Festivus Report details wasteful government spending

[BPPLEE]

Sen. Rand Paul’s Annual ‘Festivus’ Report: a Whopping $900,000,000,000 of Government Waste – California Globe

californiaglobe.com

 

[iluvatar5150]

Sen. Rand Paul’s Annual ‘Festivus’ Report: a Whopping $900,000,000,000 of Government Waste – California Globe

californiaglobe.com

The link to the report at the end of the page doesn't work. Here's a working link:

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Festivus-2023.pdf

Some notes: It's not clear to me that the improperly stored military equipment has been rendered unusable, especially the $68 million in tank treads. Sure, it'd be better to store them properly, but last I checked, tanks were meant to operate outside in rather harsh conditions.

The $400 million "pot of cash for political campaigns" 1.) wasn't spent, 2.) was donated, and 3.) is there to facilitate candidates not taking corporate money.

The $236 billion in "improper payments" does not mean $236 billion paid that should not have been paid. It means that payments were made for incorrect amounts (both over and under) and those payments added up to $236 billion. If I'm reading this correctly, if a bill is for $10 and a check is cut for $11, then it counts as an $11 "improper payment," not a $1 "improper payment." Here's the GAO report it cites:

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-106285.pdf

 

[Brihaha]

Just to be clear, this is not a thread for people to air our own complaints right?
I'll bet that could be fun for most people. Grievance is something we all have in common. Rand seems to enjoy his annual catharsis.

I agree with many of his grievances. I'm not sure we need to study trans monkeys when there are a few trans people in America. But I don't mind the meth head monkey study. If it decreases the supply in the midwest it's a good thing.

 

[BPPLEE]

Just to be clear, this is not a thread for people to air our own complaints right?
I'll bet that could be fun for most people. Grievance is something we all have in common. Rand seems to enjoy his annual catharsis.

I agree with many of his grievances. I'm not sure we need to study trans monkeys when there are a few trans people in America. But I don't mind the meth head monkey study. If it decreases the supply in the midwest it's a good thing.

I have no problem hearing people’s complaints.

 

[iluvatar5150]

But I don't mind the meth head monkey study. If it decreases the supply in the midwest it's a good thing.

That's the problem with his annual whinefest. He consistently does little-to-no effort to vet the complaints to make sure they're actual problems and not just stuff that sounds silly. If you don't understand that some scientific research can look pointless or silly without having a grasp of the areas it touches on, then frankly, you're too ignorant to be a senator. How did he pass medical school? Or maybe he's just being dishonest.

Speaking of the monkey study, here's the paper:

Methamphetamine-Induced Sleep Impairments and Subsequent Slow-Wave and Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Rebound in Male Rhesus Monkeys

Use of amphetamine-type stimulants is associated with numerous adverse health outcomes, with disturbed sleep being one of the most prominent consequences of methamphetamine use. However, the extent to which methamphetamine alters sleep architecture, and whether methamphetamine-induced sleep...

www.frontiersin.org

Here's the last paragraph, emphasis mine:

Therefore, individuals who use methamphetamine are at risk for the development of sleep impairment and are also likely to experience negative health outcomes associated with sleep deprivation (for review, see Li et al., 2021). Similar effects have been reported in macaques with other stimulants (Authier et al., 2014; Goonawardena et al., 2018), with REM sleep suppression being the most marked and consistent effect of stimulant administration. Thus, sleep evaluations are critical in individuals who use and misuse stimulants, including prescription stimulants. Importantly, individuals with a history of sleep problems are at higher risk for the development of substance use disorders and are more likely to relapse following treatment (Brower and Perron, 2010; Wong et al., 2015; Roehrs et al., 2021), further emphasizing the importance of sleep management before stimulant prescription, as well as in the treatment of stimulant use disorders.

There you go - this goes towards helping better inform doctors who would prescribe stimulants and who treat patients with stimulant addictions.

 

[Brihaha]

I have no problem hearing people’s complaints.

That's one thing that bothers me lol.

 

[BPPLEE]

That's one thing that bothers me lol.

Festivus begins with the airing of grievances