TPA’s 2022 Taxpayer Turkeys

The turkeys have come home to roost, as voters rejected both parties and usheredin a new and divided Congress. Hopefully, a split House and Senate grind the gravy train to a halt and keep spending under control. New lawmakers certainly have their work cut out for them because of members of both parties gobbling up taxpayer dollars and stuffing bills with needless appropriations. With the national debt surpassing $31 trillion and inflation nearing 8 percent, taxpayers need to keep an eye on the butterballs basting in their hard-earned dollars. To give ’em pumpkin’ to talk about, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance presents the 2022 Taxpayer Turkeys:

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.)

In his fifteen years in Congress, Rep. Yarmuth has given taxpayers poultry consideration. For the gentleman from Kentucky, 2022 was just gravy on the turkey. Rep. Yarmuth was the House sponsor of the Inflation Reduction Act, which failed to live up to its name and raised costs for taxpayers and consumers. The misguided law bolstered the electric vehicle (EV) tax credit, extending the crony subsidy to 2032 and eliminating the 200,000 vehicle-per-manufacturer cap. The axing of the cap ensures thatTesla and General Motors (each valued in the billions of dollars) will continue to siphon billions of dollars from taxpayers.

Meanwhile, Americans making six-figures will continue to disproportionately benefit from the tax credit due to the lax income restrictions put into place by lawmakers. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, less-well-off taxpayers will subsidize their wealthier neighbors. The low income folks subsidizing EVs will also be getting gourded by IRS agents. The law will lead to the hiring of more than 80,000 new IRS agents, who will inevitably target low-income Americans.  Rep. Yarmuth’s fowl stances don’t stop there. He has loudly advocated for the elimination of the debt ceiling, a position that even President Biden considers “irresponsible.” And, he keeps trying to levy new taxes even though Washington, D.C. very clearly has a spending problem. Fortunately, this turkey is not long for Congress. This turkey will trot back to Kentucky in January. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

The Texas Attorney General (AG) is charged by the state’s constitution to represent Texas in civil litigation and to offer legal opinions to state officials upon request. As someone who represents the people of the Lone Star State in a number of ways, one would hope the person in this position would seek to adhere closely to the law, the Constitution, and the best interests of taxpayers across the state. Unfortunately, current Texas AG Ken Paxton has done anything but.

First, Paxton has initiated multiple costly, politically-charged, and ultimately frivolous antitrust challenges against several technology and telecommunications companies, from T-Mobile to Google. Most casual observers can recognize the foolishness of going after multiple companies that all compete with one another while crying “monopoly.” Yet, Paxton used these mental gymnastics to sink millions of taxpayer dollars into his crusades.

Beyond frivolous lawsuits, Paxton spends time defending unconstitutional legislation that violates the First Amendment. Texas’ famed social media law forces companies to host political speech with which they may disagree or may violate their own internal company policies. This violates these companies’ rights to free association regardless of how you feel about their content moderation.

Lastly, Paxton spends time and money dodging lawsuits of his own. Paxton is under FBI investigation for using the time and resources of his office – and, therefore, Texas taxpayers – to benefit political donors dating back to fall of 2020.

Instead of serving the people of Texas, Paxton has been stuffing taxpayer dollars into efforts that will benefit him and his allies, while punishing those who are critical of him.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Not all turkeys roost in the halls of Congress. Federal agencies such as the FDA are keen on gobbling up taxpayer dollars to flay consumers and innovators. The agency has been busy implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act over the past decade, including forcing turkey producers to submit to costly “food safety plans.” 

As National Turkey Federation president Joel Brandenberger notes, “[t]hey’d like to regulate a lot; maybe everything that moves but the simple reality of the matter is that they don’t have the resources to inspect everywhere they go. I mean, meat and poultry in the plants, USDA has inspectors in there continuously while production is going on. FDA is lucky to get to a facility it regulates once a year, or once every other year.”

Unfortunately, agency shenanigans don’t stop there. The FDA is determined to make it as hard as possible for smokers to access life-saving vaping products, which are at least 95 percent safer than cigarettes. The agency has denied several companies’ applications to sell flavored vapes, even though, as Reason editor Jacob Sullum notes, “former smokers who have switched to vaping overwhelmingly prefer nontobacco flavors, and the FDA acknowledges that ‘electronic nicotine delivery systems’…hold great promise as a harm-reducing alternative to cigarettes.” Consumers deserve reduced-risk alternatives that can free their lungs from the toxic baste of cigarette smoke.

In conclusion….

It’s time for lawmakers to stop feasting on taxpayer dollars and carve some real spending from the federal budget. Hopefully, new lawmakers will be willing to talk turkey with the American people and push for much-needed spending and regulatory reforms.