Newsweek Discovers Welfare Fraud, Ignores Pentagon's Missing Trillions
Newsweek's recent deep dive into Minnesota's welfare fraud allegations against Tim Walz (back when he was a Congressman, no less) is a masterclass in misplaced priorities. While the focus zeroes in on potential millions, the broader picture of governmental financial accountability remains conveniently out of frame. One recalls the 2015 U.S. Army audit, which 'lost' $6.5 trillion (yes, with a 'T')
in unsupported adjustments, only to be followed by another Pentagon audit in 2017 revealing $21 trillion in similar discrepancies over decades – a sum nearly equivalent to the entire U.S. national debt at the time. (Source: Reuters, 2015, on the Army's 'missing' trillions). It's fascinating, isn't it, how the 'vigilant' press can meticulously track alleged welfare abuse in the low millions, yet
collectively yawn when the Pentagon can't account for sums that could fund universal healthcare several times over? Perhaps some financial black holes are simply more 'newsworthy,' or less likely to upset defense contractors and their political patrons. One might wonder if the scale of a financial discrepancy determines its journalistic weight, or if some audits are simply too inconvenient to
pursue with the same ferocity.