We pay for their waste...what a stinky deal.

Hello to the readers of "The Voice of the Taxpayer"! This is my first post with ya'll, so please be kind. Feed me comments! :) Now on to the meat of the matter: waste, fraud, and abuse of our taxpayer money by our government employees.

Whatever happened to holding public office and demonstrating trustworthiness in stewardship, honor in conduct, and integrity of character? Are those basic values out of fashion or not expected for those working in government? Waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars run rampant throughout all levels of government and the costs to the taxpayer are enormous.

“Taxpayers deserve honesty,” says Americans for Prosperity - Texas Executive Director Peggy Venable, “We continue to see fraud, waste and abuse of public dollars, to the tune of millions of dollars.”

Instances of justice are served up to taxpayers by way of small victories, however. Temple’s Mayor Pro-tem Martha Tyroch just lost her bid for state representative likely due to her outrageous spending habits using the Temple city credit card, information made public prior to the election. On May 10, voters in Palmer will have a chance to decommission Councilman Mike Greenlee should they deem his 1990s-era expenditures at strip clubs and bars using his city credit card abuse of taxpayer money. The Ellis County Press covers the front page story here.

Taxpayers should not have to go to work every day to earn a living, take care of their families and pay their taxes, knowing that millions of their tax dollars are wasted, abused, and used fraudulently. The good news is there are some elected officials who do consistently side on behalf of the taxpayer and trustworthiness in stewardship. During the 80th Texas Legislative Session in 2007, Sen. Dan Patrick introduced SB 1190 that would have established a commission on state government spending to address waste, fraud, and abuse in state agency operations. It was left pending in committee at the close of the Session.

Our lesson is this: they’re using our money so we have every right to oversee its use. Americans for Prosperity – Texas (AFP) can help you plug in to your local and state government so you may serve as a citizen watchdog for government spending. If abuse of your taxpayer dollars makes your blood boil and you want to do something about it, please call AFP at 512.476.5905.