Rand Paul Lists 'Ridiculous Stuff' US Taxpayer Money Is Spent On

In Senate floor remarks on Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) listed a bunch of government expenditures he considers "ridiculous" while offering an overhaul of the debt limit bill.
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[@richardwestwell4902]

All these ridiculous programs are the "pork" in a financial bill. The reason they are not cut is because somebody in Congress is getting a kick back.

[@residentpotato6023]

Exactly.

[@joelzinho4600]

Yep. Pretty disgusting to do that and expect citizen to fall in line and follow laws

[@JescaML]

All the democrats are

[@GolDFish-if1ov]

@@joelzinho4600 I mean u still have to follow laws anyway, u don't have a choice.

[@chrisreynolds3351]

USA has a $32 BILLION DOLLAR DEBT! It´s reached the legal ceiling. Not enough funds left to pay the interest. The delay arrangement only last until election day and then whom ever gets elected will inherit a ticking financial debt bomb! The Democrats have spent the lot and more. As Biden has never given a direct order, just done what he was told, WHO has authorised this level of loans and where has all that funding gone. That is what I and millions want to know.

[@ScarlettFire341]

"First we overlook evil, Then we permit evil. Then we legalize evil. Then we promote evil. Then we celebrate evil. Then we persecute those who still call it evil." Fr. Dwight Longenecker

[@toh6261]

Groomers: 😁👍

[@josephhoward4697]

@Ocean Lives Every day an American flag remains standing somewhere is a day we’re all blessed. Every day is Independence Day.

[@derikuk2967]

@@josephhoward4697 People may have a different perspective in counties that most Americans do not know exist, where they are murdered by the thousands with weapons in the hands of American soldiers or used by American lackeys, paid for by American taxpayers (or funded with American debt). The American flag has become a true symbol of evil for billions of people around the planet. The USA overlooks evil. It permits evil. It legalizes evil (Patriot Act). It promotes evil (Yes Lindsey Graham; we're looking at you). And now *you* will call *me* evil for pointing this out.

[@shanghunter7697]

@@halomaster9640 Indeed !!!

[@bobbobbly7900]

that is so true...expect to see that statement popping up everywhere

[@MonkeyEmpires]

“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.” - Thomas Sowell

[@jones3557]

Like Rand Paul?

[@covfefe_drumpfh]

Self-awareness momemnt?

[@brettc1984]

@@jones3557 Like Rand Paul? So what he’s proposing is insane? Did you listen to what he’s saying? Obviously not. As it stands today. If your 42 yrs old and younger. There will be no social security. So if you cut 5% spending from where he’s saying to do it. It benefits all the jobless bums, liberals, and the people who seem to have kids with no jobs. This way they don’t take food stamps and Medicaid from them. God for bid making them get a job.

[@filmgirlLisa]

@@jones3557 Exactly like Rand Paul.

[@forcedbreathingistyranny696]

Waste of money like the military industrial complex. Bravo 👏👏👏 oh wait he didn’t mention it?

[@tcschenks]

The problem is they point at these < $1 million outrageous programs but they’re not pointing at the $10 million, $50 million, and $100 million outrageous programs.

[@jones3557]

Or military spending.

[@dogelife7901]

Or biden literally funding the very country where his son was making 50k per month as a consultant while he was on meth.

[@og-bg6.2]

But none of them will say a word about the several hundred billion thrown to Israel ukraine and sub Saharan Africa

[@mckeonjj]

Pretty sure our military was defunded 10 years ago when they took away rotc college scholarships, then they recently took away military pensions. Zero reason for being in the US military now because there is no more financial stability for new generation. So, how about more military funding so our military is still existent in 10 years from now...

[@FSXflyermaster]

Then they vote to increase their OWN salary and pass laws to make it harder for themselves to be prosecuted for wrongdoing.

[@kazamaskeyblade7311]

I saw this on the full 15-minute version. I could listen to this gentleman or hours, he's a really good orator and really takes command of the room with the time he's given.

[@brupeboring]

he is a complete moron and hypocrite

[@Dan-sc7us]

But his ideas suck!!

