WASTE-WATCHING WITH RAND PAUL
Everyone is getting excited about getting the waste out of the government (well, except for politicians and government employees). Senator Rand Paul has just released a report that outlines more than $1TT of waste for the past year. Though I wasn’t aware of it, he has been doing this for the past 10 years. “I have a lot of problems with federal spending, and now it’s time to hear all about them,” Paul wrote in the report.
“This year, I am highlighting a whopping $1,008,313,329,626.12,” Paul, R-Ky., wrote in the report. “That’s over $1 trillion in government waste, including things like ice-skating drag queens, a $12 million Las Vegas pickleball complex, $4,840,082 on Ukrainian influencers, and more! No matter how much money the government has wasted, politicians keep demanding even more.”
Influencers (???) and pickleball courts? Shouldn’t that be properly funded by a. people who believe “influencing” works and b. locals who want pickleball? I love ducks, but the Department of the interior spent $720,479 on wetland conservation projects for ducks in Mexico. Why are we doing so much in other countries? The US is broke.
Other Peoples’ Money
It’s interesting how generous people can be when it isn’t their money. No project looks ridiculous enough, no spending is too little when it advances politicians’ popularity and ensures re-election. And government agencies enjoy spending as well, as they have little limiting them from pet projects whose benefit is often questionable. If we got to vote for most of this, we would vote no, decisively.
Do you like circuses? Governments love “bread and circuses” and this time, the NEA spent $365,000 to promote circuses in city parks. I used to go to circuses, but city parks are for recreation and relaxation, not for this. State spent $500K on the US Embassy in Ethiopia for a social media campaign. Another $253,653 went to Bosnia to fight “misinformation,” $2.1MM for Paraguayan border security and $3MM on “girl-centered climate action” in Brazil. That’s not what I call legitimate foreign aid.
Because we want happy cocaine users, HHS spent $417,470 to see if lonely rats are more likely to seek out cocaine than happy rats. The National Science Foundation spent $288,563 to ensure bird-watching groups have safe spaces, also known as “affinity groups.” The birds may need a safe space from aggressive birders, but birders do not.
We, the people do fund charitable efforts, but we do so with our own money. And most of us are pretty careful about who gets it, based on how they spend it. I’m a big fan of veterans’ charities myself. And I’ve been known to send funds to a disaster in another country, but wouldn’t fund much else outside the US. The need is too great here.
“As always, taking the path to fiscal responsibility is often a lonely journey, but I’ve been fighting government waste like DOGE before DOGE was cool,” Paul wrote in his report. “And I will continue my fight against government waste this holiday season.”
Our Money
As we have faced costly increases coupled with limited raises and inflation that hit a peak of 9.1% in June 2022, we have had to make difficult choices. The government has NO money; they only have what they steal from us. They shouldn’t have the right to spend lavishly on pet projects and stupidity. They certainly shouldn’t send our money to another country if the majority of citizens don’t approve.
We face a huge national debt, spending from Biden-Harris that will further bankrupt our country and continued inflation. It’s time to tie the hands of both Congress and the far too many agencies. The value is not there. Part of DOGE should include an independent audit where specific budgets are examined, results have to be produced and massive cuts ensured when the results are in.
But we must not just stop at the Federal Government. States too must trim. In CA, we have spent billions attempting house the homeless regardless of their willingness to be treated, give up their bad habits and start to work. But the state can’t figure out how the money was spent, nor can they assess the results at all. This is unacceptable. The number of homeless is only growing and we can’t afford to house them. Not when working people still have needs.
Time to turn off the spigot and punish politicians who spend wildly. Biden has been spanked; but there are too many others who need a spending time-out.
Seems like the pet projects you noted never come out in the MSM where the public could hear about the waste. This really could be solved if our legislators weren’t so spineless and shady in their dealings.