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 wrong amounts or to the wrong recipients, such as students, contractors and social security beneficiaries who had died, and 4) sell or demolish our government’s 55,000 vacant, excess or underused buildings. These four things would provide an almost instant infusion of cash if they used some of their present employees to do the work. The Treasury’s financial management service shows that for every dollar spent in debt collection, the return is $52.42.

They could save a considerable amount if they dealt with overlapping and duplicating programs!

Did we really need the sequester?

Gerald Ray

Spokane