[@Bitterstone3849]

Forget about any change to any of this though. The Republican party is the controlled opposition party. The democrats just let them have their say because that's how it works but both parties know nothing will change. Daily commentary at best on everything we already know. WAY past time We the People need to tell the GOP. Step Aside ! We are coming to Washington. We've had enough and WE will fix what you don't have the courage too and then DO IT ! Force and rebellion is the only solution now. We've allowed Washington to go to far for to long with no accountability. They believe they are unstoppable because no one has attempted to stop them.

[@anacc3257]

@@Dan-sc7us Yeah..he sounds like he doesn't want a budget at all or any programs to help people. Lower taxes, lower spending, everyone out for themselves to an extreme degree, that's all these people talk about. The libertarian philosophy

[@scotshermer6711]

How exactly do his ideas "suck"? This country is on the way to utter distruction financially and he has proposed an eminently reasonably idea for how to bring us back from the brink. I can't see how that sucks. Get your commie head out of your ass and face the facts...if we do nothing to reduce the debt this country caries, and do nothing to balance our budget outlay with income we are doomed.

[@user-zb5xc5qj6z]

How about cutting congress wages that would be a good start 🤔

[@BC-ee9iu]

Maybe like a President who doesn’t accept a salary

[@RogerLewis-ey2tt]

​@@BC-ee9iu Oh, please--the Presidency finally made Trump a REAL billionaire

[@2livedrew273]

@@BC-ee9iu I know a guy!

[@LordOfNihil]

these people make money just being there, i don't see any reason to pay them more than minimum wage.

[@frankrincon5557]

They make a joke of a salary already

[@ATBZ]

People really need to understand Parkinson's law. No, we don't need to cut funding for everything, we need to cut funding to the branches of our government who embezzle funds into rediculously expensive consumer products.

[@w.o.jackson8432]

No, we need to cut funding for everything.

[@52flyingbicycles]

Cough cough the pentagon cough cough

[@52flyingbicycles]

@@w.o.jackson8432 I come to you for financial help. I can’t balance my budget. You take a look. I’m spending 14% of my income on guns. You tell me to cut 1% from everything: electricity, water, rent, food, gas, insurance, and guns. My utilities companies start sending me unpaid balance notices, my landlord gets pissed, my car runs out of gas, the insurance companies drop my policies, and I’m still spending 13.86% of my original budget on guns.

[@w.o.jackson8432]

@@52flyingbicycles You don't cut 1% from guns, you cut 100%, obviously. But your should also cut your other expenditures too.

[@52flyingbicycles]

@@w.o.jackson8432 if I cut 100% of my guns budget then my budget problems would be gone

[@Andrew-kg9yo]

Yet not a mention of the biggest elephant in the room, wasteful spending that is basically just subsidies to Lockheed, northrup, and other military contractors. They are price gouging to no end because they know congress will give it to them. While I agree with the senator’s sentiments, these programs are just a drop in the bucket compared to the wasteful spending that exists in the defense sector. I wish I would hear more senators addressing that.

[@MrWrl101]

Those war groups also own a HUGE portion of our news outlets, they control the narrative and get paid billions for it.

[@Dangersuit]

If you didn't vote for Tulsi Gabbard then you have no one to blame but yourself.

[@bbgun061]

Social security and Medicare are 2/3 of federal spending.

[@omex1741]

I’m in no way defending huge companies like Lockheed, Raytheon, Boeing, etc because I’ve seen the arrogance and the scummy ways they are able to extract more money on contracts through plus ups, but the recent headlines about federal contractors “price gouging” the government are ill informed. Most of these contracts are 5 year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contracts that will be performed at a price that is set at the beginning of the 5 years. During times of normal 2% inflation, you would just have your base price and put in a 2% inflation increase for each year. A lot of companies got burned due to the post pandemic inflation of nearly 20% since 2020. The government only allows you to renegotiate the price of a contract based on cost of material (like steel) once during the life of a contract. And that’s only one of many components to the price of a contract. Many companies who had 5+ year contracts that started right before the pandemic are now losing large amounts of money on those contracts. Also, the majority of the companies taking these hits aren’t the big federal contracting behemoths like Lockheed. To get to the point, the government will still only accept a 2-3% year over year inflation clause in contracts even though inflation has been more than double that in recent years. With the end nowhere in sight, companies are pricing in higher base costs to their proposals because 5 years from now, costs might be 40% higher than they are today. You want to be safe and leave in enough cushion in the event of increased costs, but there are also dozens of prospective companies all trying to win each of these big contracts. At the end of the day, most of these contracts go to whoever is cheapest and technically acceptable so you have to keep pricing competitive. Essentially the government is placing the risk from the economic uncertainty of the next several years onto the contractors. The price of unknown risk is just high. I do this for a living.

