$100,271 to see if volunteering is good for older people.

they spent $77,826 to study “Coping with Change in Czechoslovakia”. For example, the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) spent $70,029 to see if the degu, a diurnal South American rodent, can help us better understand jet lag. We helped stop that idea.ĭubious government spending schemes abound since bureaucrats play with other people’s money. The federal government proposed spending $14 million for a new Army Museum, although there already were 47 Army Museums around the country. The Department of Education spent $34 million supposedly helping Americans become better shoppers and homemakers. This was the disappointing “Stargate” program. The Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency channeled some $11 million to psychics who might provide special insights about various foreign threats. Last year, the National Endowment for the Humanities spent $4.2 million to conduct a nebulous “National Conversation on Pluralism and Identity.” Obviously, talk radio wasn’t considered good enough. Sounds like a noble cause, but the money went for projects like pony-trekking centers and golf videos.Ĭongressional budget-cutters spared the $440,000 spent annually to have attendants push buttons on the fully automated Capitol Hill elevators used by Representatives and Senators. Without authorization, for instance, the feds spent $19.6 million annually on the International Fund for Ireland. More important, bureaucrats spend money on what government wants, not what you want-which is the whole point of taxing away your money. That’s a tough call because government bureaucrats never take care of your money as carefully as you would take care of it yourself. Since my job is to be a watchdog on government waste, I’m often asked about the most outrageous cases. Schatz is president of Citizens Against Government Waste.

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