The administrative state can't do math. How else can this report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) be explained ?

Since 2003 the government has shelled out a staggering $2.7 TRILLION in "improper payments " ....... $236 Billion alone last year.

3/4 of the improper payments were over payments


Our analysis of agency data shows that 14 agencies reported improper payment estimates across 71 programs. As shown in figure 2, about 79 percent ($186 billion) of the government-wide total of estimated improper payments that agencies reported for fiscal year 2023 is concentrated in five program areas:• HHS’s Medicare, comprising three programs ($51 billion);2• HHS’s Medicaid ($50 billion);• the Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance - Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance ($44 billion); • the Department of the Treasury’s Earned Income Tax Credit ($22 billion); and• the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness ($19 billionGAO-24-106927, Improper Payments: Information on Agencies’ Fiscal Year 2023 Estimates (https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106927.pdf)

This is an underestimate because not all of the leviathan state agencies report improper payments.
The estimate doesn't include the Department of Health and Human Services' Temporary Assistance for Needy Families "a program that is susceptible to significant improper payments," according to the report. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program gave states about $16.5 billion in 2022 to fund monthly cash assistance payments to low-income families with children and a range of other services.

Feds made $236 billion in improper payments last year | National | thecentersquare.com (https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_6262d146-eb7e-11ee-b072-8f4fcd6219e5.html)

Improper payments—those that should not have been made or were made in the incorrect amount—have consistently been a government-wide issue.
Improper Payments: Information on Agencies' Fiscal Year 2023 Estimates | U.S. GAO (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106927#:~:text=Improper%20payments%E2%80%94those%2 0that%20should,trillion%20in%20total%20improper%20 payments.)




Unknown is how much additional $$$$$$ gets squandered through waste, fraud and abuse.

And that doesn't count fed dollars that were not so much wasted as they were spent inefficiently.

The fraud reached the top of California's political class. Newsom's former Chief of Staff was indicted for diverting Paycheck Protection Program bucks to her campaign fund and for personal use.

According to court documents, between February 2022 and September 2024, Williamson conspired with others to divert approximately $225,000 in funds from a dormant political campaign to an associate’s personal use. Collectively, they funneled the money through various business entities and disguised it as pay for what was, in reality, a no-show job.
The indictment also alleges that Williamson conspired with a business associate to create false, backdated contracts after receiving a civil subpoena in January 2024 from the U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans made to Williamson’s business.
Williamson also subscribed to false tax returns claiming more than $1 million in business deductions for what were actually personal and nondeductible expenditures, such as private jet travel, luxury hotel stays, home furnishings, and designer handbags, as well as deductions for no-show jobs for friends and family.
When questioned by FBI agents in connection with ongoing investigations into the diversion of campaign funds, the backdated contracts, and allegations of public corruption, Williamson made false statements to the agents regarding each of those topics.





Eastern District of California | California Political Consultant and Former Public Official Charged with Conspiracy to Commit Fraud and Obstruct Justice, False Statements, and Tax Crimes | United States Department of Justice (https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/california-political-consultant-and-former-public-official-charged-conspiracy-commit)

Many members of the California political machine have received FBI letters



Most of the charges against her stem from what prosecutors described as a complex scheme to skim money from the campaign account of Xavier Becerra, a former Biden administration official and Democratic congressman now running for California governor. Federal prosecutors say that Ms. Williamson conspired to direct $225,000 from a dormant political account to Mr. Becerra’s right-hand man.
Two of Ms. Williamson’s associates also have been charged, albeit with only one or two crimes after agreeing to plea deals — the aide to Mr. Becerra who received the funds, Sean McCluskie, and a Sacramento lobbyist, Greg Campbell.

F.B.I. Letters Send Shivers Through California’s Political Inner Circle - The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/us/california-fbi-state-capitol-corruption.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawORNFZleHRuA2FlbQIxM QBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeZJvojCS Uxju4aKVGBOpOwsc10J40MP1Co3AvD6FY-oEKJHCbhVbRnVFo0qE_aem_VZgOyykafxLZSWUaTnQ1ag)

Most interesting is that it was Clueless Joe's FBI that initiated the investigation . This suggests there is a Dem split between the emperor's acolytes and those of the Newsom wing.