How many car do you own ?

[renovation]

Uncle Sam. He's got 642,233 of them. i personally own 3 cars .

Operating those vehicles - maintenance, leases and fuel - cost taxpayers a whopping $3.4 billion last year, according to General Services Administration data obtained and analyzed by The Associated Press.

While Cabinet and other officials say they need the vehicles to do their jobs, watchdogs say mismanagement of the government fleet is costing millions of dollars a year in wasteful spending.
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080731/D928VJIG8.html
very nice extra perks for being a government person in higher ranks. to have a driver at your call who makes $90 grand a year ?

[uncledaddy]

$90 grand? I have a CDL and I never came close to that. :disa:

[Maarchk]

It would be nice to have someone actually look through the books and put a stop to some of the ridiculous spending that goes on.

[Thesifer]

It would be nice to have someone actually look through the books and put a stop to some of the ridiculous spending that goes on.


Like that's ever going to happen.

[uncledaddy]

It would be nice to have someone actually look through the books and put a stop to some of the ridiculous spending that goes on.

Then we spend more on the fuel, maintenance, etc. for the vehicles used in that investigation. ;) :D

[VTGreg]

$90 grand? I have a CDL and I never came close to that. :disa:

The guy I know that has a car service in Charlotte has to make more than that. Considering the hours they are likely required to keep $90k may not be all that unreasonable.

How much money would it cost to investigate all of the frivalous spending associated with these vehicles, most of which are probably used for valid purposes?

[uncledaddy]

The guy I know that has a car service in Charlotte has to make more than that. Considering the hours they are likely required to keep $90k may not be all that unreasonable.

How much money would it cost to investigate all of the frivalous spending associated with these vehicles, most of which are probably used for valid purposes?

I assume your acquaintance with the car service has a fleet. I hope he makes more. I drive buses and strait trucks. Even most Class A drivers that I know don't make $90K.

You'd be surprised at how many government vehicles are used for personal reasons. I had a shop in downtown San Diego, and did service for several different agencies, including ATF, U.S. Customs, and State of Ca. and every driver I knew used their vehicle for personal reasons. (When you service these vehicles for 8 years, you get to know the drivers.)

[VTGreg]

I assume your acquaintance with the car service has a fleet. I hope he makes more. I drive buses and strait trucks. Even most Class A drivers that I know don't make $90K.

You'd be surprised at how many government vehicles are used for personal reasons. I had a shop in downtown San Diego, and did service for several different agencies, including ATF, U.S. Customs, and State of Ca. and every driver I knew used their vehicle for personal reasons. (When you service these vehicles for 8 years, you get to know the drivers.)

I don't believe GSA vehicles are supposed to be used for personal use. Something like that would be relativly easy to track just based on mileage. Perhaps the regulations vary based on the agency that is using the car.

[Thesifer]

I don't believe GSA vehicles are supposed to be used for personal use. Something like that would be relativly easy to track just based on mileage. Perhaps the regulations vary based on the agency that is using the car.

They aren't supposed to be used. But they are. Recruiters in the Military do it all the time. Live somewhere further out, so they drive to the closest recruiting station, grab their government vehicle from there, and then drive to their station. Therefore they are "going from military location to military location."

[guiseppewv]

I see this type of abuse all the time in the DC area. DC govt workers that drive way up into MD and are not on govt business. I guess when you elect corrupt govt officials it tends to trickle down and the people working for the govt then feel "if they can do it then I can". It is not right but it is the truth.

State govt people do that too. In WV it is encouraged. A state po-po who lives closer to one barracks but works out of a rural barracks commutes to the closer one and picks up his/her cruiser then heads to the rural barracks. Also the state roads people pickup their state vehicle at the closest location to their house and then drive to the construction site field office.

I do think that this is something that can be fixed. It might take a while but abuses like this need to be stopped. I think quite a few large businesses have put a stop to this with GPS systems in their vehicles. A little big brother-ish but if that is what you have to do to keep people from "stealing" from you then so be it.

[ShawnLee]

Well, military use mixing with personal use can be iffy. When you're taking care of business and your business deals with the lives of the soldiers, it's a fine line.
When I was in the Army, we went on a couple of road trips for legitimate training purposes. But do you get in trouble for going to the Applebee's three miles away instead of the McD's across the street? If it's that type of thing, then no worries - that's life.
That said, there needs to be accountability. Abuse and fraud - psh... Get it out of here.