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Things Democrats Have Funded that Cost More than the Border Wall


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THINGS DEMOCRATS HAVE FUNDED THAT COST MORE THAN THE BORDER WALL

Lawmakers have put less thought into other, more expensive projects over the years
Jan 9, 2019 9:39 AM

After President Trump requested $5.7 billion to fund the border wall he campaigned on in 2016, Democrats have dug in, refusing to appropriate the funds that the administration says are needed to better manage the flow of immigration across the southern border.

Democrats are not traditionally known for their fiscal rectitude but are particularly parsimonious over what ultimately amounts to a very small percentage of the federal budget. (In 2018, the feds spent $4.173 trillion overall, meaning the border wall would amount to just 1/10th of 1 percent of current annual federal spending.)

Indeed, these lawmakers have happily funded various projects over the years that cost far more than the border wall — and many of which had very questionable value. Below are some examples of wasteful federal spending projects that individually cost more than the proposed border wall (data courtesy of Citizens Against Government Waste😞

— “Rural Utility Service.” This program costs taxpayers $8.2 billion/year and has no actual purpose after its original intent — bringing electricity to rural communities — was long ago achieved. It’s now being used to bring broadband access to small communities (usually with populations of less than 20,000). However there’s no indication the “beneficiaries” of this expensive government agency actually appreciate the program, and the majority of its projects are not completed on time or within budget.

— Sugar Subsidies. America, as Democrats frequently intone, faces a health crisis. What they don’t tell us is that it’s largely of their own making, as Congress subsidizes the production of unhealthy foods like sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Eliminating sugar subsidies alone would save $6 billion, enough to fund the border wall; it would also have the added benefit of helping curb the nation’s obesity epidemic. 

— Community Development Grants. These grants were created in the 70s to revitalize failing American cities. The program has almost always been plagued with dysfunction, with grants going to wealthy communities and other recipients failing to produce “accountability and results.” Citizens Against Government Waste reports that even President Obama called for reining in the program. It’s elimination would save $15 billion over 5 years. 

— The United Nations. As the United Nation’s largest contributor, the U.S. in 2016 donated $10 billion to the U.N. As CAGW notes, reducing these contributions just 25 percent would create a savings of $12.5 billion over 10 years. Of the money Congress appropriates for the United Nations, $5 million taxpayer dollars are itemized for abortions in foreign countries.

— Amtrak. Congress could sell Amtrak to the private sector where it would almost certainly be operated more efficiently, but instead it’s showered in billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies. Over the next five years, these subsidies will cost $9.7 billion.

— Unused Real Estate. Congress appropriates money to maintain federal real estate that’s not actually being used. Per CAGW, an October 31, 2017, CRS report found that, “In FY2016, federal agencies owned 3,120 buildings that were vacant (unutilized), and another 7,859 that were partially empty (underutilized).” Current laws require the government to undergo a series of steps before considering a sale of these buildings. Were selling this unused property prioritized, the 5-year savings are estimated at $15 billion. Simply maintaining the unused buildings annually costs $1.7 billion.

— Foreign Aid. American taxpayers currently spend more than $50 billion a year helping develop foreign countries. Many of the recipients are not known for being America’s closest allies — such as Egypt, South Sudan, Uganda, South Africa, Russia, the Congo, Sudan, and Zambia — which raises the question of what Americans are receiving in exchange for all of this aid. Cutting these donations back just 10 percent would be enough to fund the wall.  

Despite many of of the above projects having arguably negative value, Congress continues to fund them. Eliminating any one of the above would create more than enough savings to fund the White House’s border wall appropriation request. 

Of course, other smaller federal spending projects are even more wasteful. Examples abound, but here are a few that are at least amusing:

— The feds spend $613,634 to boost “intimacy and trust” of transgender women and their male partners (The Washington Free Beason)

— The feds spent $5 million paying hipsters to stop smoking and then blog about it (as well as use cool anti-smoking swag — like beer koozies). (Readers Digest

— Northwestern University has received more than $3 million in National Institutes of Health to watch hamster fights. “Some of those experiments involved injecting hamsters with steroids, then putting another hamster in the cage to see if the drugged rodents were more aggressive when protecting their territory. This program has since been halted following protests from animal rights activists,” Readers Digest reports.  

— The feds spend $1,009,762 training “social justice” math teachers (The Washington Free Beacon)

— “The government spent at least $518,000 in federal grants to study how cocaine affects the sexual behavior of Japanese quails,” Readers Digest reports. 

— The Federal Register is legally required to be printed daily and distributed to Congressional offices despite most never being read and all of the information being available online. Stopping this unnecessary printing would save $1 million a year. 

What did we miss? What programs do you think are most wasteful? Let us know in the comments below. 

 
 
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What we have is an inability by Congress to handle the Country’s checkbook and put the money where it is needed most.  You know, PRIORITIZE AND PUT THE MONEY WHERE IT IS MOST NEEDED

 

How about we take just a quarter of all the money spent in this article and put it towards Border Security.  

 

 

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And when all the smoke settles......history will reveal that Trump had 2 years to "Secure the Border" and didn't do it.  The ramping up of border security dire straits is a political ploy.....a conflation of an immigration system that's required attention by congress for decades....only the most naive among us can't see that he's backed himself into a corner with his base and desperately needs a PR win.

 

Note:  20T Nat'l Debt....1.5T Tax Cuts....21.5T Nat'l Debt instantly....the magic of failed trickle down economics.....history destined to repeat itself.

