Government waste:
- $659 billion spent on interest payments for the national debt in fiscal year 2023.
- $140 million in COVID-19 relief funds used to construct a luxury 800-room hotel in Broward County, Florida, complete with pool decks, a rooftop bar, and spa.
- $31.5 million in fraudulently obtained COVID relief funds used by four individuals to purchase luxury cars like Porsches, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis.
- $28 million spent on camouflage uniforms for use in Afghanistan that didn’t match the environment.
- $20,900 spent by the city of San Francisco on a single custom-made trash can prototype.
- At least $416,789 spent between 2003-2017 by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to maintain a self-cleaning toilet that hadn’t worked for two years.
- $98 million allocated by the Illinois legislature in 2019 to research ways to reduce train noise, after complaints from two former clients of the Illinois House Speaker.
- $15 million loaned by Pima County, Arizona to a company planning to send tourists to the stratosphere in weather balloons, which failed to meet employment targets or make payments.
- $200 million given to major entertainment acts like Post Malone, Lil Wayne, and Nickelback through a Small Business Administration program meant for small businesses affected by the pandemic.
- Over $100 billion of the approximately $4.55 trillion in COVID-19 relief aid was stolen or used fraudulently, according to the Secret Service.
These examples highlight the scale and variety of wasteful government spending, ranging from misuse of relief funds to poorly planned projects and ineffective programs.
