In light of the recent news that hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes owed, primarily by the wealthiest ain our nation, are uncollected every year, this is inexcusable.
HuffPo reports:
"The U.S. Agriculture Department announced Monday it will close nearly 260 offices nationwide, a move that won praise for cutting costs but raised concerns about the possible effect on food safety.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the goal was to save $150 million a year in the agency's $145 billion budget. About $90 million had already been saved by reducing travel and supplies, and the closures were expected to save another $60 million, he said.
The plan calls for 259 offices, labs and other facilities to be closed, affecting the USDA headquarters in Washington and operations in 46 states. Seven foreign offices also will be shut."
According to the CDC's most recent report, nearly 48 million Americans are sickened by food-borne illnesses annually. Just under 128,000 are so severely poisoned that they must be hospitalized. For just over 3,000 of these victims, it is fatal.
These are the figures with the existing system.
How many more injured and dead is an acceptable loss ratio in the eyes of our government?
We will soon find out.
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