Free Republic

In a revelation that may unsettle many taxpayers, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has brought to light a staggering figure of $236 billion in improper or incorrect payments made under the Biden administration last year alone. This sum, which does not even fully account for all susceptible programs, indicates a level of fiscal mismanagement that demands immediate attention and action. The breakdown provided by the GAO is particularly alarming, with Medicare and Medicaid together accounting for nearly $100 billion of this colossal waste. Such figures not only represent a “material deficiency or weakness in internal controls” within these agencies,...

Topline: The federal government has given $324 million since 2020 to projects that have created a podcast, including some with questionable topics, according to a recent investigation from OpenTheBooks.com. Key facts: OpenTheBooks’ auditors identified a list of 58 podcasts created with government funds, covering everything from Swedish gender-neutral pronouns to AI-generated erotic literature. The Regeneration Rising podcast, which received over $446,000 from the Department of Agriculture, has an episode about “building a queer farmer community.” Another show with almost $200,000 in grant money speaks about the “important role” of Satanists in American religion. Other podcasts are simply silly. One show...

The programs in fiscal year 2023 that went unreported to the government watchdog, which has tracked trillions of payments made in error in 2003, fell under the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anew Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveals that federal agencies have reported about $2.7 trillion in "total improper payments" since the fiscal year 2003 and $236 billion in fiscal year 2023 alone but that “government-wide estimate potentially does not represent the full extent of improper payments.” The reason the fiscal year 2023 total doesn't tell the full story...

“While in use, solar panels safely generate electricity without creating any air emissions. However, like any source of energy, there are associated wastes that need to be properly recycled or disposed of when solar panels reach their end of life,” said the EPA. “As the solar photovoltaic (PV) market grows, so will the volume of end-of-life panels.” By 2030, the United States is expected to have as much as one million total tons of solar panel waste. For comparison, the EPA says the U.S. municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2018 was 292.4 million tons. By 2050, the United States is...

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is facing criticism over a $1.7 million toilet that was announced over 15 months ago — and still has not been installed in the city. "The toilet project broke down the minute taxpayers realized the city was planning an event to celebrate $1.7 million in state funds that local politicians had secured for the lone 150-square-foot structure," The New York Times reported. "That’s enough to purchase a single-family home in San Francisco — with multiple bathrooms." California Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to pull the funds for the toilet project after the story was initially made...

An estimated 26% of purchases the Department of Defense (DOD) reported as supporting its COVID-19 response went to unrelated items, according to an Inspector General report released on Thursday.Former President Donald Trump’s March 2020 memo in response to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak gave DOD program officials the ability to increase the limit on government charge cards between $10,000 and $35,000, according to the report. Cardholders used the increased limit to make unrelated purchases on items from shipping to food and sometimes failed to produce receipts or get the required approvals before making a purchase“It is critically important to track execution...

In 2021, your federal government spent $6 million every single minute. That’s $9 billion every day, almost $3 trillion per year.For just a glimpse of that insanity, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the enormous Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), has 27 Institutes and Centers (I.C.s), and in fiscal year 2020 had a budget of $41.6 billion (plus a separate $3.6 billion for COVID-19 that year). President Biden’s request for fiscal year 2023 was almost $49 billion...plus the new “mandatory” budget items ($5 billion for a new Advanced Research Projects Agency — Health, $12.5 billion...

Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties have reported 45 cases of the bacteria in December, with nine different strains observed in the Portland metro area since October. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Multnomah County is encouraging residents to watch their hygiene after a boost in shigella cases was observed in Old Town Portland. Shigella is a bacteria that spreads via fecal matter, and creates symptoms that include fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. It can last anywhere from three to 10 days. “Shigella spreads when one person’s infected poop gets into another person’s mouth through food or water, from objects or surfaces with shigella bacteria...

It’s that time of year again! Time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, gather with family and friends, make gingerbread houses, go Christmas caroling, play in the snow, and… remind yourself how much your government absolutely hates you. Don’t forget, every holiday season is also time for Rand Paul’s annual Festivus Report, and this year, for the ninth report, Paul highlighted nine hundred billion dollars in waste by the Festivites; from Paul’s opening segment:This year, I am highlighting a whopping ~$900,000,000,000 of waste, including an NIH grant to study Russian cats walking on a treadmill, Barbies used as proof of...

