Bang Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 OK, so sue me for the thread title, this is the discussion, in my opinion. Here is the article http://news.yahoo.com/16-muffins-8-coffee-served-justice-audit-023623142.html $16 muffins, $8 coffee served in Justice audit WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the U.S. government grapples to find ways to trim the bloated federal deficit, a new report suggests officials might start with cutting out $16 muffins and $10 cookies. "We found the Department (of Justice) spent $16 on each of the 250 muffins served at an August 2009 legal conference in Washington," said a DOJ Office of Inspector General report released on Tuesday. The DOJ spent $121 million on conferences in fiscal 2008 and 2009, which exceeded its own spending limits and appeared to be extravagant and wasteful, according to the report that examined 10 conferences held during that period. The review turned up the expensive muffins, which came from the Capital Hilton Hotel just blocks from the White House, as well as cookies and brownies that cost almost $10 each. The department spent $32 per person on snacks of Cracker Jack, popcorn, and candy bars and coffee that cost $8.24 per cup at another conference, the report said. The DOJ also spent nearly $600,000 for event planning services for five conferences, the document said. The rest under the link. Here is my problem. No doubt many will see this and scream about bloated government spending, and they're right, this is outrageous. But in many ways the government is sort of over a barrel by the people who take advantage of this all the time. The government needs to have a conference. Suffice to say they can't just go do it in Obama's basement, right? So they need a facility. And the facility rakes them over the coals. Send out for muffins, the price quadruples. yes, the government absolutely needs to be more conscious of these dollars, but honestly, the auditors who will be looking at these expenses have to battle the immediate desire to completely bilk them for as much cash as can be had. The governmental waste everyone always complains about should not be called "waste' so much.. but "extortion", or 'scalping fees'. How doe we ever get spending in check when everyone who does business with the government views it as a signed blank check with their name on it? ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botched Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 For $16, they better have something in them other than blueberries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Same as the expensive toilet seats and doorknobs ? Pitiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Don't have time to really research this one specifically, but be careful with the way those items are accounted for. More often than not prices are entirely misleading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Don't have time to really research this one specifically, but be careful with the way those items are accounted for. More often than not prices are entirely misleading. Agree. There is no way in hell any company would invoice 16 dollars a muffin to the DOJ The DOJ contracts officer would reject that invoice in 2 seconds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Do you want the federal government holding meetings at the Holiday Inn and having someone drop off some McDonald's? I've worked with event planning before and if you go anywhere nice things are incredibly expensive. They tend to include service costs and the like though so I doubt the muffins were actually 16 per muffin. They tend to have a fee for serving food for a room of a certain size. For instance 50 people for breakfast is $X. Included in that is set up, clean up, and food even if it's not consumed. I bet the muffins sucked. They usually do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destructis Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 I am the Muffin Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFIMWRXWY90 Seriously you had to know this was coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 Do you want the federal government holding meetings at the Holiday Inn and having someone drop off some McDonald's? I've worked with event planning before and if you go anywhere nice things are incredibly expensive. The alternative would be to hold all meetings in government buildings exclusively though I'm sure that would come at a significant cost as well. I bet the muffins sucked. They usually do. I get that,, which is why i say they're over a barrel. They have to have these meetings, and as mentioned in the article, the prices quadruple over the same rates for other organizations. The government is too easy to rip off, and the 'waste' is mostly that. 32 bucks for cracker jack? Profiteering. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Are the costs in line with what people in industry spend? I know when I go to conferences in the Pharmaceutical industry, they tend to be very expensive. They have meals and snacks/coffee, and I wonder if the prices are the same and that's why the conference fees are so high? I honestly don't know what the organizers get charged for these things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Why are you so against a free economy? These people who are changing $16 for a muffin are clearly the job creators in this country. Just like the movie theater charging $12 for a ticket and another $15 for food. How else can the theater staff afford to drive around in Ferrari's and party with rappers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 I get that,, which is why i say they're over a barrel. They have to have these meetings, and as mentioned in the article, the prices quadruple over the same rates for other organizations.The government is too easy to rip off, and the 'waste' is mostly that. 32 bucks for cracker jack? Profiteering. ~Bang If you think that's bad keep your hands off the minibar while in Vegas... not that it will stop them from charging you for it even if you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 If you think that's bad keep your hands off the minibar while in Vegas... not that it will stop them from charging you for it even if you do. Oh, i know. But the conference isn't like a minibar where they can choose to get drunk and open the 20 dollar Snickers bar or not. I guess they can choose to not cater the meetings. I'd be OK with that, too. Pack a lunch. This has been going on forever. $600 hammers, $16 muffins.. All the while we hear screaming about waste,, and where it goes isn't considered. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Off the record, I've paid a girl a lot more than $16 for her muffin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmySmith Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 No question the caterer/hotel gouged them for the maximum they could. Easy fix, out the caterer/hotel to the American people so we can boycott them out of business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 DOJ probably wants to have a comparable level of luxury relative to what private law firms do. I don't think $16 muffins would be that out of whack for how large firms behave, or how much hotels charge for food. Still wasteful, but not like this sort of waste is specific to the government Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 This may be the standard conference catering pricing at an expensive city hotel. The prices do seem relatively high. A 30 second call by the journalist to the hotel conference sales manager would clear this up. Anyone who has run a conference at a big hotel can tell you that food and beverage costs per person per day routinely run to $150 or more without any caviar and champagne being served. As for whether $600k in event planning services is excessive depends on the size of the events and what effort it would have taken internal employees to accomplish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.T.real,lights,out Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Hey man someone has to pay for Area 51 right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVAbrendan Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Thought this was a Starbucks thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Fried Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Why do they have to have these expensive meetings? Most of the time, they're an excuse to have a great meal, and the business could be done elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulane Skins Fan Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 How do you all know that these muffins and cookies weren't worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Why do they have to have these expensive meetings? Most of the time, they're an excuse to have a great meal, and the business could be done elsewhere. Depends on location. If a majority of the attendees are local, then they are saving many hundreds of $ per attendee by not travelling and incurring accommodation. I'm not a fan of wasteful conferences, but at least you know the attendees aren't sitting in their office surfing Extremeskins. :pfft: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 No question the caterer/hotel gouged them for the maximum they could. Easy fix, out the caterer/hotel to the American people so we can boycott them out of business. Reminds me of when another company was told by the Feds that they'd have to pay for the damage from their Oil Spill. Then you had an elected official apologize to the COMPANY for that expectation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampEm Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Are the costs in line with what people in industry spend? I know when I go to conferences in the Pharmaceutical industry, they tend to be very expensive. They have meals and snacks/coffee, and I wonder if the prices are the same and that's why the conference fees are so high? I honestly don't know what the organizers get charged for these things. A coke goes for $4-$5 in a minibar. We all know its less expensive at Wal-Mart, but we still find ourselves buying from the minibar from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckus Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 The problem is the unethical and absurd policies of hotels. Most conference occur at hotels and convention centers. These locations can charge ANYTHING they want for food and most contracts restrict you from bringing in outside food. It is much like a sports stadium. There are only so many places you can hold large conferences in some cities and many times you just get stuck paying absurd prices for catering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubbs Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Same as the expensive toilet seats and doorknobs ? Pitiful. Jeff Goldblum's father in Independence Day, is that you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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