Tag: government waste

Commentary: Seven Ridiculous Examples of Government Waste in 2023

Minnesota Sun Staff
Congress Spending

Almost nobody doubts that the federal government wastes a lot of money. Every day we hear stories of fraud, mismanagement, and misplaced priorities that cost taxpayers millions, and sometimes billions, of dollars.

But just how much money is wasted? In his annual Festivus report—named after the fictional Seinfeld holiday—Senator Rand Paul tallies up some of the most egregious examples of government waste from the year. The report for 2023 came out on December 22, and as usual, the stories spanned the range from hilarious to deeply disconcerting. In all, Paul identified $900 billion in government waste from 2023.

Read More

Reports: Twenty Federal Agencies Have Wasted $2.3 Trillion in Taxpayer Money Since 2004

The Center Square
US Capitol

Improper payments made by federal government agencies totaled $175 billion last year, or $15 billion per month, according to PaymentAccuracy.gov, a website of the U.S. government.

This is in addition to $2.25 trillion worth of taxpayer money spent on improper payments from 2004 to 2018, according to a Congressional Research Service brief on the Improper Payments Act.

Read More

IG Estimates: Social Security Pays Billions in Benefits to Those With No Numbers

Minnesota Sun Staff

A new Inspector General (IG) audit of the Social Security Administration (SSA) found that it paid $1 billion in benefits to individuals who do not have Social Security numbers (SSN). Because the audit was of a sampling, the actual amount is estimated to be much higher.

Read More

Beacon Center Calls ‘Cut’ on Wasteful Tennessee Film, TV Subsidies Such as ‘Nashville’

Jason M. Reynolds
film crew

The TV show “Nashville” may finally be ending, but taxpayers have been stuck with the tab for this and other “flops,” conservative think tank says in a new report. The Beacon Center of Tennessee released the “Calling Cut on Film Incentives” report Wednesday to decry the bad “investments” the state…

Read More

Tennessee Loses Money Spending $17,500 Per Job to Lure 1,000 AllianceBernstein Employees to Nashville from New York City

Jason M. Reynolds
Tennessee Capital building

A $17.5 million tax incentive from the state of Tennessee to lure 1,000 jobs to Nashville–$17,500 per job—came at the expense of taxpayers to lure well-paid corporate executives when they already were drawn to the state’s other features like a favorable tax structure, experts say. The Tennessee Department of Economic…

Read More