{"id":10401,"date":"2021-11-15T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T17:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=10401"},"modified":"2021-11-15T08:54:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T16:54:55","slug":"imagine-if-you-handled-your-money-this-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=10401","title":{"rendered":"Imagine If YOU Handled YOUR Money This Way!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">by Bob Sparrow<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?attachment_id=10402\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10402\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-10402 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/toilet.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"260\" height=\"194\" \/><\/a>At a time when there is as much divide in the country that most of us \u2018seniors\u2019 have ever experienced, I will try to use the tried and true method of uniting disparate groups by giving them a common enemy.\u00a0\u00a0To mis-quote War of 1812 Naval Commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, <em><strong>\u201cWe have met the enemy and it is us!\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">We here at\u00a0<\/span><b><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">From a Bird\u2019s Eye View<\/span><\/i><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">, rarely, if ever, wade into political battlefields, as we understand that there is no winning there, but indeed this blog is about our government.\u00a0 Both sides.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Admittedly this missive was borne out a closer look at the recent staggering <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$1 trillion<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0\u2018infrastructure bill\u2019 \u2013 and while it\u2019s easy\u00a0to take shots at Biden, this is a shot at our entire government, past and present.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Warning:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> If your day has been going along just fine so far, you may want to skip reading this blog as it may be upsetting to those who might think that our government is a well-oiled machine.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Following are just some of the places where your hard-earned tax money has gone . . .<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Congressional investigators were able to receive\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$55,000<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> in federal student loan funding for a fictional college they created to test the Departm<\/span>ent of Education<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$200,000<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0is going for a tattoo removal program in Mission Hills, CA<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Congress recently gave Alaska Airlines\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$500,000<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0to paint a Chinook salmon on a Boeing 737<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Pentagon recently spend\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$998,798<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0shipping two 19-cent washers from South Carolina to Texas and\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$293,451<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0sending an 89-cent washer from South Carolina to Florida<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The National Institutes of Health spends\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$1.3 million<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<em>per month<\/em> to rent a lab facility that it cannot use<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\">We spend <strong>$2.6<\/strong><b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> million<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.\u00a0 Yep!!<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Security &amp; Exchange Commission is spending\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$3.9 million<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0rearranging desks and offices at its Washington DC headquarters<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Lawmakers diverted\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$13 million<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0from Hurricane Katrina relief spending to build a museum celebrating the Army Corps of Engineers \u2013 the agency partially responsible for the failed levees that flooded New Orleans<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Congress appropriated\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$20 million<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0for \u201ccommemoration of success\u201d celebrations related to <strong>Iraq<\/strong> and <strong>Afghanistan<\/strong><\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Defense Department wasted\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$100 million<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0in unused flight tickets and never bothered to collect refunds even though the tickets were refundable\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">More than\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$13 billion<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0in Iraq\u00a0aid has been classified as wasted or stolen, another\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$7.8 billion<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> cannot be accounted for<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Washington spends\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$25 billion<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"46\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Health care fraud is estimated to cost taxpayers more than\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">$60 billion<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0annually<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?attachment_id=10406\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10406\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-10406 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/term-limits3-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/term-limits3-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/term-limits3.jpg 333w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>A GAO audit classified nearly\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">half of all purchases on government credit card as improper, fraudulent or embezzled<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">Unfortunately, these are small drops in a very big bucket &#8211; I don&#8217;t blame Democrats and I don&#8217;t blame Republicans or anyone in between &#8211; I blame the <strong>politicians<\/strong> who <strong>WE HAVE ELECTED!\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">If these billions of reasons don&#8217;t justify <strong>term limits<\/strong>, then we&#8217;ll be stuck with the politicians that we voted for, who are making lots of money for themselves while they are irresponsibly wasting ours!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">As the American journalist and satirist PJ O\u2019Rourke once said,<em><strong> \u201cGiving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/span><em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Have a nice day!<\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Bob Sparrow At a time when there is as much divide in the country that most of us \u2018seniors\u2019 have ever experienced, I will try to use the tried and true method of uniting disparate groups by giving them &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=10401\">read more<span class=\"meta-nav\"><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[3687,3689,3686,3685,3688],"class_list":["post-10401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-infrastructure-bill","tag-katrina","tag-pork-belly-spending","tag-term-limits","tag-the-term-limit-revolution"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/term-limits3.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p31aN0-2HL","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10401"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10412,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10401\/revisions\/10412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}