How About G.P.S-ing the Pork?

Been thinking about all the wasteful spending our government does. On both sides of the aisle.

We need to find a way to keep track of to whom the money goes and what it is spent on. I say enough of throwing taxpayers hard earned money down a rat hole.

Here is just one case in point, it's how some government employees abuse and waste taxpayer money. Seems like technology is becoming very useful in holding them accountable...

ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) - GPS tracking devices installed on government-issue vehicles are helping communities around the country reduce waste and abuse, in part by catching employees shopping, working out at the gym or otherwise loafing while on the clock.

The use of GPS has led to firings, stoking complaints from employees and unions that the devices are intrusive, Big Brother technology. But city officials say that monitoring employees' movements has deterred abuses, saving the taxpayers money in gasoline and lost productivity.

"We can't have public resources being used on private activities. That's Management 101," Phil Nolan, supervisor of the Long Island town of Islip.

Islip saved nearly 14,000 gallons of gas over a three-month period from the previous year after GPS devices were installed. Nolan said that shows that employees know they are being watched and are no longer using Islip's 614 official vehicles for personal business.

[...]

in Indiana, six employees of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Health Department lost their jobs last year after an administrator bought three Global Positioning Satellite devices out of her own pocket and switched them in and out of 12 department vehicles to nail health inspectors running personal errands on the job.

Employees were caught going to stores, gyms, restaurants, churches and their homes.

I guess the gravy train is coming to a screeching halt for some. Or to switch metaphors, it's the end of the road. And I say "it's about time". If you want to "loaf around" do it on your own time, like every other person in a private sector job does.

Which leads me to think, wouldn't it be awesome if we could install G.P.S. devices on all those earmarks that get attached to bills (if they pass) and track who gets it and what it actually gets spent on? May sound like a kooky idea but, desperate times demand desperate measures. A billion here, a billion there, seems like our representatives are way too comfortable spending our money on their pet projects. If they knew we could track where the money goes, maybe they'd tighten their belts more and spend less.

Could it lead to a more fiscally responsible government? If you're interested, just look at where your money is going, enough to make your head explode!