When Washington politicians communicate of a Christmas tree this time of yr, they aren’t referring to an precise tree. It means they’ve loaded up a invoice with one other type of “inexperienced,” the sort that’s embellished with cash.
The “bipartisan” invoice handed simply earlier than midnight final Friday, minutes earlier than a authorities “shutdown” could be a humiliation to anybody however the politicians who voted for it. Like Christmas, this state of affairs will get performed out virtually yearly with no regard for the rising debt.
The primary invoice was greater than 1,500 pages. Elon Musk denounced it and instantly it shrunk to over 100 pages, however that was too little for the large spenders. What handed final week (118 pages) might take days to digest, however you will be certain of 1 factor: pork is a part of it. At all times is.
Rep. Invoice Posey (R-FL) has compiled a naughty checklist of misspending relationship again to 2009. It is a tiny portion of a for much longer checklist. Name it the “golden oldies” of spending, which is an habit shared by members of each events and can proceed until members enter an financial “detox” program. As The Bard famous: “What’s previous is prologue.”
Greater than $104 million went to the Aleutian Islands for a harbor and an airport in a city with no connecting roads and solely 75 full-time residents. Bear in mind the “bridge to nowhere”? That was an earmark of $223 million in 2004 for a bridge that was supposed to attach Ketchikan to Gravina Island, Alaska, inhabitants about 50.
Almost $50,000 went to the Hawaii Division of Agriculture to assist assist the cacao business through the Hawaiian Chocolate Pageant. Chump change, I do know, however, as they are saying, it’s the precept of the factor.
An audit of the Division of Agriculture (USDA) discovered round 300 workers diverted hundreds of thousands of {dollars} for private purchases utilizing authorities bank cards. Amongst these purchases had been live performance tickets to see Ozzy Osbourne, tattoos, lingerie, bartender faculty tuition, automobile funds and money advances. The audit price $100 million.
The Workplace of the Chief Data Workplace at USDA spent $2 million on an intern program. Just one intern was employed.
Outraged but? Wait, there’s loads extra.
An inspector normal audit discovered that the Division of Power did not find $500,000 value of “inexperienced vitality” manufacturing gear purchased with stimulus cash.
The Home Committee on Oversight and Authorities Reform estimated New York State overbilled the federal authorities by $15 billion over a 20-year interval for Medicaid prices for the developmentally disabled, an quantity that exceeded the entire Medicaid budgets of 14 states. Don’t inform me this and different entitlement packages can’t be reformed.
Almost $800,000 went to subsidize an Worldwide Home of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurant in what was imagined to be an “underserved neighborhood.” As an alternative, it went to an IHOP within the common Columbia Heights neighborhood. One may ask why it’s a federal accountability to pay for pancakes, however that might be requested about hundreds of different examples of misspending. Hey, it’s not their cash, it’s our cash. No less than a pay elevate for members didn’t make it to the ultimate invoice. Members needs to be having their pay reduce, not raised, for under-performing.
Maybe Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk can do one thing in regards to the misspending that has led to the unsustainable $36 trillion debt with curiosity of $1 trillion simply this yr.
Others have tried and failed to interrupt the spending behavior. Perhaps they are going to succeed this time, however the odds aren’t good. It’s not known as “the swamp” for nothing.
Take pleasure in Christmas. Your politicians will.
Readers might e-mail Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Search for Cal Thomas’ newest e-book “A Watchman within the Evening: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).
