Friday, January 18, 2008

The cats regurgitated my homework

More on disbursements...


John Edwards
total disbursements reported: $6,457,032.42
listed by purpose: $6,457,028.42
listed by payee: $6,457,763.02
listed by date: $6,457,028.42

In a perfect world all 4 totals would be the same. I noticed that all the quarterly reports from all the candidates seem to be headed something along the lines of "Amended Report..." so I guess that covers them if the math comes out fuzzy. I'm not enough of an accountant to know or care if that's sufficient CYA, and this isn't a make-or-break issue for me, but as a citizen/voter/taxpayer I do find it reassuring when the numbers all add up.

So, all the numbers [in this particular post] are taken from various candidates' reports for the 2nd quarter of 2007. John Edwards' report has ~$700 perhaps that could have been better accounted for.


Some selected others...


Hillary Clinton
total disbursements reported: $12,763,905.50
listed by purpose: $12,762,183.45
listed by payee: $12,762,183.45
listed by date: $12,762,183.45
Or about ~$1700 that perhaps could have been better accounted for.


Barack Obama
total disbursements reported: $16,043,002.66
listed by purpose: $16,038,969.80
listed by payee: $16,096,635.60
listed by date: $16,038,969.80
Or $57,000+ that perhaps could have been better accounted for.


Dennis Kucinich
total disbursements reported: $717,653.23
listed by purpose: $731,019.74
listed by payee: $731,019.74
listed by date: $731,019.74
Or ~$13,000 that perhaps could have been better accounted for.


Ron Paul
total disbursements reported: $539,517.01
listed by purpose: $611,289.92
listed by payee: $611,289.92
listed by date: $611,289.92
Or nearly $72,000 that perhaps could have been better accounted for.


Being of a somewhat disorganized bent myself [ha!] I'm not about to fault Obama for his lack of organizational skills. And I agree with him completely about the vision thing:
... seem to think the job of the president is to go in and run some bureaucracy. Well, that’s not my job. My job is to set a vision of 'here's where the bureaucracy needs to go.'"


This whole government should be run as a business shtick that we've been fed for too many years now is a load of horsefeathers. Government most definitely should not be run like a business, though it is a good idea to try to at least keep an eye on where the money's going.

Anyways, I find it less interesting that the numbers don't quite add up and more interesting to see just what the candidates are spending their money on. I doubt this will provide any clues at all about what their spending priorities would be if they got elected, but I have fun speculating on this.

8 comments:

Steve Bates said...

Hey, what's the point of double-entry bookkeeping if the numbers are always exactly the same? :)

hipparchia said...

i'm betting it's lack of organizational skills. i hated hated hated doing weekly expense reports back in the day.

Unknown said...

Having worked for too long as a bureaucrat—12 years—I much prefer a visionary.

hipparchia said...

i've been a minor bureaucrat myself. it's not a position we should be wasting a president on.

visionaries come with their own set of problems, but i'd still rather have one of them as president.

Keifus said...

I suppose it depends on what kind of business you're talking about. If it's a small bidness run more or less like your household (you know, balance debts and expenditures, strive for continued accounts or growth when times are flush), then it's one thing. On the other hand, when your point of reference is the Texas Rangers, then it can be different.

Hope the cats are easy to wipe up after, etc.

K

hipparchia said...

10 of the 12 cats are catchable, and therefore medicatable, the other 2 i'm going to have to hope get through it ok on their own.

i can't decide if i love you or hate you, k. you've just added yet another book to my 'must read' list with that link.

Keifus said...

Make sure you get it at the library, at least over the next couple months. Didn't read it, but heard Teri Gross interviewing the guy.

hipparchia said...

looks like my library has it on order.

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