Letter to the Editor: Saving government money by going after what's owed

According to our government’s 2012 survey, we have almost 700,000 government employees. Barely a third believe that promotions are based on merit. Less than that said steps are taken to deal with poor performance and just one-fifth said that pay raises are linked to good performance.

The Budget Control Act of 2011, that was bi-partisan, suggests that we need to: 1) collect the $786 billion that Americans already owe in delinquent loans, fines and penalties, 2) collect the $300 billion that Americans already owe in back taxes, 3) stop doling out $115 billion a year in improper payments in the w...