Fraud and abuse: Your tax money at work

November 7, 7:44 PMLouisville City Hall ExaminerThomas McAdam

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 Back in February, the Democrats in congress pushed through a three-quarters of a trillion dollar stimulus package; promising that the U.S. economy would be jump-started out of its recession, and that millions of jobs would be created (or, at least, saved). Individual congressmen (at least those of the majority party) were encouraged to add “earmarks” for “shovel-ready” projects in their districts. That this exercise in profligacy turned into an egregious boondoggle should surprise no one.

Susan Ferrechio, Chief Congressional Correspondent for our sister publication, The Washington Examiner, has compiled a remarkable list of fraud and abuse weighing down the stimulus package. Some examples:

  (Photo:  U.S. D.O.T.)

• - $300,000 for a GPS-equipped helicopter to hunt for radioactive rabbit droppings at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state.
• - $11 million for Microsoft to build a bridge connecting its two headquarter campuses in Redmond, Wash., which are separated by a highway.
• - $219,000 for Syracuse University to study the sex lives of freshmen women.
• - $2.3 million for the U.S. Forest Service to rear large numbers of arthropods, including the Asian longhorned beetle, the nun moth and the woolly adelgid.
• - $3.4 million for a 13-foot tunnel for turtles and other wildlife attempting to cross U.S. 27 in Lake Jackson, Fla.
• - $2.5 million in stimulus checks sent to the deceased.
• - $6 million for a snow-making facility in Duluth, Minn.
• - $300 apiece for thousands of signs at road construction sites across the country announcing that the projects are funded by stimulus money.

By the way, the current marketing motto at Syracuse University is “Scholarship in Action.” They describe this as “The bold vision that propels Syracuse University — a vision for education that's not static or for its own sake, but breaks out of the traditional ‘ivory tower.’ It drives us to forge innovative and sustained partnerships across our local and global communities. And that makes SU a place where students become leaders, scholars become collaborators, and the community is continually energized by new ideas.” Readers interested in becoming energized by new ideas can apply by clicking HERE.

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