Posted on 10/05/2023 6:12:58 AM PDT by george76
Federal budgeters kept up with pre-pandemic spending to deck out office spaces during Covid-19..
While almost all employees worked from home, over $3.3 billion was spent on items including solar-powered picnic tables..
The egregious spending
...
Federal officials have been criticized after splashing $3.3 billion on swanky new office furniture during the pandemic, when almost all staff worked from home.
The egregious spending habits of the US government included almost $250,000 on solar-powered picnic tables for the CDC, and $120,000 on plush Ethan Allen leather chairs.
...
office capacity dipped as low as nine percent
...
Among the most maddening purchases was $237,960 spent on electric picnic tables to be installed at the Centers for Disease Control ...
Similarly, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency spent almost $250,000 on high-end Herman Miller furniture.
The Environmental Protection Agency also forked out $6.5 million for new décor, despite reportedly moving to a far smaller 300,000 square foot office space in Pennsylvania at the same time.
Lavish interior design is not just for those near DC either, with upmarket leather reclining armchairs from Ethan Allen worth $120,000 deemed worth it for the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.
...
The Pentagon, which marked the highest spending rate with a staggering $1.2 billion on new furniture.
In comparison, $408 million was spent by the Department of Justice, $302 million by the State Department, and $155 million by the Department of Homeland Security.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
See, there are no opportunities to cut federal spending. These are necessary expenses. Federal employees cannot have substandard working conditions. After all, they do so much to America. We need an omnibus spending bill and just be done with all this divisive infighting in Congress.
“guy back in the 1970s who was selling a Solar Powered Clothes Dryer, people sent him $10 and he sent them a roll of clothesline and some clothes pins.”
He could have sold these for ten grand each to dozens of federal agencies—if he bribed the right people first.
;-)
nothing but the best.
remember the old gummit budget dilemma:
if we don’t spend everything in the budget before the end of the year, we won’t get as much in next year’s budget.
Egregious spending when nobody is looking yep it’s the gubment.
But don't worry they will pay for themselves with saved electricity if they are used continuously and they last for several hundred years.
Not a problem; just print more money and let future generations pay the bill.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.