Americans are experiencing the ugly reality of big government, often without even realizing it. Every day, taxpayers lose billions of dollars to fraud. The massive welfare state -- fed by the left's insatiable appetite for spending -- is stealing from honest, hardworking families and accelerating our country's national debt spiral. And it's happening right under Washington's nose.
A 2024 report by the Government Accountability Office found that the federal government loses as much as $521 billion each year to fraud -- equal to more than $1.4 billion every day. That's nearly 60% more than the federal government spends to care for our veterans and equal to almost half the cost of servicing the federal debt.
Others estimate the costs to be even higher. Haywood Talcove, CEO of LexisNexis Special Services and Risk Solutions Government, testified before Congress earlier this year that the government loses about $1 trillion annually to fraud -- or about $115 million per hour -- with as much as 70% pilfered by "transnational criminals."
His assessment was chilling: "People don't realize how easy it is to steal from the government."
Now more than ever, we need vigilant watchdog organizations to hold our elected leaders accountable. From out-of-control spending to rampant fraud and abuse, our government has proven that it is incapable of -- or disinterested in -- responsibly stewarding Americans' money.
This flagrant disregard has perpetuated a tax-and-redistribute cycle that rewards criminals and punishes good, ordinary individuals and families. No one would tolerate a lowlife thug blatantly swiping money from their paycheck, and they shouldn't tolerate it just because it happens on Uncle Sam's watch.
Elon Musk, one of the few high-profile leaders to call out this problem -- probably because, unlike lawmakers in Washington, his job doesn't depend on promising more programs that aren't sustainable -- cautioned that wasteful spending coupled with unchecked abuse has put our country on a course that will sink "the ship of America." And he's right.
Democrats clutched their pearls when a 23-year-old Nick Shirley exposed the widespread fraud happening in Minnesota under disgraced Gov. Tim Walz -- the party's pick to co-headline its presidential ticket. Spearheaded by a network of Somali nationals, the scheme defrauded more than $9 billion from child care and welfare food programs.
Not surprisingly, Democrats were more interested in crying xenophobia than correcting the problem. They were quick to accuse the Trump administration -- which took swift action to halt funding, and which obtained 63 convictions, the most in a federal fraud case in recent history -- of telling "vile, racist lies."
Fraud, abuse and plain incompetency are draining federal programs. Social Security made nearly $72 billion in "improper payments" between 2015 and 2022. Medicare and Medicaid self-reported over $140 billion in wrongful payments in 2024 alone. As Mr. Musk once joked, there must be a lot of vampires drawing welfare checks.
Stopping this exploitation demands urgency. The purpose is not to prevent Americans who play by the rules from receiving the benefits they pay into; it's to protect those benefits and ensure they will be there for them over the long term.
That's why I recently launched Americans for Good Government -- a nonprofit organization committed to restoring fiscal responsibility, weeding out waste and fraud, and finally tackling the national debt with real, actionable solutions.
Thomas Jefferson cautioned: "When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles."
Our great country desperately needs a return to the principles upon which it was founded: limited government, free enterprise, personal freedom, and accountability to the people. It must start by ending the left's reckless march toward socialism and returning power where it belongs -- with everyday individuals and families.
Ken Buck received his law degree at the University of Wyoming and served in the United States House of Representatives from 2015-2024 representing Colorado's 4th congressional district.
