US Owns a Fleet of 642,233 Official Cars
August 1, 2008
All of us were overwhelmed by the news that some part of our state Government just recently bought a fleet of expensive official cars. Most think that it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money, no matter how they tried to justify the lower maintenance costs for these ‘better’ cars.
According to news taken from AOL.com, Americans apparently has got 642,233 of them. Operating those vehicles, maintenance, leases and fuel cost taxpayers a whopping USD3.4bil (RM11bil) last year, according to General Services Administration data obtained and analyzed by The Associated Press.
The US government owns or leases sedans, SUVs, trucks and limousines for more than three dozen agencies. Are they all really necessary? 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.
The report claims that Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has two drivers. Their salaries totaled more than USD128,000 (RM419,000) last year. Also, The driver for Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt earns about USD90,000 (RM296,000) a year! That’s roughly as much as what our ministers are earning! Full report can be obtained at http://fastweb.inel.gov/FFR2007.doc
Maybe we can look back and ask ourselves, is it real to expect our beloved Malaysia (which by the way is only ranked as ‘Secondary Emerging Country’ together with China, Russia, Egypt, etc) to have COMPLETE accountability and foresight, when a much ‘developed’ nation in economy, social, education, infrastructure, good governance, democracy and accountability, still demonstrate doubts and are subject to criticisms after hundreds of years?
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A part time burger flipper at Maccy Dees earns more than the average diploma holder here!
But yeah, we need to ubah our gaya hidup. I just went to the Beemer dealership for a test drive.
Which driver in this world earns USD90k a year = USD7,500 a month? Certainly not by American standards.. The report says that the median household income for householders with a Bachelor’s degree or higher was USD73,446 = USD 6,000 /month.
So, how come a DRIVER can earn more than that?
p/s: the report is to show MISMANAGEMENT ie wastage / corruption/ overspending/ dishonesty/ exploitation/ fraud, etc
a) USA = 49 states
Malaysia = 14 states
b) USA = each state dun have to depend on G for handout…heck california alone has the economy of 3 countries
Malaysia = each state has to have handout from G; not independent…
c) USA = Budget around USD 4.3 trillion
Malaysia = Budget around USD 20 billion
d) USA = free country
Malaysia = Draconian country (mind the pun here)
e) USA = you can be who want to be
Malaysia = change ur lifestyle (kui..kui…kui)