NT 15 Silliest use of taxpayer money

[Pacun]

Troubled Asset Relief Program: $700 billion.

Projected budget deficit for 2011: $1.4 Trillion dollars Spending $3 million of taxpayer money on treadmills for shrimp? Shameless. With the decision on whether to raise the national debt limit fast approaching, read on for more examples of questionable government outlays, care of Senator Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) whistle-blowing reports "Wastebook" (Published in 2010) and "National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope" (Published in 2011). You might want to find a bottle of Tums first.

Unnecessary printing costs: $ 930 million

Federal agencies spend an estimated $2.6 billion on printing. Many of those trees could have been sparedsuch as the ones used in the $28 million spent on the daily printing of over 4,500 copies of the congressional records, which are also available online.

Unused buildings (including a monkey house): $175 million

Coburn asserts that the Department of Veteran Affairs spends $175 million annually on upkeep of hundreds of empty buildings, including an unused monkey house. The VA, according to the Dayton Daily News, disputes the figure, claiming it only spent $34 million a year on such activitiesroughly equivalent, using median figures, to the annual income of 560 U.S. families.

Fraudulent tax reimbursements to prisoners: $112 million

Not only does crime pay, it seems it keeps right on paying.

Streetcar system that runs the same rout as the subway system below it: $47.6 million

Atlantas stimulus-funded streetcar project runs from Centennial Olympic Park to Martin Luther King, Jr. Centerthe exact route covered by the existing Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.

$15.68 Million: On an unprofitable shooting range

The Clark County Shooting Range, just outside Las Vegas, lost $1.3 million last year and has yet to turn a profit.

$5 Million: On a three week conference for the FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration put up 3,600 employees during at a training conference in Atlanta. Some attendees say it resembled a three-week long party.

$4.2 Million: "Duplicative Shuttle Services for Federal Employees"

Taxpayers spent $18.5 million on a bus service for federal government employees. Many shuttles run empty rather than pick up workers from neighboring agencies, creating redundant routes.

Treadmills for shrimp: $3 million

Do sick shrimp display the same endurance on a treadmill as healthy shrimps do? No. But now we know for sure, thanks to an amply funded study.

$2.9 Million: On a study of World of Warcraft and other computer games

This research explored how "online virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft and Second Life can help organizations collaborate and compete more effectively in the global marketplace." (It also found way to legitimize playing video games at work.)

$2.5 Million: On a U.S. Census commercial that appeared during the Super Bowl

It was ranked as the worst Super Bowl ad in history.

$2 Million: On a study about posting pictures online

The National Science Foundation really wanted to know if "people who post pictures on the internet from the same place at the same time are often socially connected." The much anticipated conclusion: Yes!

New toilets for Denali National Park in Alaska: $1.5 million

At 36 toilets, the tab comes to just over $ 41,000 per can. (And that doesnt include a life-time supply of paper!)

$1.5 Million: On a laundry-folding robot

We'll be happy to eat our cynicism on this one, if it pans out. Thus far, though, the robot can manage to square off one towel every 30 minutes.

Study of baby names: $1 million

This study aimed to ferret out trends in baby naming. The astounding conclusion: Popular names are popular with parents.

[Slippery Pencil]

Unnecessary wars in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc - $Trillions

Unconstitutional and immoral social programs - $Trillions

[jainen]

>>Fraudulent tax reimbursements to prisoners<<

I wouldn't call tax fraud "silly." Hey, news flash! The financial press takes the criminal's side, and blames the victim.

[Pacun]

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