[@Andrew-kg9yo]

@@Dangersuit Well to vote for her would have required I lived in her district, I don't think it is exactly my fault I can't afford to live in hawaii.

[@Arlo360-Official]

Who remembers the "$500 hammer" and the "$2,000 wrench" ? The spending of ridirculous amounts of money has been going on for decades.

[@louiswhite805]

Now that money, thank to Joe Biden and some semblance of bipartisanship in congress, is being spent on the American people.

[@brupeboring]

and it will continue to happen as long as you have legal bribes allowed in politics get rid of citizens united

[@tonys4039]

$40000 toilet seat

[@CMGgirl721]

I'm 100% for military spending, but not 500.00 hammers and so on. Their must be accountability for everything spent.😢wasting our money. 😢😢

[@brupeboring]

@@CMGgirl721 we spend more than the next 10 countries combined on defense yet the defense department fails every audit ridiculous waste of money

[@amievil3697]

“If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it.” ― Mark Twain

[@cedriceric9730]

😂😂 and he was quite right

[@Rick-tk9dl]

Yep Makes no difference

[@GaryY]

More corrupt leaders and policies were put into place and elected, not by those who did vote, but by those who did not. Our vote is our voice. ✌️🕊️☮️

[@MoonLightWright]

Dsmn, lol.

[@sheilacape4794]

Exactly!

[@populustremula7496]

But THE most ridiculous thing we spend money on is the salary amounts, benefit packages and retirements for Senators and Congress members. Which brings us to term limits and rules regarding what Senators and Congress members can and can’t do after leaving office.

[@sbeaver3506]

We dont talk about those things. and by "we" i mean the same people who it would effect are the ones who are supposed to vote on it. its weird how whenever congress wants a raise the money is there and the votes are all yes. but if you want to repair a bridge in your city it need to wait untill the next fiscal year do to budget concerns

[@nF_Rhythm]

Just curious, how do you feel about age limits for public office? I've often heard that suggested in tandem with term limits, etc.

[@dakotareid1566]

@@nF_Rhythmfully agree, should be the age of retirement.

[@allhonesty848]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people over the age of 55 are the least employable due to physical and mental health degradation and yet, that same group almost exclusively runs the country...seems like we need to return government to a civil service rather than a career.

[@dailyrant4068]

What are you talking about? it's the exact opposite. We don't pay high ranking officials enoguh. POTUS should be clearing 1M plus any day. Congressmen should be 500K minimum. What we need to eliminate is their ability to work for private firms for a long time (POTUS should be for life). No lobbying job, etc These salaries don't make a dent in our overall budget.

[@LWolfe-ws3zm]

Let's do it!!!! And TERM LIMITS...Please 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@sherrid8159]

I do not consent to my money being spent on ridiculous stuff. I want a full refund from the corporation

[@brupeboring]

i know righ giving tax cuts to the rich is ridiculous and giving the defense contractors billions is ridiculous

[@Mengalamerkle]

REPERATIONS........N' SINCE I HAD TO THINK. I WANT THE STUDENT LOAN EQUILENT.. OR !., ARE THEY. RACISTS

[@Wingnut353]

@@brupeboring The rich deserve tax cuts EQUALLY with the middle class and the poor... the government wastes EVERYONE's money.

[@ravsterx3185]

Sorry, Sherri, we will not get our hard-earned money back from thugs. The corrupt government will not give us money back for the crime they commit. We need Sen. Rand Paul or Trump or anyone who is not afraid to expose corruption within the government to be our President. Bring honesty, integrity, and transparency into the government.

