Trong khi nợ quốc gia đã lên 28.4 ngàn tỷ đô la, vừa qua Quốc hội đã thông qua một ngân sách khổng lồ 1.9 ngàn tỷ đô la cho năm 2023. Một người thiện chí đã bỏ thì giờ sưu tầm được các khoản tổng cộng $482,276,543,907 mà chính phủ đã chi ra trong năm 2022 một cách phí phạm trong đó có 140 triệu quỹ Covid dùng để xây foot spa, 31 triệu quỹ Covid để mua các loại xe luxury, 1.7 tỷ để bảo trì 77 ngàn công thư liên bang đã bỏ trống, 168 triệu để giúp cho dân nhập cư bất hợp pháp khỏi bị trục xuất (???!!!), 50 triệu để thúc đẩy du lịch xứ Tunisia, 17 triệu trả cho khách sạn dành cho dân bất hợp pháp nhưng không dùng tới ?!, 2.1 triệu để khuyến khích dân Ethiopia mang giày (???) và nhiều khoản phải nói là vô duyên..
Spending.
While you are dreading the incoming Christmas bills, the upcoming property and federal income tax bills I thought this might be a nice time to reflect on your government’s handling of money. Enjoy!
Happy Festivus! How is 2022 already coming to a close? What a year it’s been. It’s safe to say that some big changes have occurred since last year’s Festivus Report. Last Festivus, we lamented over the national debt reaching an astronomical $28.4 trillion. Shockingly, in one short year, the career politicians and bureaucrats in Washington have managed to breeze right past $30 trillion without so much as a second thought.
The debt has risen so rapidly that the Congressional Budget Office projects that, within the next 30 years, there is not a single year in which the federal budget will balance.
Who’s to blame? One need not look further than the $3.5 trillion that the big government politicians in Congress spent on the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which ultimately does nothing to truly combat rising inflation rates. Worse, those same big spenders have just teamed up to pass a pork-laden $1.9 trillion omnibus spending package for 2023, released in the dead of night, and voted into law without anyone having read it.
This year, I am highlighting a whopping $482,276,543,907 of waste, including a steroid-induced hamster fight club, a study to see if kids love their pets, and a study of the romantic patterns of parrots. No matter how much money’s already been wasted, politicians keep demanding even more.
As always, the path to fiscal responsibility is often a lonely journey, but as I’ve done in years past, I will continue my fight against government waste this holiday season. So before we get to the Feats of Strength, it’s time for my Airing of (spending) Grievances! I have a lot of problems with federal spending, and now you’re gonna hear all about them!
The Waste of 2022
• Giving ineligible citizens COVID Economic Injury Disaster Grants (SBA)…..$4,500,000,000
• Using COVID relief funds to construct an 11,000 square foot spa……….……. $140,000,000
• Using COVID relief funds to purchase luxury cars ……………………….…….$31,500,000
• Wisconsin school using COVID relief funds to upgrade turf fields………………..$1,600,000
• Camouflage uniforms that do not fit the Afghanistan environment (DOD)….….$28,000,000
• Funding a 1.5-mile park in Austin, Texas, used for yoga and concerts (DOD)…….$9,000,000
• Starbucks espresso machines (DOD)………………………………………………$192,592
• Interest Payments on the Debt (Treasury)……….………………………..…$475,000,000,000
• Maintaining 77,000 empty Federal buildings (GSA)………………..………….$1,700,000,000
• “Basic education” projects in Jordan (USAID)……………………….…………$210,069,000
• Expanding the Washington, D.C. Streetcar that’s rarely used and unreliable…….$175,000,000
• Helping illegal immigrants avoid deportation (DHS)……………………….…. $168,000,000
• Mismanaged and un-tracked fuel purchases (State)……………………….…….. $77,000,000
• Subsidizing the free New York Staten Island Ferry (DOT)………………..………$70,000,000
• Overpaying government contractors for a terminated contract (GSA)…………..$69,000,000
• East Baton Rouge unused federal housing grants (HUD)…………………………$13,400,000
• Boosting the Tunisia travel sector during COVID-19 (USAID)……………….…$50,000,000
• Unused hotel rooms for illegal immigrants (DHS)………………….……………$17,000,000
• Constructing a Gandhi museum…………………………. ………………………..$3,000,000
• Watching hamsters fight on steroids (NIH)………………………..………….…..$3,000,000
• Super Bowl commercials telling you to fill out the Census (Commerce)…………..$2,500,000
• Injecting 6-month-old beagle puppies with cocaine (NIH) ……………………………….$2,300,000
• Encouraging Ethiopians to wear shoes (NIH)………………………………………………………$2,100,000
• Training mice to binge drink alcohol (NIH)……………………………………….$1,100,000
• Studying the romance between parrots (NSF)……………..………………………….…$689,222
• Studying the social life and collective intelligence of ants (NSF)……………………..$675,000
• Using mice to study racial aggression (NIH)…………………………………………$519,828
• Redeveloping the United States hard cider market (USDA)…………..…………… $491,794
• A radio campaign telling drivers to stop at railroad crossings (DOT)………………..$200,000
• Verifying that kids love their pets (NIH)………………………………………..….$187,500
• Researching if Thanos could snap his fingers wearing the infinity gauntlet (NSF)…..$118,971
