reposting for all those who skipped over on purpose

Damn. This thread took an interesting direction.

[7rmr]

No hate here, sincerely, are you justifying her assertions and repeated gaffes?

I don't carry water for Trump by any means, I do think there is a substantial difference between her status and his though.

I'm saying that, unfortunately, in American politics, blatantly lying to American citizens is no longer an issue and can always be justified/explained away.

More importantly though, as posted above, she might not actually be wrong.

[ZenBowman]

She isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but the right-wing media is turning her into a celebrity, much as the lefties did with Trump.

Probably not a good idea.

[NuggzTheNinja]

https://www.thenation.com/article/pe...-budget-fraud/

Unfortunately, her numbers arent made up. They come from an Earnst & Young audit of the Pentagon, which cost over $400 million.


"The phony numbers are referred to inside the Pentagon as “plugs,” as in plugging a hole, said current and former officials. “Nippering,” a reference to a sharp-nosed tool used to snip off bits of wire or metal, is Pentagon slang for shifting money from its congressionally authorized purpose to a different purpose. Such nippering can be repeated multiple times “until the funds become virtually untraceable,” says one Pentagon-budgeting veteran who insisted on anonymity in order to keep his job as a lobbyist at the Pentagon.

The plugs can be staggering in size. In fiscal year 2015, for example, Congress appropriated $122 billion for the US Army. Yet DoD financial records for the Army’s 2015 budget included a whopping $6.5 trillion (yes, trillion) in plugs. Most of these plugs “lack[ed] supporting documentation,” in the bland phrasing of the department’s internal watchdog, the Office of Inspector General. In other words, there were no ledger entries or receipts to back up how that $6.5 trillion supposedly was spent. Indeed, more than 16,000 records that might reveal either the source or the destination of some of that $6.5 trillion had been “removed,” the inspector general’s office reported."



And obviously, you arent giving enough credit to our govt if you think they cant lose more than what is budgeted.

In all, at least a mind-boggling $21 trillion of Pentagon financial transactions between 1998 and 2015 could not be traced, documented, or explained, concluded Skidmore. To convey the vastness of that sum, $21 trillion is roughly five times more than the entire federal government spends in a year. It is greater than the US Gross National Product, the world’s largest at an estimated $18.8 trillion. And that $21 trillion includes only plugs that were disclosed in reports by the Office of Inspector General, which does not review all of the Pentagon’s spending.

To be clear, Skidmore, in a report coauthored with Catherine Austin Fitts, a former assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development who complained about similar plugs in HUD financial statements, does not contend that all of this $21 trillion was secret or misused funding. And indeed, the plugs are found on both the positive and the negative sides of the ledger, thus potentially netting each other out.

They didn't lose all this bread in the proverbial toaster, they just don't have records for how it was spent. Her acting like the Pentagon just spent it on booze and strippers is disingenuous to say the least.

[arn710]

Wait, Trumpers now care about accuracy in political tweets?

Wait, why aren't you criticizing her then? You never hold back when it comes to Trump

Your responses in this thread highlight your own hypocrisy

[7rmr]

They didn't lose all this bread in the proverbial toaster, they just don't have records for how it was spent. Her acting like the Pentagon just spent it on booze and strippers is disingenuous to say the least.

Her tweet said it "could not be traced, documented or explained"

Even from what you bolded above her tweet seems accurate.

[7rmr]

Wait, why aren't you criticizing her then? You never hold back when it comes to Trump

Your responses in this thread highlight your own hypocrisy

Well for one, from the articles posted, it seems like she was right.

So, I guess that's probably the reason.

[arn710]

Well for one, from the articles posted, it seems like she was right.

So, I guess that's probably the reason.

I haven't see a single bad word from your mouth about her. Plenty about Trump. Hypocrisy

If Trumpers can't criticize her stupidity, you can't avoid criticizing her stupidity

[7rmr]

I haven't see a single bad word from your mouth about her. Plenty about Trump. Hypocrisy

If Trumpers can't criticize her stupidity, you can't avoid criticizing her stupidity

Right. But again, nevermind that this thread ia full of people talking about how stupid her tweet is, from the article posted, she appears to be right.

So, why would I be criticizing her for being right?

[~Hades~]

They didn't lose all this bread in the proverbial toaster, they just don't have records for how it was spent. Her acting like the Pentagon just spent it on booze and strippers is disingenuous to say the least.

I think shes a fuking moron but lets not make it like this isnt a huge problem.

