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Politics and Activism

10 Weird Ways That Your Tax Dollars Are Used

HINT It's not going to roads or the poor.

Tabitha Anne Lamberth

Nov 21, 2016

Armstrong State University

495

10 Weird Ways That Your Tax Dollars Are Used

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Americans pay a lot in taxes every year, and most of us would like to think that our tax dollars are being used efficiently. Of course, if you actually thought that you would be wrong, because our government loves to waste taxpayer dollars on some very weird things. Here are a few of the many ways that the government spends our tax dollars.

1. World of Warcraft

Over $3,000,000 was spent by researchers at University of California to study different video games.

2. Ironman

Reportedly, the U.S. Army spent about $80 million, while trying to develop a "real-life ironman". Who doesn't love a good superhero?

3. Phantom Hospital

It is reported that Medicare paid out $35 million to phantom hospitals. These hospitals never actually existed and were created by criminal gangs to get the money.

4. Cows

The University of New Hampshire was given $700,000 to study the emission of methane gas. This pretty much means that they were given $700,000 to study cow burps and farts.

5. Prostitutes

The National Institute of Health spent $442,340 to study the behaviors of Vietnamese male prostitutes.

6. Speed Bumps

Portland, Maine spent $335,000 to place 38 speed bumps in two neighborhoods. This means that each bump cost about $8, 815.

7. Super Bowl Commercial

The U.S. Census Bureau spent $2,500,000 to buy a Super Bowl spot and produce a commercial. The commercial came out so bad that it eventually ended up being banned.

8. Treadmills and Mountain Lions

The University of California - Santa Monica decided to train mountain lions how to walk on treadmills. The "study" took months, $856,000, and served no real purpose.

9. Guantanamo Bay Soccer

The U.S. government spent $750,000 to build a new soccer field at Guantanamo Bay. At least the detainees were excited about it.

10. Emails

The U.S. Department of Education paid twenty employees $240 an hour to teach "Email Writing Courses" to federal government employees.

For more ways weird ways your tax dollars are used check out Turning Point USA's publication 50 Wacky Ways The Government Spends Your Money.

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10 Weird Ways That Your Tax Dollars Are Used

*HINT* It's not going to roads or the poor.

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No one best represents the struggle like our favorite 90s squad.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

2. When there is only one section of a popular course.

3. Receiving the 18,000 emails reminding you to register ASAP.

4. When you need to see an advisor, but they are too busy/unresponsive.

5. Trying not to dress like a bum for your appointments with your advisors/department heads.

6. When you have a perfectly planned out schedule, and one class ruins it.

7. Carefully moving things around to accommodate a different class/section.

8. Waking up at 6:00 a.m. for your enrollment time.

9. Concocting a new schedule at your enrollment time after your original plan gets changed.

10. Getting into a class and filling the last available seat.

11. When all of your classes finally go through.

12. Realizing that you forgot a class that was a pre-requisite for everything else.

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

"Nobody living in one of the most influential nations in the world should be worried about making ends meet."

What is the current minimum wage at the federal level?

What are the benefits of raising the minimum wage?

What are the states that have set a $15/hour minimum wage?

Told through Parks & Recreation GIFs

Because who understands your bitterness better than April?

1. When you have to provide an "interesting fact" for your first day ice-breaker.

2. When your professor is babbling on and on in his lecture.

3. When you edit your friend's paper and they get an A.

4. When it's 2 AM and you remember you have a test tomorrow.

5. When you finish taking the test and you're pretty sure you failed...

6. ...but then you get the test back and somehow passed.

7. When you've been up for 12 hours straight writing a paper.

8. And then you manage to stay awake in class the next day.

9. When you have to butter up your professor for an extra credit opportunity.

10. When you're assigned a group project.

11. And your group-mates are trying to chat about life instead of the assignment.

12. When it's your last class of the day and you're about to go home.

13. But then you remember rent is due tonight and the anger comes back.

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