The government is inefficient. This can largely be attributed to politicians arguing over how to spend tax payer dollars properly. Being nearly $20 trillion in debt it is not hard to find someone to agree that our current system is in need of reform, but every time budget cuts are proposed many insist there is no place to cut. The federal government took in over $3 trillion from Americans in 2015 alone. Where does this money go? You won’t believe some of the ridiculous ways the government wastes your money.
1.Take The Monkey for A Run — $8 Million
“Take The Monkey and Run,” is the title being given to a study detailing how the Southwest National Primate Research Center trained twelve marmoset monkeys to run on a treadmill. The study was funded with a whopping $8 million by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While primate research may further scientific understanding, it should not be done at the hands of the tax payers pocket, and what practical use this info serves, no one really knows.
2. Smoking Hipsters — $5 Million
The “Help A Hipster” movement has received $5 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over the past five years. The project pays for parties at bars and night clubs in an effort to encourage “Hipsters” that tobacco is not “Hip.” When the efforts failed to create a movement, the “Quit Smoking, Get Cash,” project was created and funded by the NIH as well. This project gave $100 in cash to “Hipsters” who agreed to quit smoking ... Guess what? When the partying was over, the lead researchers determined that … wait for it ... nothing changed, and the smoking continued in every participant’s case.
3. Salute The Troops — $53 Million
America’s favorite sports have been paid upwards of $53 million in tax payer dollars to honor our troops before games over the past three years by the Department Of Defense. The paid tributes have included enlistment ceremonies, color guards, full-flag details, ceremonial first pitches, and performances of the national anthem. Though well intentioned, any group that genuinely wants to honor our nation’s heroes should do it without being at the expense of the tax payers. Can you imagine what good could be done to better the lives of our military personnel with $53 million. It is not a funding issue, it is an appropriations issue.
4. Koozies actually keep drinks cold. — $1.3 Million
In the article, “Condensation, atmospheric motion, and cold beer” published in Physics Today, researchers investigated how a koozie keeps a beverage cold with almost $1.3 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Though you may enjoy your ice cold beverage of choice, I doubt you wanted your hard earned tax dollars to be spent on research that reassures you that a doozie actually "insulates the can” and in some cases even “absorbs condensation.”
5. Empty and Unused Buildings Need A/C Too — $110 Million
The U.S. is spending $110 million a year to maintain hundreds of empty, unused, and excess buildings in Afghanistan. Footing the bill to light, heat, and repair nearly 360 facilities that were suppose to be disposed of doesn’t seem to be the best way to spend tax payer dollars.
6. Railroad Lights — $2.8 Million
LED lights now cover the full length of the RJ Corman Railroad bridge in Clarksville, Tennessee, thanks to the $2.8 million dollars from tax payers. The main purpose of this project was to “light up the nights” for special occasions, sporting events, or holidays. Tax payers are lucky though, the lights can “Vary in intensity with a push of a button” according to Richard Davis of the Ardee Design Group.
7. California Zipline — $1.8 Million
The longest zipline in California opened last year with the help of a $1.8 million federal grant. The money was provided by the Economic Development Administration to the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians to make improvements to the recreational area that was destroyed by flooding in 2010. Even though tax payers may have funded the project, you can bet that we still have to pay to ride.
8. Overpriced Bar Coasters — $2.5 Million
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is distributing drink coasters at some bars in the Washington, D.C., area with the slogan "See something, Say something," urging customers to report suspicious activity. Most would assume that a $2.5 million set of coasters would be pretty nice. Too bad they made a mistake when printing them and forgot to add any form of contact information if a customer was to see something. Government spending at its finest.
9. Federal Funding for Goat Milk Truffles — $124,000
Big Picture Farm’s goat milk truffles have always only been available at farmers markets but now the candies will be coming to a store near you. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave Big Picture Farms a grant of $124,000 to process, package and ship their candies to stores across the U.S. Big Picture Farms should thank the tax payers for picking up the bill for their distribution. The candy may be great, but why is the government involved in their processing and distribution?
10. Cheese Heritage Center — $300,000
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provided a $300,000 interest free loan to Plymouth, Wisconsin, to create a cheese themed retail store. The sole purpose of this project was to “provide tourists with an opportunity to buy cheese” that is manufactured in the local communities.
