One Republican lawmaker is channelling his inner “Seinfeld.”
“We’ve got a lot of problems with how our tax dollars are spent!” Kentucky Republican Senator and former presidential candidate Rand Paul said in the report, quoting the famous Frank Costanza character.
The report takes a look at $1.4 billion worth of waste that has transpired over the past year at the federal level. Paul believes that these could be eliminated if the government has the will to do so. Whether a Republican-controlled has the will to do so remains to be seen.
According to the 48-page report, these are some of the most egregious forms of waste (there’s a lot more, don’t worry):
– Paid for a study to see if the federal government paying for studies produces better studies: $375,000
– Renovated a cafeteria only to close it months later: $6 million
– Lost cranes and bulldozers in Afghanistan: $29 million
– Studied what makes the perfect first date: $2.5 million
– Studied to see if people are afraid of success: $150,000
– Studied to see if smiling in a selfie makes you happier: $500,000
– Studied people’s experiences with sea monsters, invisible birds and other supernatural activity: $150,000
– Studied the demographics of Wikipedia contributors: $70,000
Will this kind of waste go away over the coming four years? Highly unlikely.
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