Rand Paul Exposes $52 Billion in Government Waste

The pandemic of government waste is as bad as ever, if not worse. In fact, as Rand Paul hinted at in a hilarious, Festivus-themed Twitter post, the problem of the government’s proclivity to spend wastefully is a terrible one:

A LOT of problems – you’ll hear about them tomorrow #Festivus pic.twitter.com/9gv91sYcyP

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 22, 2021

Later, Paul released what he called the “Festivus Report,” a document that details the most egregious examples of government spending over the past year.

This year’s Festivus Report details over $52 billion in wasteful spending, $52,598,515,585 to be exact. Here are the areas of waste he lists:

• Foreign countries use our aircraft for free for 4 years (DOD)..……………….…$773,000,000
• US bought Afghanistan planes that were later thrown away (DOD)…………….$549,000,000
• US-constructed buildings in Afghanistan left sitting unused (DOD) …………$2,400,000,000
• COVID relief grant for NYC to display art projects across the city………………$25,000,000
• Ineligible and duplicate PPP loans (SBA)…………………………………….$4,290,000,000
• Improper CARES Act unemployment insurance payments…………………$36,000,000,000
• Constructing border walls in the Middle East and North Africa (DOD)………..$250,000,000
• Free trips for Korean kids to visit D.C. (USAID)…………………………………… $150,000
• Grinding up ferrets to develop COVID and flu vaccines………………..………..$4,500,000
• Tax Credit incentivizing CA residents to uninstall fireplaces………………….….$2,100,000
• Translating books into the Georgian language (State)…………………………. ……$182,741
• Teaching French people about US culture (State)…………………………………..$200,000
• Giving irrigation systems to Afghan farmers left unused (USAID)…………..… $88,000,000
• Developing a film about dinosaurs to inspire middle schoolers (NSF)………..…. $2,500,000
• Pigeons playing slot machines (NIH)………………………………………………..$465,339
• Telling people to not burn their trash (USAID)………………………..………..$11,300,000
• Funding Green Energy programs in Africa (State)………………………………$179,000,000
• DC Metro paid Lyft to subsidize riders……………………………..……………….$28,005
• Attempting to replace an assault vehicle over 2 decades (DOD)……………. $3,400,000,000
• Funding the Wilson Center to put on parties for Congressmen…………………$14,000,000
• Study verified that hearing bad news decreases happiness levels (NIA)……………$1,300,000
• Planting trees in New York City………………………………………..……….$400,000,000
• Government paid for students who didn’t actually attend those schools……….…$2,100,000
• Kids crave junk food and gain weight if they’re exposed to it (NIDDK)….…………$352,000
• Getting high schoolers excited about being airplane pilots (FAA)…………………$5,000,000
• Fattening eels for human consumption (FDA)……………………….………….…..$337,500
• Social Security overpayments to beneficiaries in Fiscal Year 2019 (SSA)………$4,200,000,000

Notable on that list are the $36 billion dollars wasted on improper unemployment insurance payments, $179 million on green energy programs in Africa, $4.2 billion on Social Security overpayments, $3.4 billion on spending two decades trying to find a new “assault vehicle,” and $88 million on unused irrigation aid in Afghanistan.

But those are just the most examples of world-spanning government waste. Some of the more ridiculous, if less expensive mistakes, are the $200k spent on teaching the Frenchies about American culture, the $14 million on putting on parties for members of Congress, and the $352k on finding out that kids like junk food. Oh, and we figured out how to fatten eels. Awesome.

And while $52 billion might not sound like much in the context of trillion-dollar spending bills, it’s important to remember what all of that money represents.

As Senator Paul explains, the average American pays about $15,322 in taxes. That means that the spending described in the Festivus report represents the wasted taxes of 3,430,636 people.

Furthermore, that money could have bought useful things, such as nearly a year of keeping the VA open or 13,149 miles of 4-lane highway construction. Instead, it was wasted on ludicrous projects.

By: Gen Z Conservative, editor of GenZConservative.com. Follow me on Parler and Gettr.