[@BearPawSwipe]

Lol. You are funny. They don't need your consent.

[@cmd4789]

Taxation without proper representation. Thank you.

[@countrymule9623]

Anyone remember what this lead to before?

[@BC-ee9iu]

Throw 15,000,000 illegals into the harbor

[@jesser999]

Fuckin civil uprise and succession

[@stevecoyle1]

w/o any representation

[@boohoo2948]

Rand paul for president!!

[@djcollier86]

Love that he mentioned Sweden and Germany that don’t have debt ceilings 🤔

[@udaybk9040]

well only that both sides of aisle stop pouring in ridiculous amt of money on Ukraine. Billions@@ but USA has to enter into every war. Trump 4 years are the ones to blame says left... fine but we did not have war till the dog is kicked out and we now have wars after wars lined up. That is what happens in the next few more years .... Leftist agends is eating us alive and we are frog in the slow cooking pot. Esp the young who are thrown into gender delusion studies while china is great in technology while NSF finds more ways to show our gender studies can make garbage beings not knowing who a woman is ... and we pay millions but we get a lawsuit to get more money ...

[@davidrhp847]

Sure they rely on us to pay for protecting them.

[@markoz673bajen8]

Their Cream is Dairy. I own what they own.

[@JP-vr9vy]

If they are operating on a balanced budget, they are not accruing debt....thus a ceiling would be kinda pointless, no?

[@sidlukkassen9687]

Germany is so wired that the rest of the EU needs to de-industrialize due to eurocratic environmental regulations and is then forced to buy German products. This is how they keep everything artificially afloat. Even countries that are financially wrecked such as Greece, are propped up by the European Central Bank in order to keep buying German stuff instead of developing local produce.

[@melissamessmer6544]

cutting 1% across the board in the federal government would be a good start what I never hear is how we are going to pay off our debt

[@Dan-sc7us]

We're not going to pay it off! It's not even meant to be paid off!!

[@johnh3611]

It doesn't get "paid off." It will never be zero. National debt isn't one giant lump sum, America doesn't owe 30 trillion dollars to China or something. Nobody understands how this actually works, they just listen to the liars on the tv. THAT'S the real problem.

[@gypdarin1458]

Okay, the debt. WILL NEVER BE PAID OFF. There you go. 👍

[@sten260]

oh it will be paid off, but through inflation. You don't even notice it but you are actually paying debt if the stuff in store goes more expensive and you become poorer

[@jamesrobertson9149]

@BigML It doesn't because the debt it linked to inflation, and goes up in line with inflation.

[@TLoumena]

I worked in roofing around 20 years ago and had a contract with Lockheed, I asked the facilities manager why he kept using a certain general contractor if he hated them so much. He said he was forced to because their bids were always the lowest. Then they would jack up the price with change orders, an example was switching a right hinged door to a left hinged door - $20,000. There were others, but that was the most ridiculous one I remember.

[@dp5475]

Absolutely, and prevailing wage labor with the Service Contract Act and Davis Bacon Act need to be slimmed as well. I've worked defense contracts for 20 years, avid patriot, but one major change in my thinking in that time is the military budget MOST DEFINITELY can be reduced and optimized.

[@dp5475]

I've got a few examples as well that i won't go into detail online, but they involved spending hundreds of $K on systems that were slated to be decommissioned in the next few years..

[@mephInc]

Yep. Change orders. I see it all the time where I work. However, we did the contractors that are actually good, tell them to bid low, then take into account that change orders will be coming. With that said, unlike the govt, we are actually accountable for where the money goes lol

[@NotKimiRaikkonen]

And don't forget the plummeting of the quality. As a vet, every time I hear something described as 'military grade' I think "so it's going to disintegrate in a year?"

[@prof.5251]

Team Paul...🇺🇸🗽🛐✝️🇺🇲

[@eileenmcmahon2373]

All this stuff needs to be cut... your right!

[@lkj0822g]

I can personally remember fifty years ago politicians making this exact same speech, and yet, here we are. .

[@beebob1279]

I remember also.

[@bernardkung7306]

It was a cynically deceptive speech (a.k.a. 'a lie') back then -- and it's still a lie now.

