While waiting to be sliced on to remove three out-of-control skin cancers (thank you, Arizona, for all this sunshine!), I glanced through a Reader's Digest that contained an article about wasteful government spending. Yikes! I just love it when I'm right! Remember my post about paying down our national debt by cutting out wasteful spending??? Well, I didn't know how wasteful it really was! Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma has written a book called Wasteland 2011. You can read about it here .
I took 11 of the most absurd ones from the Readers Digest to share with you today:
$207 million to study the redundant engine program of the F 35 fighter jet..
"Haven't we already done this???"
$120 million in benefit checks were sent out to DEAD government employees.
Dead, but the benefits just keep coming!!
$113,227 was given to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games for video game preservation.
"No! I am NOT a game addict!!"
$606,000 given to Columbia University to study online dating.
"God! These people are IDIOTS!!!"
$492,005 given to Wellesly College to answer the question"Do you trust your Twitter feed?"
"and the purpose if this is...????"
$55,382 given to Va. Commonwealth University toward a study on hookah smoking by Jordanian students.
What is a hookah, and why do we do it???
$198,195 to UC Riverside to study whether happy or unhappy people spend more time on social media.
Some people have no shame
$592,527 given to primate researchers to study, in part, what feces-throwing among chips reveals about their communications skills
"Hey! Think fast!!!"
$338,998 for study women's weaving and wool in Iceland in the years AD874-1800
"Baaaa!"
We all know about the $15.3 million Alaska got to build the "Super Bridge to Nowhere."
"Just where are we going? Oh, nowhere in particular!"
There's one more that I would like to share with you. Children, prisoners, and others were awarded $1 billion in energy efficient home improvement tax credits. These credits were given to people who DIDN'T EVEN OWN A HOME! Furthermore, the IRS doesn't even require proof of home ownership.
"Yes, and thanks to the government, it's energy efficient!!"
Wonder why our national debt is out of control?? Add up just these 11 items. They add up to more than one billion 344 million plus American dollars. There are no doubt thousands of other items costing billions of dollars that we could dump from the federal budget if the government just wanted to take the time to seek them out. We should DEMAND that they do just that! There is not one government worker who deserves a $300 toilet seat for the restroom, not even the President!!!
I would like to point out that the practice of throwing money away on non-essentials is nothing new in the federal government. It has been going on for DECADES. The difference here, is that we have never been so deeply in debt as we are today, and the need for controlling wasteful spending has never been so great.
That's my offering for this week's Alphabe-Thursday. Next week, I'll be publishing an essay by my BFA, and you don't want to miss it! See you then!!!
25 comments:
These sound too outrageous and absurd to be true! You are right! What a waste!
Dear Judie,
i have to agree with all that you said. It is a WASTE!!! Great and interesting post my sweet friend.
Oh for sure, my twitter feed has been giving me such a worrry lately!!! OMgoodness no! It's hard to believe, no strike that, I do believe this is all true....another reason why I'd rather read Charlie Brown!
Whaaaat??? the government is wasteful??? just kidding of course ... I'm fairly certain that most governments are wastefull ... and a tad bit corrupt ... i'm afraid ...
That could have been written about our government, sad to say.
I hope you're recovering from the nasty excisions!
good to know the people in government are getting creative, not just in India but across the globe !!
These are all very wasteful reasons, and projects to give money to!
The one that got me is the International Electronic Games Preservation! Really? Just ridiculous!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, JUDIE!
Unbelievable.
"/
Unbelievable...atleast they erect a 1000 odd statues of themselves here, offering workers job security for a time. ;)
This is terrible!
That is crazy. What a waste!
I was waiting for you t say it was all a joke! unbelievable!
I hope your surgery went well.
Now I'm all depressed. :(
I'd like to help in all those matters that have been pending.
Hey! You kind of glossed over the skin cancer part of this post, didn't you? We demand an update! Seriously.
As to the ridiculous money spent by our debt-ridden government, I guess nothing squeezes the juice like favors owed. That's what this is all about. Pork and not the kind you roast. Great post with righteous indignation, Judie!
UGH! ARGH! It is all I can say! Otherwise I would probably hurt someones feeling about their favorite politician! BARF! I have zero regard for any candidate. Neither one of these two jerks have given me any reason whatsoever to vote for them! I think more honest people are doing time in prison than those robbing us in Washington D.C.
UmmHmm...I live and breath wasteful government spending everyday. I thought about showing some on a post but then I'd just get pissed again. Glad you ranted...Oh and WTFBO! (ask PJ what that means...) skin cancer? Better fess up soon gal...
xoxox
Hi Judie!
Agree with all the others - such a huge waste!
Great post – as always.
Have a great Mother’s Day weekend too!
You have highlighted ONCE AGAIN just how important it is to get someone into office who cares about cutting wasteful spending. This, of course, is just the tip of an iceberg. It is the RIDICULOUS stuff. Thanks for sharing; perhaps it will make people think twice before they go into the ballot box.
FYI: The Canadian government isn't any wiser. Sad, isn't it?
I can actually think of some valid reasons for some of the research projects on this list. Perhaps we can discuss during our next dinner gathering.
AV
I get so angry when I read this kind of stuff. Good for you for brining to the attention of others. Everyone should be outraged and hold our government accountable. Good post. laurie
Twitter trust? Throwing feces?Oh wait, the chimps are showing the gov how to throw money away, so that's a valid study, right?
Amazing and a little bit scarey when you think of it.
That is an insane list!!! Why don't people concentrate on that list rather than concentrate on healthcare, women's care, and other social welfare programs? Hmmm?
I'm applying for a 47 million dollar grant to find out if blogging is fun.
Maybe you should apply to!
This kind of stuff just makes my blood pressure boil.
I think they should put me in charge of the budget. I can red pen slash like a pro.
Thanks for this thoughtful link Judie.
A+
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