Government Wastes $100 Billion a Year on Payments Made in Error

According to The Fiscal Times

The federal government wastes about $100 billion annually on program payments made in error or that are improper, and recovers only a fraction from the mistakes, the Fiscal Times reported.

The Times assembled data on the staggering losses from the Office of Management and Budget, the executive branch's fiscal watchdog. "Between 2002 and 2012, federal agencies spent more than half a trillion dollars ($688 billion) on payments that should never have been made," the Times said. "This adds up to huge losses for the U.S. Treasury."

The OMB figures showed that in 2012 alone, 13 programs of the federal government made a combined $101.3 billion in improper payments – nearly $16 billion more than the highly charged budget sequester ended up cutting from government spending last year.

(H/T Charles WT)