Taxpayers Fund Expensive Chairs

You’ll need to take a seat for this one.  And if you’re a federal government employee, there’s a chance your seat cost one pretty penny.  You have probably never heard of an “Aeron,” and up until recently, neither had the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.  The reason is because that we’re not federal employees who spend up to 1,000 bucks a pop for hoity-toity office chairs.

In a recent piece, The Daily found that “federal government agencies bought 1,002 ergonomic chairs from 2005 to 2011…Uncle Sam spent at least $497,494 on the chairs during that period, at an average cost of more than $500 each.”  With spending like this, we shouldn’t be surprised that that last week the national debt surpassed $16 trillion.

Some might say $500,000 is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the other examples of excessive government waste.  They’re right.  In the grand scheme of things, a half a million is “nothing.”  But just because it’s a small amount in relative terms – keep in mind this “small” amount is significantly more than the annual income of an average American – doesn’t make it okay to spend it.  After all, needlessly spending a half-a-million here, a half-a-million can add up to a lot; $16 trillion and counting to be exact.  Furthermore, there’s little reason to take solace in the fact that it’s only $500,000.  It doesn’t matter if it is five dollars or one billion; it’s appalling to see government waste and mismanagement of our hard-earned money.

Given the severe budget cuts that the federal government will likely face at the end of this year,  federal employees can’t possibly justify such superfluous expenses?  Well according to The Daily, “Federal officials said Aerons…are necessary for employees suffering from back problems or repetitive-stress syndrome.”  There are probably other options that are a lot cheaper and have the same benefits as these luxury chairs.

Not only does this expense reveal poor discretion and lack of consideration for the taxpayers, there’s also a culture in which additional spending is downright encouraged.  For example, Charlie Peters, the Peace Corps’ director of evaluation from 1962 to 1968 explained the dynamic this way: “You have to unload money at the end of the year…If you don’t spend what you’ve got, Congress is going to say, ‘Why should we give you more money when you didn’t even spend what we gave you last year?’” Instead of continuing with its current behavior, it would be great to see Congress reform the system by rewarding agencies for implementing cost cutting measures; something companies in the private sector have practiced for quite some time now.

As if generous federal employee health benefits and other perks are not enough, now federal bureaucrats have come to expect outrageously expensive office furniture.  These Aeron chairs offer a whole new meaning to a cushy office job.