14 billion of your dollars wasted

In Boston, as the "Big Dig", 4 times over budget, is full of leaks, substandard materials, and now is falling apart, killing one woman.

In other news, your Department of Homeland Security has thousands of items that cannot be accounted for, including over 100 laptops, 12 boats, and other equipment. Millions more dollars were thrown away on redundant or unnecessary items, or items that could have been purchased for less using normal government procurement channels.

Two of my favorites, from the second article:


12 Apple iPod Nanos and 42 iPod Shuffles, worth $7,000, for Secret Service "training and data storage." Because the Shuffles cost less than $300, the Secret Service said they were not required to track them to ensure they were used properly.

37 black Helly Hansen designer rain jackets, costing nearly $2,500, for use in a firing range that the Customs and Border Protection purchaser later acknowledged shuts down when it's raining.

I love that Secret Service attitude, "We don't have to track them, they're not worth enough". I wonder if any of that data storage is classified, and who keeps track of that?

Remember, your tax freedom day (when the average worker finishes paying his obligation to the government, and the rest of the year's wages are his) is now in July.