Americans are strongly dissatisfied with the direction of the country and the economy. According to Gallup, just 19% of the public is satisfied with how things are going, compared with 80% who aren’t. Incredibly, consumer sentiment is lower now than it was during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. It’s easy to see why. Inflation remains elevated above pre-pandemic levels, meaning that real weekly earnings are down by more than 4% since January 2021. Rising interest rates have caused the median mortgage payment to double over the same period. In a good economy, hardworking Americans steadily get ahead as income gains...

Workers are replacing the charming rusty chain that lines the road to Fort Point with a dull metal barrierLink loss: Say goodbye to San Francisco’s favorite chain.Marine Drive in the Presidio isn’t even a mile along, but as it descends a short hill from Lincoln Boulevard, you’re awarded with one of the most commanding views in San Francisco. Ahead, the Golden Gate Bridge towers above the hulk of Fort Point, while on the right, the constantly churning bay splashes on the rocky shore. Over the next few weeks that view is going to change. The bridge and fort will still...

As the war drags on, Ukraine is struggling to replace the exhausted troops who have spent two years at the front. Twenty-two months after the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian army is struggling to find new recruits to send to the front, according to military officials. “Our units are understaffed,” said Major Oleksandr Volkov, commander of a battalion of the 24th mechanised brigade. “We need young people, under 40, and motivated.” This was exactly the advantage that Russia always had over Ukraine: more manpower, together with the willingness to send an indefinite number of men - be they...

The Department of Transportation announced more than $6 billion in grant funding for high-speed rail projects this week. The money comes amid ongoing support for a technology that has also encountered concerns about its costs. Brightline West, an affiliate of Florida’s Brightline intercity rail service, was awarded $3 billion in federal funds for its proposed line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, which would zoom passengers between the cities in two hours. The California High-Speed-Rail Authority was awarded $3.1 billion to continue work on its system, which will ultimately connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than three hours....

resident Biden is facing criticism after a bombshell report revealed that all federal agencies are less than 50 percent occupied - wasting billions in taxpayer dollars - over a year after he declared the COVID-19 pandemic over. According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) memo to Sen. Joni Ernst, obtained by DailyMail.com, not a single federal agency has over half of its workforce in the office. That's a staggering statistic since federal agencies spend about $2 billion taxpayer dollars per year to operate and maintain federal office buildings - and over $5 billion annually in leases. The shocking findings comes...

Public health officials are distributing rapid COVID-19 tests and urging people to receive an updated vaccine as levels of coronavirus in Boston area waste water rise ahead of the holiday season. Boston Public Health Commission officials said they will hand out 10,000 free testing kits at community centers and other distribution hubs across the city. As of Nov. 15, coronovirus levels rose 93 percent over the previous 14 days, the commission said.

Periodically I post updates here about how more and more government money thrown at so-called “anti-poverty” programs never seems to reduce measured poverty even by a little. I call this phenomenon the “poverty scam.” The persistent high rate of supposed “poverty” — in the face of well over a trillion dollars of annual spending supposedly intended to cure it — is then repeatedly used to sucker the voters and the Congress into another round of increases in the spending, none of which will ever reduce poverty as measured. My latest post on this subject was on September 16, occasioned by...

Officials in Sweetwater say an out-of-state company has made their town a dump for the seldom-seen trash created by renewable energy.

Wind turbines, once touted by the few wealthy and less populated countries as a clean solution for electricity, are now becoming an eyesore, a hazard, and a significant environmental threat. After decades of operating around the world for the few wealthy and less populated countries, wind turbines continue to have a live expectancy of about 20 years. To date there has yet to be discovered a financially viable means of recycling those wind turbines. As a result, today’s old wind turbines are being dumped into toxic waste dumps. Because wind turbine blades are very difficult to recycle, the waste stream...

Officials in Sweetwater say an out-of-state company has made their town a dump for the seldom-seen trash created by renewable energy.

This week, President Biden has asked Congress to approve a $24 billion aid package for Ukraine. Assistant to the Secretary of Defense John Kirby said "the needs are great. We're hoping that this modest request, which covers only the first quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, will be a springboard for a more comprehensive and durable funding commitment later on." Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said "there is strong bipartisan support for demonstrating America's resolve when it comes to defending democracy around the world. The latest revelation that portions of our earlier aid packages have been siphoned off to...