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SQUEAL AWARD: Binge Buying Bureaucrats.
Binge buying bureaucrats blew thru $53 billion of your hard-earned dollars in a single week last year. ONE WEEK! The worst part: the vast majority of that taxpayer money was spent NEEDLESSLY.
Every year, federal agencies go on their “use it or lose it” shopping spree—spending as much of your money—the American taxpayer’s—as possible before midnight on September 30, the end of the fiscal year.
And this spending disorder gets more expensive every year! The nearly $100 billion rung up in September 2018 is 15% more than was spent in September 2017 and a staggering 39% increase from September 2015.
It’s all because the rules incentivize these bureaucrats to spend it when they really don’t have to. They’re told: “spend the extra end-of-year money, or lose it.” So what do they do? SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!
So what are these federal agencies wasting your hard-earned money on? Oh just little things like: five tons of tater tots, an assortment of musical instruments, and even fidget spinners! Folks, this is what we call binge buying. And it doesn’t stop there...
According to an analysis by the nonpartisan watchdog group Open the Books, some of the other last-minute purchases included:
- $4.6 million for lobster tail and crab;
- $2.1 million on games, toys, and wheeled goods;
- $308,994 on beer and booze;
- $53,004 for china tableware;
- $40,379 on clocks;
- $24,993 for candy and candy bars;
- $11,816 on a commercial foosball table; and
- $9,341 on a Wexford leather club chair.
While some of the items may be justifiable, the manner in which many were purchased is not. Rushing to spend as quickly as possible is more likely to waste YOUR money. As my fellow Iowans know, it’s never smart to rush into a big purchase. Unfortunately it seems Washington bureaucrats don’t agree, especially when it’s your tax dollars they’re dealing with.
Billion dollar binge buying is no way to budget, that’s why I’m awarding this month’s Squeal Award to the federal agencies that care more about preserving their own budgets than protecting taxpayers.
And, to ensure this kind of compulsive spending comes to a halt, I’m introducing the End-of-Year Fiscal Responsibility Act—a bill that would limit an agency’s spending in the last two months of the year to no more than the average it spent per month during the preceding 10 months.
Iowans are forced to pay for Washington’s repeated careless spending habits; it’s time we put an end to this reckless behavior and frivolous spending.
Do you have an example of government waste or inefficiencies that I should take a look at? Send me an email by clicking here.
Thank you!
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