Budgets are highly important in our lives and the two most important items to be budgeted are ‘time’ and ‘financial resources and responsibilities.’ Other resources such as personnel and inventory items depend on accurate time and financial budgeting is often unwitting simply because we prioritize meetings, appointments, dining, sleeping and recreation simply by memory.
Some of us however are technologically advanced to the point that most of our essential obligations are kept on an electronic device that makes sounds when an appointment is due or a meeting is upon us. On the other hand, we all should budget our resources in advance by a month or so and in most cases the current year.
Financial budgeting is critical with all businesses, all government organizations and agencies as well as non-profits such as churches, charitable service enterprises such as the Red Cross. Corporate budgeting is an essential practice to maintain efficient staff and profitability.
The federal budget is based on a fiscal year that runs from October 1st of the current year to September 30th of the upcoming year that becomes the ‘current’ year. In accord with the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the President’s role is to submit a proposed federal operating budget by the first Monday of February of the named budget year. Congress is supposed to pass a ‘budget resolution’ by April 15th but is often late in doing so. In fact, sometimes a ‘budget resolution’ isn’t passed at all. There is a long list of reasons and excuses why the dates are expanded or skipped, partly reflecting why our national debt has eclipsed $21 trillion.
We all hear about the billions of dollars for military readiness, welfare programs and other expenditures. But what about the money spent for international charitable causes? Every family with a street address and phone number is a target for the thousands of domestic and foreign needy organizations. How many of them deserve your contributions and how many of them are legitimate?
Here is an example; NPA (Norwegian People’s Aid) a charitable organization organized in 1939 has received donations from nine nations, including the USA, with an income of about $130 million and expenditures of $124 million in 2016. It turns out that the NPA provided funding for SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army), Iran, Hamas, PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) and a group called LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).
Israel, Sri Lanka and other countries have complained that NPA was funding furtive activities. Acting on these complaints, our government filed ‘false claims’ in violation of a USAID grant in Federal Court in New York. The judge fined NPA $2.025 million but authorized the continued funding of NPA.
George Soros, the left-wing ‘open-borders’ billionaire has funded and formed a non-profit group called ‘United We Dream’, an outgrowth of the NLIC (National Immigration Law Center) that has received over $200,000 in government grant money between 2008-2010. One of the features of ‘United We Dream’ is a smartphone app called ‘Notifica’ (Notify) that helps illegal immigrants avoid ICE and other authorities. Another clever ploy of George Soros was exposed by ‘Judicial Watch’ a Washington D.C. watchdog group. Through Soros’ Open Society Foundation (OSF) funded illegal efforts to destabilize the center-right government of Macedonia; about $5 million flowed from our State Department and USAID.
The United States is the world’s largest international donor handing out $34.6 billion dollars in ODA (Official Development Assistance) in 2017. However the ODA budget for 2018 was reduced by 6% to $32.5 billion. From 2012 through 2019, Palestine Authority has and will receive $2.9 billion from the U.S. These are the Israeli neighbors that lob fire balloons over the wall into Israel and get family bonuses for stabbing Israeli citizens and soldiers.
Here are some questions for our government giveaway geniuses: Does anyone in government ever do a cost/benefit analysis for the USA after gifting money for ‘development’ and other purposes? What benefit did our hard-working taxpayers get when in January 2015 Obama sent $400 million in cash at night time to Tehran in an unmarked airplane? With a $21 trillion national debt we are also the worlds’ largest debtor nation.
Drain the Swamp!
Dick Baynton
