When you pay your taxes every year, you are left wondering what the government is spending your money on. To give you an answer to that question, here’s a list of the most ridiculous federal expenses. So, read on to find out where your money is going!
1. Department of Defense Bird-Watching
An unusual expense, but it is a fact that our government spends a whopping $283,500 on Department of Defense bird-watching. The federal government has created a special unit within the Department of Defense, who are monitoring the life of gnat catchers.
2. Writing about Russian Smokers
Yes, some of your hard-earned money goes to writing about Russian smokers. In April, the government announced it would grant a certain grad student a whopping $48,500 grant, just to write down the history of smoking within Russia over the past 130 years. What?!
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3. The Chicken and the Egg Question
Some questions are impossible to answer; this includes the question of which was first – the chicken or the egg? Now, the government is funding a similar question: “Does media cause polarization, or does polarization cause media choice?” To find answers, the government is giving $406,419 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
4. Administrative Leave Vacations for Federal Employees
A staggering amount of money is going to vacations for federal employees on administrative leave. Rather than being punished for whatever they have done, the government is giving them a nice bonus of $3.1 billion in total.
5. Figuring Out Why Policies Are Stressful
The government is funding more ridiculous research, because they are spending almost $150,000 on figuring out why it is stressful to debate politics with your friends and family. Waste of money? Or genuine research?
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6. The Bugs vs. the Light Bulb Question
For some reason, the government is curious about the age old bugs vs. light bulb question. They want to know what happens when bugs accustomed to light suddenly encounter a light bulb. The price tag to try and find an answer to this question? $65,473!
7. Solar-Powered Beer
The government wants to make your beer more environmentally-friendly and is therefore investing a whopping $35,000 for solar-powered breweries. However, this amount only paid for solar panels in Michigan and Wyoming.
8. Printing Problems
It is no surprise that the government spends an incredible amount of money on printing letters, forms and a million other things that require a paper print. Unfortunately, most of what is printed is unnecessary, but accounts for a whopping $930,000,000!
9. The Vacant Building Syndrome
The government wants to maintain vacant buildings that have been empty for years and it is costing them a heavy price tag. At the moment, the government is spending approximately $175,000,000 on vacant building costs.
10. Criminal Hospitals
This fact proves that the government does not check its spending, because our U.S. government spend a whopping $35,000,000 on hospitals that don’t exist! The clinics and hospitals were fictitious, and were created by criminal gangs. Still, the government paid for it.
11. Work Equals Play?
Anyone who is a fan of the World of Warcraft MMO will have a field day with this one, because the government actually paid $3,000,000 to researchers at the University of California, who wanted to use the funding for screen time on video games such as WOW. A nice job to have!
12. Lessons for European Legislators
While this may sound like an important expense, the $2,600,000 the US government spent on European legislators is certainly a waste. The funding was used to teach them how to balance and follow a budget. Maybe the government could have given this funding to their own staff?
13. Super Bowl Commercial
The US Government spent $2,500,000 on a Super Bowl commercial. Even though it reached many people, the thirty-second commercial was produced in an abysmal manner. Therefore, most people viewing the commercial had no idea what it was for!
14. The Museum for Neon Light
Want to visit Las Vegas for the Neon Lights? Then be sure to stop by at the Neon Light Museum, on which the government has spent $1,800,000. Well, it certainly wasn’t the governments “brightest” ideas.
15. Genital Washing
This one is probably the worst expense in this list. The government has spent $800,000 on a genital-washing program in South Africa. Is the poverty and hunger problem in Africa solved yet?
Conclusion
Considering some of the absolutely ridiculous expenses, there is certainly a need for someone to go through the government spending list. Our valuable tax dollars should be spent with wisdom and knowledge, not with a hole in the hand.