[@edwarddiekhoff859]

Agree, nothing will change.

[@rondameier8168]

Was probably his father....

[@penitenttangent7346]

Dang bro you must be a boomer fossil thinking the next decade will be any different. Go collect your dwindling social security you boomer 😂

[@mikefialko2979]

And let’s not forget the Ridiculous Salaries of The Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches for part time jobs!

[@johnmeckel2319]

It's not even so much as the Salaries the Legislators make, but The Lifelong Pay and Benefits They Continue to Receive forever After They've Left they're Positions in Government!

[@BSnicks]

The people should decide how much those parasites receive. Who wouldn't want to decide their own salaries and how much they are required to work?

[@lmnob]

@@johnmeckel2319 Agreed. See AOC as an example. A few year's back, she complained she couldn't afford rent. Now, a multi-millionaire. Salary would not even get close. And Dems will say "she had a book deal" (the usual response). AOC's book could only be a coloring book. Give us a break, dems!

[@joyhappiness]

@@lmnob now do boebert and co.!

[@rayray2076]

@@johnmeckel2319 and yet they want us to work till 70. scumbags. when will this all end?

[@dalusa81]

I STAND WITH RAND! Please run for POTUS again sir, you'll always have my vote!

[@FreedomCompatriots]

Rand Paul should be president. He's been speaking about this for years and years. He knows best.

[@bubbak435]

he ain't lyin.... I agree word for word..

[@brupeboring]

you arent very bright are you

[@Surfer-727]

The biggest problem is most Americans will not vote for Rand Paul, he is a good guy !

[@ampamp999]

Thank you, Rand Paul. A true patriot.

[@Z06C5]

This guy makes sense and is tactful. Presidential qualifications

[@WarriorVinyard]

I wish we could have him as POTUS.

[@dereksniper3094]

@@WarriorVinyard it would be nice

[@teksight9714]

Did he ever run for president?

[@dge2027]

Wake up n see who's I'm charge the irs is gone there running rabbid

[@elizabethw.9042]

He ran in 2016. Didn't get past the Republican primary.

[@mikenero6704]

Im completely onboard with the idea of cutting spending 1% of all programs and voting, nationally, legal US citizens with ID in person to completely defund and terminate every progran that doesent benefit EVERY US citizen in a material, measureable way.

[@thejfactor1]

A 1% budget cut is equal to $60 billion. We need a 24% reduction in spending just to balance the budget. That’s how serious the problem is.

[@lindajohnson.]

I agree! They just spend more of our tax money on other countries and illegals. What country could you go there and get freebies? None. Take care of America first.😢

[@Wingnut353]

@@thejfactor1 Yeah the way he words it just to spread the budget cuts over a few years so morons don't loose their shit over what we MUST do.

[@louiswhite805]

I'm completely on board with making the wealthy folk pay the same percentage of their income in taxes.

[@thejfactor1]

@@Wingnut353 democracy sucks, man!

[@Warriorwwg1wga]

Legalize THAT AMENDMENT!!!!!

[@tamiiymchristine]

Rand Paul to be promoted. He speaks the truth with a bipartisan tone. God bless Rand Paul.

[@us4freedomforever]

Don't forget the ridiculous amount we also spend on grants to non-prifits or ngos. The taxpayer is being double charged for the cost of illegal aliens. Why is more money being given to ngos through the grant process? Why are ngos allowed to operate when their goals are in direct opposition to US law?

[@chrisreynolds3351]

USA has a $32 BILLION DOLLAR DEBT! It´s reached the legal ceiling. Not enough funds left to pay the interest. The delay arrangement only last until election day and then whom ever gets elected will inherit a ticking financial debt bomb! The Democrats have spent the lot and more. As Biden has never given a direct order, just done what he was told, WHO has authorised this level of loans and where has all that funding gone. That is what I and millions want to know.

[@garyleewhite]

Exactly! I wish someone would do an investigative documentary on just how these NGOs use our taxpayer money to undermine our own country. It would be a real eye opener.

