10 Of The Weirdest Things The U.S. Government Spends Money On

It’s basically common knowledge that the United States is pretty frivolous with their money. For example, about one third of their yearly spending is invested in the military, when it could be invested in infrastructure, health care, or the decaying criminal justice system. However, it’s unclear what exactly the United States does with the other two-thirds of their capital. This list will provide a little bit of insight into those unanswered questions, as it lists ten different and absolutely bizarre things that the United States actually spends money on.

Poetry In Zoos

In 2011, the federal government spent about $1 million to post pieces of poetry around different zoos across the country.

Printing Expenses

It comes as no surprise that the government wastes money on paper, but the amount of money is astonishing. The government spends almost $1 billion on printing unnecessary documents each year.

Parties

In 2009, the Federal Aviation Administration spend over $5 million on a party. What exactly were they serving there?

Sex Scandals

The government spends almost $1 million settling different political sex scandals.

Pancakes

In 2011, about $800,000 from the federal budget went towards subsidizing an IHOP in Washington, DC.

iPad’s

The government thought they came up with a solution for decline in American literacy – they spent almost $100,000 buying iPad’s for kindergarteners.

Male Prostitutes

To ensure that no one takes this out of context, let’s clarify. The U.S. government does not buy male prostitutes; they spend about half a million dollars annually to study the habits of male prostitutes in Vietnam. The real question is why?

Monkey Poop

The federal government spent almost $170,000 to study why monkeys throwing poop at each other.

World Of Warcraft

More specifically, the federal U.S. government invests about $3 million annually to research online video game players.

Dead People

Each year, the government sends about $120 million worth of benefit checks to deceased federal employees. They literally send money to dead people.