The government sets a new low for wasting money
government, money | 9 Comments
Too bad they didn’t ask me to do this job because I would only have charged $250,000. I’ll explain in a moment.
We all know that our government wastes obscene amounts of money every year, but until we hear exactly which ridiculous programs they’re wasting it on, it doesn’t always sink in. Here’s an example that will either make you laugh or cry, depending on your mood right now.
The National Science Foundation, which is funded by taxpayer dollars, just paid $300,000 for a study on how “humans interact with bicycles.” I wish I were making this up, but I’m afraid it’s true.
Apparently, officials from this government-run foundation believed researchers at the University of California-Davis when they pedaled their proposal that bicycle dynamics are poorly understood and they needed $300,000 to understand them better. As I mentioned, I would only have needed $250,000 to get the job done.
As Texas Representative Lamar Smith, chairman of the Science, Space and Technology Committee, said that the study was unnecessary because the bicycle industry already spends nearly $65 billion a year into research.
You know what? Even if the bicycle industry did not spend anything on research, it still would be a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars to focus on things like this.
What’s your favorite story about government waste? Readers and I would love to hear about it.
Poster Comment:
$65 Billion a year on research? For them to get a lousy $300,000 is a drop in the bucket. ;)