the reconstruction of iraq
They haggle over giving extensions for the unemployed; they threaten us that Social Security and Medicare are bleeding “Americans” dry; they’re unable to fund a universal health care program; the total loss of any safety net for the poor, usually single parents, since Reagan proclaimed the end of Welfare Queens; and the list goes on and on. Now that I am ‘enjoying’ my golden years of retirement, I not only can’t afford to live back home, I can’t even afford to fly there to see my family….Hawaii. I worked hard and feel guilty that I am able to get a pretty good amount monthly, yet, I can’t afford a medicare suppliment insurance. The rents are too high for the average person, food has gone up in price while the containers have gotten smaller, we did not qualify for a COLA this year, yet everything has gotten more expensive. My co-payments for health care; non-covered dental and vision care, with rent costs over half of the amount I have to live on every month…..I mean, it’s just too infuriating. We all knew this was going on and who was pocketing all the money, but having it official and in black and white makes me want to vote for guys like Green in S. Carolina. Does anyone know if Medicare pays for cyanide and if the co-payment is affordable????
Kathleen, Stuck in Baton Rouge without a paddle
A billion here, a billion there, before you know it, we’re talking about real money. The Associated Press reports:
A U.S. audit has found that the Pentagon cannot account for over 95 percent of $9.1 billion in Iraq reconstruction money, spotlighting Iraqi complaints that there is little to show for the massive funds pumped into their cash-strapped, war-ravaged nation.(more)
Ninety-five percent of the funds missing isn’t lax oversight. It’s a heist.
Add this to the long record of missing weapons, massive cost overruns for projects that go nowhere (in both Iraq and Afghanistan) and the billions in unaccounted for funds that may or may not have been paid to contractors — or Lord knows who — and you might see a pattern here.
Full story...