 

GO RV, then BV

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History will also show Trump had enough "Never Trumpers and Never Learners" in Congress to prevent any action he wanted. Not

his fault the clowns in DC want what is best for them and illegal immigrants. 

The Democrats don"t want what is best for U.S. citizens and Republicans don't have the bolas to stand up to them.

You said compromise is good.

Every time a conservative "compromises" it is thrown back at them during an election and the Democrats don't carry through with their side of the deal. 

The word "Compromise" to a Conservative/Republican means" Bend over and take it. 

 

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POLITICS

Published 13 mins ago

Trump cancels trip to World Economic Forum in Davos, cites funding standoff

 

Fox News

 

Email

President Trump announced he is canceling his upcoming trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, citing the government funding standoff.

"Because of the Democrats intransigence on Border Security and the great importance of Safety for our Nation, I am respectfully cancelling my very important trip to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum," he tweeted.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-cancels-trip-to-world-economic-forum-in-davos-cites-funding-standoff

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President Trump cancels trip to Davos and World Economic Forum due to shutdown

Posted: 1:21 PM, Jan 10, 2019
 
Updated: 22 minutes ago
By: Scripps National
?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmediaassets.scrippsna

 

President Trump has canceled his upcoming trip to Davos, Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum.

Trump made the announcement in a tweet on Thursday afternoon. He cited the ongoing government shutdown as the reasoning for the cancellation.

"Because of the Democrats intransigence on Border Security and the great importance of Safety for our Nation, I am respectfully cancelling my very important trip to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. My warmest regards and apologies to the @wef!" Trump tweeted.

The cancellation was expected due to the ongoing shutdown.

More on this as it develops.

 

 

Because of the Democrats intransigence on Border Security and the great importance of Safety for our Nation, I am respectfully cancelling my very important trip to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. My warmest regards and apologies to the @WEF!

 
 
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21 minutes ago, Pitcher said:

Yes Shabbs just like Obama had 2 years and he did nothing either.  

 

You sure?....The way conservatives and alt-righties tell the story, President Obama was hell bent on the destruction of this country under the strict guidance of dark world overlords......all day, every day.   :rolleyes:

 

GO RV, then BV 

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.  Sanctuary Cities, catch and release, free medical for illegals, and of course illegals get to vote.  Yes Obama and his unlawful buddies did plenty.  

 

I’ll add this nugget just so you know what I really think.  I dislike Obama as much as you dislike Trump.  There is nothing you can do or say to ever change my mind.  Yes, I did vote for him in 08.  I bought the hope and change BS hook line and sinker. I caught on quick enough when he lied about Obamacare and I lost my doctors and my premiums went up 35% with less coverage.  I’ll never ever vote Democrat ever again.  

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4 hours ago, Floridian said:

 

What are you thinking, LGD?  

I don't see where cancelling his trip to Davos has anything to do with funding the wall.  Why cancel trip to Davos?

What am I missing?

When you look at my "Twilight Zone" post you see that I believe that everything President Trump is currently doing is related to 

the Iraqi dinar. These recent events simply don't make any sense otherwise. To not see what Trump is doing as related to Iraq and 

it's currency is to agree with the Dems that Trump is way out of his league and will soon be removed. 

Having said that, by not attending the event at Davos, {a yearly event where the leaders of the world come together to decide the 

financial direction that the world will take}, President Trump is clearly sending a message that he is taking his own path as the 

leader of the free world. It's no small detail that a sitting POTUS refuses to attend. Furthermore, if you remember last year they 

didn't want Trump to come but he did anyway. He used the event to attempt to persuade world leaders to follow his path. 

That didn't work out to well for him. From that time to now Trump has been blazing his own path and make no mistake about it 

the dinar is the fuel for his victory. 

What we are seeing is President Trump asserting himself and his goals on the world stage as the most powerful person on earth. 

With each passing day I grow more convinced that by the end of  this month we'll see the RV/RI or we'll see WW3 in short order. 

 

 

P.S.

If I'm wrong in this assessment you can dang well forget about the dinar doing anything, because the rest of the world has 

lost patience with Iraq. 

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15 minutes ago, ladyGrace'sDaddy said:

When you look at my "Twilight Zone" post you see that I believe that everything President Trump is currently doing is related to 

the Iraqi dinar. These recent events simply don't make any sense otherwise. To not see what Trump is doing as related to Iraq and 

it's currency is to agree with the Dems that Trump is way out of his league and will soon be removed. 

Having said that, by not attending the event at Davos, {a yearly event where the leaders of the world come together to decide the 

financial direction that the world will take}, President Trump is clearly sending a message that he is taking his own path as the 

leader of the free world. It's no small detail that a sitting POTUS refuses to attend. Furthermore, if you remember last year they 

didn't want Trump to come but he did anyway. He used the event to attempt to persuade world leaders to follow his path. 

That didn't work out to well for him. From that time to now Trump has been blazing his own path and make no mistake about it 

the dinar is the fuel for his victory. 

What we are seeing is President Trump asserting himself and his goals on the world stage as the most powerful person on earth. 

With each passing day I grow more convinced that by the end of  this month we'll see the RV/RI or we'll see WW3 in short order. 

 

 

P.S.

If I'm wrong in this assessment you can dang well forget about the dinar doing anything, because the rest of the world has 

lost patience with Iraq. 

 

Okay, I get it now.

Thank you so much, LGD.  😊

 

 

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