[@marshafrank7427]

Yep & our government is still sending millions to (so called) humanitarian aid to IRAN, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN,& many more of our enemies, you know the reality is the people never see a penny of that "AID" wake up

[@GaryY]

What is the ridiculous amount we spend on grants or NGOs, including amounts considered ridiculous and why? Please cite your factual data that the taxpayer is being "double charged" for the cost of "illegal aliens". Where are you getting your information that the goal of an NGO is the direct opposite of US law and how is it the direct opposite? Do you actually understand the history and purpose behind an NGO? If these questions cannot be answered, with fact-based data resources, this comment is disinformation and a direct effort to establish false narratives. 🧐

[@us4freedomforever]

@@GaryY troll much? There are over 1.5 million ngos. Check the status of any ngo that advocates for illegal immigration

[@dennisyoung6122]

The problem that causes many of these ridiculous studies is the "use it or lose it" philosophy. Agencies just spend, spend, spend on everything because if they don't and end up underspending for a year they get their budget cut instead of simple sending the money back to be spent elsewhere. So instead the spend it all or even overspend which then causes them to get a budget increase even though they wasted a portion of what they already had.

[@tankerd1847]

This is true in the military as well.

[@dennisyoung6122]

@@tankerd1847 Military is a whole other issue. Paying 5-10 times what something is worth

[@Elheru42]

I remember getting a phone call as a teacher from my admin saying we needed to spend $7000 on my classroom in a weekend. If we didn't then the money would be returned and we would possibly get less money next year. So my teaching partner and I sat down with a catalogue and had a field day finding wonderful things to buy. But in 1 weekend you can guarantee that there wasn't as much thought put into that purchase as there could have been. Government spending is always like that.

[@judyroland2959]

Yes’, its not their pocket so they dont care!!!!! Ansolutely irresponsible people running the government- we are a j😊ke! We. Need an overhaul ‘fast’…

[@tomgerryinphilippines8817]

Agree 110% I've seen how it works as a former fed employee. It's been going on for decades. Government needs to conserve spending every place possible.

[@seanlander9321]

Why not call in the trillions France owes in loans instead of oppressing US taxpayers? France hasn’t paid a penny on its 1918-1920 loans since 1931.

[@jakemichael8586]

Rand Paul rocks! he needs more exposure to the American public.

[@SALTYCOMBATDIVER-ExInstructor]

The reason they don't want it cut is because despite their inflated salaries, they actually become millionaires because they are getting money from the wasteful spending.

[@SaviorUnkind]

Hilarious. The amount of money spent is not up for debate. The amount spent is determined by how much money in circulation was lost into portfolios and international trade over the past year. If they don't replace what was lost, there'd be no money for you to earn. There should be educational requirements for people to vote.

[@butters4596]

0.5% interest on 10 trillion dollars, or whatever the interest rate and debt currently is, is paid every year to the federal reserve which is neither federal nor a reserve and ran by Jews. Fun fact. Trump merged the federal reserve with the department of Treasury in 2017. I haven't seen a bill newer than 2017 to date. Stacks of numerically order, brand new, stuck together $20, 50 and 100 bills. I have even held my first ever crisp 2017 $1 bill, in 2022. Something is going on there, I just don't know what exactly.

[@fluffernutter6633]

@@SaviorUnkind I guess you won't be voting anytime soon then.

[@phoenixtoash2396]

How's this for education? Money is nothing but paper. There is no need for money at all.

[@fluffernutter6633]

@@phoenixtoash2396 Sounds to me like you don't understand basic currency. Currency is the natural evolution of the bartering system. If you think money means nothing, then congratulations, you're an idiot.

[@YouLookinAtMe-Bro]

This b.s. has been happening since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 by Woodrow Wilson.

[@patrickholt4140]

More people like this guy

[@Trumpstinks]

False. Democrats are saying we need to tax the rich. But Rand knows that's not a good look for him to be against.

[@andymcintosh2796]

Always have like this man’s approach no bull straight forward

[@stevenbeenaware]

The governments of the world are totally corrupt. The even sadder part is that most people I talk to about it don't really care. They would rather talk about the NBA, NFL, sports in general, or the latest series on Netflix SMH

[@filster1934]

Steven, yep, bread and circus.

