On Tax Day, Taxpayers Continue to Pay for Wasteful Spending

It’s Tax Day…in July. Instead of just sweating from the weather, taxpayers are also sweating tax filing and payment deadlines. Taxpayers have more on their plate than ever before as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make it difficult to hold down a job and earn a decent living. And, as the country grapples with the worst public health crisis in 100 years, taxpayers are being asked to foot an historically large bill from the federal government. The deficit this year has already exceeded $3 trillion and is approaching an astounding $30,000 per household. Unfortunately, this sky-high spending is just the tip of the iceberg for an out-of-control federal government.

For years, Congress has been spending far beyond its means, and as a result, was ill-prepared to fiscally respond to COVID-19. And, after almost ten years of monitoring federal spending, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance continues to track needless/reckless spending and has called for reform, transparency, and accountability. Today, as taxpayers across the country are forced to grapple with these bloated bills, TPA wants to remind taxpayers, Congress, and bureaucrats how much work remains to be done in getting a grip on government spending.

Without further ado, TPA presents some of the greatest spending “hits” over the past decade:

2011: $30 million to promote mango sales in Pakistan

When the government tries to pick winners from losers, it’s usually taxpayers and consumers that wind up losing out. That’s especially the case when the federal government decides to intervene in foreign markets despite little understanding of the issues and challenges involved. The trouble began in 2009 when the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) dedicated $90 million to prop up a variety of businesses in Pakistan over a four-year period.

While USAID began its operations by targeting product areas such as leather, livestock, textiles, and dates, the Inspector General (IG) unsurprisingly concluded that these interventions produced “no measurable increases in sales and employment.” By the time the late, great Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) reported on the program in his 2011 edition of Wastebook, the USAID had abandoned the other product areas in favor of…mangos. The agency went on a $30 million crusade to boost mango sales in Pakistan by 20 percent. Unsurprisingly, these efforts proved to be in vain and USAID moved on to its next pet project.  The federal government literally and figuratively picking mangos to receive taxpayer money wasn’t such a sweet deal after all.

2012: $9 million on a Ferry to Nowhere

Most older (read: Boomer) taxpayers will recall the Bridge to Nowhere, a proposal to spend $223 million in earmarked taxpayer dollars to connect the tiny Alaska town of Ketchikan to an airport on nearby Gravina island. Fortunately, advocates of limited government used the issue as a rallying cry against “drunken sailor” spending culture in Washington, D.C. In a victory for fiscal discipline, the project was axed and the earmark was eventually rescinded. But another similarly wasteful project escaped the spotlight and nabbed taxpayer dollars for years without due scrutiny.

A ferry called the Kachemak Voyager, which operates in a sparsely populated area about 100 miles south of Anchorage, Alaska, received significant subsidies from the Department of Transportation despite no demonstrated need for taxpayer dollars. By 2012, cumulative federal taxpayer “assistance” had topped $9 million, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted a lack of oversight and financial planning associated with the program. In addition, the GAO found, “local private tour boat operators are concerned that competition from the ferry has and will continue to negatively affect their businesses.” Transportation dollars should be used to fix the massive backlog in needed infrastructure repairs, not needless ferry projects that undermine local competition. 

2013: $500 million for beachfront boondoggles

Every year, millions of American families make a pilgrimage to claim their own little slice of a crowded beach for a few hours (and hopefully not be impaled by a stray beach umbrella). There’s no need to settle for a slice of sand when you can get a beachfront home…on the taxpayers’ dime. In 2013, the Congressional Research Service disclosed to Sen. Coburn that “100 individuals or families received loan guarantees for $500,000 or more from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase a residence in Hawaii.” These loans, meant for families with low and moderate incomes in rural areas trying to obtain “safe and sanitary dwellings,” had morphed into a “mortgages for millionaires” program.

A 2013 Reuters analysis uncovered, “more than 180 loans to borrowers making more than $500,000, including dozens of millionaires, in apparent violation of the program’s income guidelines. It found loans in Cape Cod’s Hyannisport, home to the Kennedy family compound, and…Healdsburg, in California’s Sonoma County wine country.” There are few things as relaxing as a luxurious, secluded getaway – complete with a down payment from taxpayers.

2014: $349 million for a rocket tower built by space cadets

For the untold billions of dollars that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has spent on its toys, at least it (usually) has something cool to show for it. But in recent years, NASA has prioritized dead-end projects and wasteful spending over meaningful exploration. In June 2014, NASA completed work on a $349 million laboratory tower designed to approximate the vacuum of space here on Earth. This environment, in theory, would be conducive to testing rocket engines critical to NASA missions.

But there was one small problem: the rocket program that would’ve benefited from tower testing was shuttered in 2010. As Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold explained at the time, “at first, cautious NASA bureaucrats didn’t want to stop the construction on their own authority. And then Congress — at the urging of a senator from Mississippi — swooped in and ordered the agency to finish the tower, no matter what.” The end result was a monument to disuse – and a required $700,000 a year in taxpayer dollars to maintain the nothingburger. Astronomical waste, indeed.

2015: $5.4 million to create a television show about postal inspectors

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is deep in debt, having accrued more than $160 billion in unfunded liabilities. As TPA noted in its 2019 report on postal reform, this geyser of red ink is largely the result of lapses in leadership and misplaced priorities. Instead of devoting its revenues toward new trucks (that don’t catch on fire) and optimizing delivery routes, USPS has gotten into the business of…making TV shows. A FOIA request and subsequent response revealed that between 2014 and 2016 the agency contracted with Litton Entertainment to develop, write, produce, and air The Inspectors on CBS. Fortunately, the network dropped the meh-rated show in 2019, ensuring that taxpayers won’t have to spend another dime on this boondoggle.

