Reply #13: I worked for the Department of Defense.

[GentryDixon]

I was a Budget Officer for a Research & Development Installation. I can tell you there was a great deal of excess in the budgets. I have been retired for about 5 years, so I cannot speak with certainty, but based on history, I would say there is most likely a good deal which could be trimmed.

We received $11M for Homeland Security after 911. We jumped through hoops to spend it before year end. The creative accounting linking to "security" was quite remarkable. An example is the exercise equipment we purchased for the Security Guards and Fire Fighters. We had to have approval for all purchases, so it was approved by our higher headquarters, but it still bothered me tremendously.

An example which always bothered me was the Turkeys and ball caps we purchased for our contractors. The in-house employees received nothing at Thanksgiving or Christmas, but the contracts were written to allow this type of purchase for the contractor. I can only imagine the perks a contract like Halliburton or KBR enjoys.

I finally took and early, reduced retirement after putting up with as much as I could stand.