Sashkin7 / Depositphotos.com
WASHINGTON D.C. (WSAU) – A prominent Republican U.S. Senator has released his annual “Festivus” list, which highlights over one trillion in taxpayer dollars spent in 2024 on odd projects and studies.
According to the report from Kentucky U.S. Senator Rand Paul, the government waste he’s highlighting this year includes “things like ice-skating drag queens (Bearded Ladies Cabaret), a $12 million Las Vegas pickleball complex, $4,840,082 on Ukrainian influencers,” as well as spending “over $400,000 for a study to see if lonely rats seek cocaine more than happy rats.”
“The same big spenders teamed up yet again to continue sending Americans’ hard-earned money to foreign countries, funding endless wars, all while STILL ignoring our wide-open southern border. And our mountain of debt will continue to pile even higher. The Congressional Budget Office predicts we will add an average of $2.1 trillion in debt annually for the next decade. According to a July House Budget Committee Report, the U.S. government will add over $6.4 billion of debt every single day for the next ten years, borrowing over $268 million every hour, $4.5 million every minute, and over $74,401 every second,” Paul stated in his release.
Other expenditures include The Department of State (DOS) spending $123,066 to teach Kyrgyzstan youth how to go viral, the Agency for International Development (USAID) spending $20 million on “Ahlan Simsim” a new Sesame Street show in Iraq, $2.1 million in aid to help Paraguay build a border wall, the federal government spending $10 billion on maintaining, leasing, and furnishing almost empty buildings, and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is spending $20 million on the Fertilize Right Initiative to advance fertilizer use in Pakistan, Vietnam, Colombia, and Brazil.
As an alternative to the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season, Festivus is a holiday observed on December 23. Originally written by Daniel O’Keefe, Festivus gained popularity after being the subject of the Seinfeld episode “The Strike” in 1997.
The celebration of the non-commercial holiday, as shown on Seinfeld, involves events such as “Festivus miracles,” the “airing of grievances” and “feats of strength,” as well as a Festivus feast and an undecorated aluminum Festivus pole.
Comments