Sure, the plugs potentially cancel each other but that also means they potentially do not. Lets also not forget that the budget for the Army was $122 billion and they spent $6.5 trillion AND the records of what that was spent on were "removed".

[NuggzTheNinja]

Her tweet said it "could not be traced, documented or explained"

Even from what you bolded above her tweet seems accurate.

Sounds like the article explains it fairly well.

[djdizzydave]

which would you choose?

A military to protect this country from invaders..

or..

medicare for all?

[NuggzTheNinja]

I think shes a fuking moron but lets not make it like this isnt a huge problem.

Sure, the plugs potentially cancel each other but that also means they potentially do not. Lets also not forget that the budget for the Army was $122 billion and they spent $6.5 trillion AND the records of what that was spent on were "removed".

Absolutely agreed. I'm mainly taking issue with her assertion that this money was lost and could be better used by another government entity that is undoubtedly equally bad at math.

[~Hades~]

Trump fans by berating her are making her stronger and stronger.

we await her final form

[Fishman15]

I tell ya what Alex...how about medicare for you only? I'll pay your premiums for the first month too. Good luck sweetie...

[~Hades~]

Absolutely agreed. I'm mainly taking issue with her assertion that this money was "lost" and could be better used by another government entity that is undoubtedly equally bad at math.

agreed

[Charuto222]

Or she is using the Trump playbook. Just lie and say what sounds good to your supporters even if it's obviously false. Then by the time you get called out move on to the next lie.

At this point complete lack of understanding of the US government/Constitution and outright disrespect for the truth is now a selling point. Trumpers don't have a leg to stand on to criticize her.

"The most effective way to cover your lies is to flood the system with so many lies that now everything is up in the air" - Dan Carlin

He was referring to Trump using this tactic but like you said, AOC appears to be doing the same thing now.

[deepfat]

I don't want my cawk anywhere near those teeth.

[7rmr]

Sounds like the article explains it fairly well.

The explanation is the money is a "plug" and no one can actually identify what it was spent on or even precisely identify how much was spent. Sorry not exactly an explanation.

[arn710]

Right. But again, nevermind that this thread ia full of people talking about how stupid her tweet is, from the article posted, she appears to be right.

So, why would I be criticizing her for being right?

Cool. I expect a thread from you every time she says something slightly incorrect.

You obviously haven't seen the entire tweet. I suggest you search it out.

The initial sentence is correct. She then goes on to claim that 2/3rds of the Pentagon's accounting errors could cover 66% of the Medicare for all costs at $32T

I'm not going to bother explaining how stupid that is. I'm sure you'll be more critical of her than I will be. Go ahead. Looking forward to it.

[7rmr]

"The most effective way to cover your lies is to flood the system with so many lies that now everything is up in the air" - Dan Carlin

He was referring to Trump using this tactic but like you said, AOC appears to be doing the same thing now.

Again though, in this example, she isn't lying.

[Fishman15]

Keep insulting her and making her stronger. Her message is getting to the masses and Trump and his blind followers are getting exposed and people are not happy.

yea, what's the message...long lines for bread?

[7rmr]

Cool. I expect a thread from you every time she says something slightly incorrect.

You obviously haven't seen the entire tweet. I suggest you search it out.

The initial sentence is correct. She then goes on to claim that 2/3rds of the Pentagon's accounting errors could cover 66% of the Medicare for all costs at $32T

I'm not going to bother explaining how stupid that is. I'm sure you'll be more critical of her than I will be. Go ahead. Looking forward to it.

She says 21 trillion in accounting errors, or money that is unaccounted for. She says Medicare for all would cost 32 trillion. 21/32 = 0.656

[arn710]

She says 21 trillion in accounting errors, or money that is unaccounted for. She says Medicare for all would cost 32 trillion. 21/32 = 0.656

I'll give you a hint since you seem to need a lot of help here

The entirety of the Pentagon's budget from inception to date is ~$18T. Explain how they have $21T unaccounted for

[Charuto222]

Again though, in this example, she isn't lying.

Did some more digging from another post ITT and yeah apparently you're right. Sad that this is what our gvt has come to (or perhaps always been and we weren't aware of it).

[7rmr]

I'll give you a hint since you seem to need a lot of help here

The entirety of the Pentagon's budget from inception to date is ~$18T. Explain how they have $21T unaccounted for

See the article posted in this thread. The pentagons budget and these admitted plugs are not one in the same. These plugs dwarf the actual budget.

[NYPat]

I don't want my cawk anywhere near those teeth.

I'm sure she doesn't either.