America by the Numbers
50 billion — dollar amount of “government waste” identified so far by Elon Musk’s D.O.G.E.
8 billion — pounds of waste produced per year by American D-O-G dogs
200,000 — number of Caribbean pink flamingoes in the wild
20 million — number of pink plastic flamingoes sold since 1957, when sculptor Don Featherstone created them for Union Products, a lawn and garden décor company
2.1 billion — dollar amount of USAID money that went directly to Hamas-controlled areas of Gaza
5 million — dollar amount of loan money available to businesses impacted by the February, 2023 train derailment/chemical spills in East Palestine, Ohio
1 trillion over 5 years — dollar amount of wealth being sheltered by Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts and related vehicles, which …
Agricultural Digest
President Donald Trump’s shutdown of USAID has the agriculture industry aflutter. The shutdown has already got farmers and their advocates speaking up about the loss of guaranteed income from programs like Food for Peace, which bought up excess grain and shipped it to countries in need. John Boyd Jr., President of the National Black Farmers Association, told NewsNation Prime that these cuts could bring “havoc and devastation” to family farmers.
In Kansas, the loss of Food for Peace means a pileup of sorghum (or “milo”) with nowhere to go and no one to buy it. Kim Barnes, the chief financial officer of the Pawnee County co-op in Larned, told the Topeka Capital-Journal, “There’s just no market in the world today for milo.” In other words, the US taxpayer has been subsidizing the production of a grain with minor free-market value (being about par for American agriculture, with roughly 39 …
Biggest Money-Wasting Scams Uncovered by DOGE in all 50 States
Alabama — “Roll, Tide” gift bags, luggage tags, and gold-plated tiny helmets distributed to state officeholders
Alaska — Federally-subsidized ice sculptures of whales
Arizona — Cashing social security checks for thousands of 140-year old retirees
Arkansas — Department of Bootlegging Studies at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock
California — “California Love” rap video production program featuring state landmarks being set on fire
Colorado — Five-year après-ski study of effects of high altitudes on potency of cocoa leaf by-products
Connecticut — In situ performances of Rick Moody’s The Ice Storm
Delaware — State-wide contest to find original uses for old credit cards in order to avoid negative impacts on the …
