MATT WELCH: Why The $16 Muffin Is No Joke.

The lesson of government waste, whether on $16 muffins or $535 million loan guarantees to solar power companies or $48 billion in “improper” Medicare payments, is one worth relearning every day.

Managers whose budgets do not depend on customer satisfaction and who do not face competitive pressure in the marketplace, will not, on balance, spend their money wisely. Vendors selling to those managers know that price matters much less than it does to, say, Wal-Mart. And anywhere there is political urgency and official involvement high up the command chain, conditions will begin resembling a gold rush.

Read the whole thing.

Related: Unemployment Cheats Raked in $16.5 Billion Last Year.

UPDATE: Gallup: Americans Say Federal Government Wastes Over Half Of Every Dollar. (Via Kaus on Twitter, who comments: “Davis-Bacon, civ. service, unionism, unfireability–it all adds up 2 kill liberalism.”)