2016: $99.8 million in grants awarded for Republican and Democratic nominations

In recent years, federal taxpayers have been asked to foot ever-increasing bills for political parties’ presidential nominating conventions. In 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded nearly $50 million each for the Republican and Democratic conventions in Cleveland, Ohio, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania respectively. Why powerful political parties with deep pockets can’t pay their own nominating expenses is beyond us. But maybe, just maybe, there’d be less spending waste if these private organizations were responsible for their own expenses.

In 2018, the DOJ’s IG found that $14.9 million of the $49.9 million awarded to Philadelphia to spend on security for the Democrats’ nomination was “unallowable and unsupported.” This included plenty of duplicate payroll submissions by city staff, who got away with getting paid twice for the same work…on the taxpayer’s dime. Cleveland’s grant was far better managed than Philadelphia’s, but the IG noted that there were some reporting irregularities. For example, the city added vehicles to its inventory without identifying them as federally funded. As Republicans and Democrats ready up for another round of conventions, it’s time for taxpayers to get a break from reckless grant-giving.

2017: $200 million for extension of failed streetcar

Strolling or biking down H Street, NE in Washington, D.C., one will almost certainly encounter the barely populated, painfully slow Washington, D.C. streetcar. Why federal and city authorities decided to spend $200 million to build this boondoggle is a mystery to taxpayers across the District and beyond. At a cost of nearly $100 million per mile and initial building delays spanning seven years for the 2.2 mile project, District and federal taxpayers have every right to demand better uses of their money. 

But they’re unlikely to get a reprieve anytime soon; the streetcar is still free more than four years after the project started service. And based on plans etched out in 2017, taxpayers are on the line for an additional $200 million to expand the failed endeavor another 2.4 miles. Add on inevitable miscellaneous costs, and the total addition is likely to be even more than the slated $200 million. In 2016, a TPA analysis identified more than $2 million in costs devoted to marketing, public relations and communications for the original project. Needless to say, the streetcar is on track to cost taxpayers a pretty penny.

2018: $13.4 million to promote farmers’ markets

It’s hard not to enjoy farmers’ markets. On a nice morning, countless casual shoppers can look forward to scrutinizing squashes, buying some artisan breads, and yes, even enjoying a churro or two. It’s a brisk business for everyone involved. The University of Maryland notes, “farmers’ market vendors receive between 40%-70% more for their products at market than selling them through wholesale outlets.” But no matter how successful an industry or business type is, the government will inevitably try to prop it up anyway.

For fiscal year (FY) 2018, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service set aside $13.4 million to “increase domestic consumption of and access to locally and regionally produced agricultural products, and to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local markets by developing, improving, expanding, and providing outreach, training, and technical assistance to, or assisting in the development, improvement, and expansion of domestic farmers markets, roadside stands, ….” In other words, that $12 artisanal cheese you just purchased from your local farmers’ market was produced and promoted with…your taxpayer dollars. Clearly, the USDA cut the cheese.

2019: $19.3 billion in Defense earmarks

Supposedly, earmarks were banned all the way back in 2011 (the first year covered in this list). But when lawmakers are determined to “bring home the bacon,” they’re not about to let pesky rules and good government reforms get in the way. It’s little wonder, then, that the FY 2019 Defense Appropriations Act contained 679 earmarks totaling $19.3 billion (click here to see the full list) that were inserted by members of Congress despite not being requested by the Pentagon.

There was a plethora of wasteful spending that went into that tally, including nearly $2 billion for the F-35, $950 million for the Littoral Combat Ship, and $640 million for the C-130J.  Funding infusions for the F-35 program continued despite reports (then and now) that the Pentagon “is trying to paper over serious problems” with the joint fighter, including pilots getting sick in flight. It’s bad enough for taxpayers that the F-35 program has an estimated lifetime cost of $1.5 trillion. Lawmakers shouldn’t be trying to tack additional appropriations on top that the Pentagon never even asked for.

2020: $1.4 billion in stimulus checks to dead people

There’s already plenty of spending waste designed to help the connected few in the realm of the living. But now, the government is also dead set on buoying the deceased. As the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was frantically mailing “economic impact payments” to hundreds of millions of American households over the past few months, 1.1 million stimulus checks were mailed out to…dead people. In total, $1.4 billion in taxpayer dollars went to the dearly departed instead of the beating hearted. This was no mere oversight by the IRS, but rather a bizarre legal interpretation typical of government bureaucrats.

The GAO recently found, “IRS counsel subsequently determined that IRS did not have the legal authority to deny payments to those who filed a return in 2019, even if they were deceased at the time of payment.” This same insane logic was applied to 2018 filers as well, before the Treasury learned of this policy and quickly reversed course. While the IRS is trying to get these disbursed dollars back, they shouldn’t expect taxpayers to stop grieving over their lost dollars anytime soon.

To conclude…

These examples may illicit a chuckle or two. But if Congress had shown some fiscal discipline in the last ten years, the government may have been in better financial shape and better equipped to deal with the current pandemic.  Tax Day is a time to pay your taxes but also a time to remind Congress to eliminate wasteful spending.