Tom Coburn's Waste Book 2012

Your tax dollars at work - some of the stupid spending. There are 10 pages, but I only copied a few as examples. To see the whole list, you must go to the link i posted and then go to the underlined words "Summary of Wastebook 2012" 3rd paragraph. 

Some aren't that stupid but I find the below are:

Professional Sports Loophole (Taxes) $91 million: The NFL, NHL, and PGA all classify themselves as non-profit organizations. Taxpayers may be losing at least $89.9 million subsidizing these tax loopholes for professional sports leagues that generate billions of dollars annually in profits.

Oklahoma keeps unused airport open to collect federal checks – (OK) $450,000: The Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission (OAC) voted this year to keep the scarcely used Lake Murray State Park Airport open simply to receive $150,000 in federal funds it can then transfer to other airports. The airport has just one landing per month -- it is essentially unused

Moroccan pottery classes – (U.S. Agency for International Development) $27 million:  A USAID development program in Morocco has failed, the IG found. Part of the program included pottery classes in which the instructor used materials not available locally, and the translator for the classes was not fluent in English.

Out-of-this-world Martian food tasting – (HI) $947,000:  NASA is studying what food astronauts could eat on Mars, by simulating a Mars outpost at a barren location in Hawaii.

When robot squirrels attack – (CA) $325,000: An NSF grant was used to create a robot squirrel to study how squirrels and rattlesnakes interact. Previous research on this relationship already exists.

USDA’s caviar dreams – (ID) $300,000: USDA gave a grant to a caviar producer in Idaho for marketing.

Bailed out tourist boat sinking private business – (AK) $3.3 million: Dept. of Transportation gave an Alaskan tribe millions to start a ferry that competes with existing private ferries, who are now struggling severely.

Call me for free, maybe – (Federal Communications Commission) $1.5 billion: Enrollment in the Lifeline program has skyrocketed as people sign up to get free cell phones for which they qualify if they are on federal tested programs (or based on income).

Powerful routers installed in tiny rural libraries and schools – (WV) $24 million: State officials used a federal stimulus grant to purchase massive, overpowered routers that are too big and unnecessary for rural schools, libraries, and government offices.

Relive prom week with National Science Foundation video game – (CA) $516,00: Using an NSF grant, researchers created a computer game simulating a high school "Prom Night" and the week leading up to the night.

Smokey Bear balloons – (Department of Agriculture) $49,447: USDA pays to have a Smokey Bear hot-air balloon at festivals in the Southwest. Money could be used for a DC10 tanker to fight wildfires.

California towns sell federal grants to neighbors – (CA) $206,42: Beverly Hills sold part of its Community Development Block Grant funds to a neighboring town for 70 cents on the dollar to get around federal requirements.

Speed reading faces – (WA) $30,000: NSF funds used to study whether people can determine a person's sexual orientation with just a glance.

Book club funding goes to ghost tours, fishing lessons, and movie screenings – (National Endowment for the Arts) $1 million:  National Endowment for the Arts funding for book clubs goes to pay for movie screenings, theatrical productions, fishing lessons, and concerts.

Corporate welfare for the world’s largest snack food maker – (NY) $1.3 million:  A business park in New York received federal funds to make a road for a Pepsico yogurt factory.

Government-funded study finds golfers need to envision a bigger hole – (IN) $350,000:  NSF funds go to a study of how golfers can putt better if they envision the hole is bigger.

Fighting obesity with giant graffiti carrots – (ME) $13,000:  Anti-obesity funds pay for a giant graffiti mural focused on sustainability.

Free bus rides for Super Bowl attendees – (IN) $142,419:  A Dept. of Transportation grant paid for free bus rides during the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Average prices for Super Bowl tickets are around $3,000.

Flushing down taxpayer dollars – (MI) $10,000:  Dept. of Transportation dollars are used in Michigan to buy 400 talking urinal cakes to fight drunk driving.

No laughing matter, cartoon school receives real taxpayer money – (VT) $255,000:  A cartooning school in Vermont received HUD funds to build a new center, though it has very few students and is unaccredited.

Science research dollars go to musical about biodiversity and climate change – (NY) $445,444:  NSF funds spent on a musical about biodiversity and climate change. Reviews of the play said it was boring and needed improvement.

The streetcar named No Desire – (MO) $35.6 million:  Federal transportation money will help build a trolley in St. Louis that has been called the "Streetcar Named No Desire" by one local. It duplicates existing light rail and public transportation, some say.