Tuesday, December 21, 2010

How Congress Blows Money We Don't Have



Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has published the Wastebook 2010 which lists 100 examples of the most wasteful government spending this past year, all adding up to $11.5 Billion.

Senator Coburn asks, "As you look at these examples, ask yourself: at a time when we are borrowing over $44,000 for every person in the country, are these items a priority and are they a federal responsibility?"

Here are the first 10 items on the list:
1. Upkeep for Unused Monkey House and Other Buildings - (Department of Veterans Affairs) $175 Million

2. Sprucing Up Apartments Before They Are Torn Down - (Shreveport, LA) $1.5 Million

3. Museum Where Neon Signs Go to Die… - (Las Vegas, NV) $1.8 Million

4. “Free” Grateful Dead Archive - (Santa Cruz, CA) $615,000

5. Agencies Pile Up Unnecessary Printing Costs - $930 Million

6. Studying World of Warcraft and Other Virtual Games - (Irvine, CA)$2.9 Million

7. Dept. of Energy Still Fails to Turn Off the Lights - (Department of Energy) $2.2 Million

8. Fraudulent Medical Testing by Criminal Gangs - (U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) $35 Million

9. Poems in Zoos - (AR, IL, LA, WI, & FL) $997,766

10. Shooting Range Armed with Taxpayer Dollars - (Las Vegas, NV) $15.68 Million
Item number one, the "Unused Monkey House", would be well worth the $175 Million if they would move the Congress into it and lock the door.

If you're in a masochistic mood, here's the link to the rest of the 100 wasteful spending items on the list:  
Wastebook 2010

Take a peak to see what Congress thought was worthy of blowing $11.5 Billion of money that our country does not have.  Absolutely shameful.

16 comments:

  1. Lovely. People say that our spending doesn't really matter. If we stopped spending money on these things we would have the money for healthcare for the poor. This should be required reading for all that say that.

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  2. See? There's the problem. If they put all the Congresscriminals in the unused Monkey House the money wouldn't be going to waste.

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  3. JACG:
    It's disgusting how our elected officials can be so irresponsible.

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  4. Snarkey:
    Exactly what I said. Lock the door and throw away the key.

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  5. This wasteful spending is not sustainable. Although, I'd like to see many of the congressmen in the Monkey House and treated as if they were dirty animals. But, this type of spending has got to stop! Hopefully the new congress will reign in the out of control spending of all the filthy, wasteful animals.

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  6. Teresa:
    I agree...I hope the new Congress can put a stop to the spending.

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  7. Hi TCL, it's Christmas Eve already here in England so I'm just passing by to wish you a happy one.
    We have plenty of examples of govt waste and it's not getting any better unde the Conservatives.


    btw only your post "test post 2 days ago" appears on my sidebar.

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  8. TCL:
    A Blessed Christmas to you and the Conversative Guy.

    A king is born, let us rejoice.

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  9. banned:
    Thank you so much for stopping by to wish me a Merry Christmas. I have been so busy lately that I haven't been blogging much at all.
    Thanks for notifying me about the "test post". I was afraid of that, but I was "experimenting" and now I can't get it to change.
    I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed and happy New Year. I am so happy to have you and Spidey as my British on-line friends. It's great to get the perspective from the other side of the pond.
    God Bless You. Here's a HUG!

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  10. JACG:
    Thank you for stopping by to wish me a Merry Christmas. Same to you and wishes for a Happy & Health 2011.

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  11. TCL, they know no shame. Sending Christmas blessings to you and yours. Merry Christmas.

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  12. Merry Christmas, TCL, have a good one, and a very Happy New Year to you and yours.

    Spidey ;-)

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  13. Maggie:
    Merry Christmas to you and yours. Have a Happy & healthy 2011.

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  14. Spidey:
    Good to hear from you. Merry Christmas to you and your family and a happy and healthy 2011.

    ReplyDelete

Respectful comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Trolls will not be tolerated.