WHITE NOSE SYNDROME – A Good Use of Taxpayers’ Funds?
With the news that the US congress has approved $1.9 million of taxpayers’ money for research into White Nose Syndrome, one has to wonder if this is simply another case of mistaken priorities made by those in power.
Suddenly, I don't feel sleepy.
For those who aren’t aware of this (very imaginatively named) condition, White Nose Syndrome has nothing to do with drugs, Columbia, or the 1980’s. The syndrome refers to a fungus which is vastly reducing bat populations across the northeastern states of America. The white fungus grows on the noses and wings of hibernating bats, keeping the furry critters from sleeping and in turn leaving them without energy to hunt.
While we all love Trivia, in this case the syndrome has a non-trivial (some might say devastating) ecological impact. Imagine cities plagued by mosquitoes, and crops infested with hoards of insects that would otherwise have been eaten by previously well-rested winged little wonders.
Yes. On second thoughts, Save the Bat!!
Congress got this one right. However, one can be forgiven for the initial assumption that taxpayers’ funds were being carelessly squandered. After all, it wouldn’t have been the first time that had happened! Here we take a look at some of the most ridiculous wastes of taxpayers money seen over the years…
- In the San Jose School District, around $720,000 was spent on a pizza machine. The idea was that the machine would produce hundreds of pizzas each day that would then be transported to a number of different sites for the hungry students. However, due to frequent machinery failures and many miscalculations, this pizza project was a complete disaster, making these the priciest pizzas in town!
- Bedford, Indiana is known to many as the Limestone Capital of the World. And what could be a greater way of celebrating this than creating the world’s most exciting limestone themed park! $700,000 of taxpayers money was used in an attempt to make this dream attraction a reality — an attraction which included an 800 ft limestone copy of the Great Wall of China and was to have a limestone Great Pyramid of Egypt as its centrepiece. Unsurprisingly the project failed.
- According to the St. Petersburg Times, $100,000 was spent by the Defense Department on unused airline tickets over the period of about 6 years. Possibly the most shocking thing about this is that although these tickets were refundable, no claims were made to get the money back – why bother right? It’s not their money after all!
- Recently in the UK, taxpayers have been in uproar due to a scandal regarding the way in which the government handles expenses. It came to light that MPs had been claiming money back for completely non-work related items under the guise of necessary “expenses”. Taxpayers’ money was spent on reimbursing important tools for running the country, things such as:
- A box of matches costing 59p.
- A duck island for someones pond (Yes, this is self-explanatory – it really is an island for ducks) costing £1,645.
- A toilet seat, costing £112.
- Moat cleaning services (why does anyone need a moat these days?!) costing £2,115.
- Hedge trimming (trimming the hedge around his helipad to be exact…) costing £609.
- And finally… horse manure costing 70p per bag. That’s right, taxpayers’ money has officially been spent on excrement!
Say no more…
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