[@BTrain-is8ch]

@googlenazicompany5935 Big business isn't the one confiscating 30-40k/year from my pockets and giving me little in return for it...

[@stevenbeenaware]

@Google Sucks Ass not saying they don't offer "benefits" but they are overall corrupt for sure

[@Puppets4sale]

Sports ball is a lot easier to digest like most entertainment. People are using escapism even more so because of the social and economic damage carried out over the last few years.

[@BTrain-is8ch]

@googlenazicompany5935 Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid make up near as makes no difference 50% of federal spending. I spend more on those programs than they are ever likely to produce in returned value. I'd rather have my money. I'm pretty sure that's not on big business. You do not have those services because you are uninterested in paying the taxes required to get them. The median full time American's income is $54,123. That's around a 16% effective federal tax rate. That median American's counterparts in every other advanced nation are probably paying 50% more and have effective rates in the low to mid 20s. That's why the US doesn't have those services. It's not on corporations. It's not plutocratic. It's tax payers not wanting to pay for the services. Those services are not "low cost" and it becomes obvious when you look at the extra 4-5k/year our median worker would pay times ten, twenty, thirty, or forty plus years compared to the up front median expenditures on healthcare/education. Do you want your tax bill raised 50%? I don't. I get crappy value for my tax dollars as it is. Adding another 50% on top isn't going to change that for the better.

[@tomlester5291]

I continue to wish that this man was President.

[@Kuulei265]

Why don’t people listen to Sen. Rand? He was the only person not afraid to take on Fauci. He’s so right.

[@osvaldovaldes10009]

IRS: "Give us some of that money we printed out of thin air..."

[@brupeboring]

ignorant comment

[@Bitterstone3849]

And don't make us come and take it from you because we are armed now

[@TaxmanHog]

@@Bitterstone3849 only 360 or so new Criminal Agents of the 87,000 will be armed the rest are civil enforcement and customer service.

[@palmettokid54]

The Treasury prints the money. But only 8% is tangible. The rest is truly, out of thin air. We are an economically debt based country.

[@galimirnund6543]

Only banks get that fiat money. It's a scam obviously. When you get a home loan for say 300k... the bank doesn't actually put 300k in your account. They just put those digits in a computer. If you are approved for that loan you spend the next 30 years indebted to that bank that loaned you the fiat money. But, I think this is common knowledge.. I hope. Bankers are truly the scumbag of the earth... well, besides politicians..lol

[@krypticlock]

... I think we could of pulled the audience on that one ... 😅😂

[@darrenwho]

When we have billionaires buying ranches, survival bunkers, and farmland, you know it's nearing the end.

[@doresearchstopwhining]

they've been doing that since the 50's and people like you have always been wrong...

[@caleballen6588]

@@doresearchstopwhining A very fitting name

[@Tiddyliterature]

@@doresearchstopwhiningdepends on what country your from, and how you define “the end.” The end of the world, your life, your country? Very rich of you to say who is wrong without any reason but “conspiracy dumb.”

[@TunefullyOG]

@@doresearchstopwhining until we're right..

[@scottphillips3008]

You people have been saying this for decades

[@ooklathemok2941]

Why is Rand Paul consistently the only sane member of Congress?

[@sonsautomotive]

once again...a truly simple task that could truly help and work towards a balanced budget.....and it will NOT be done!!!

[@Quantum-Omega]

Can we please stop wasting Rand Paul's talent as a senator and step him up to president? This man is credible, extremely well informed and competent.

[@crossroads5771]

he's not a fighter

[@hendogg3675]

​@CrossRoads you mean he's not an arrogant psychopath like trump

[@JescaML]

Not his time yet.

[@Wingnut353]

@@JescaML That's what they said about Ron Paul until he's way too old... time time is always now.

[@Quantum-Omega]

@@crossroads5771 his words can cut any fighter to shreds, where as knowledge is power Rand Paul can win a fight without pulling a punch

[@toddlesher178]

I do NOT care what your party affiliation is , this man is the epitome of what a politician should be. This is a very well educated man who knows he is in office to serve the people of this country. The people aren’t here to serve him .

[@KevinOlson-io3dm]

One of the smartest senators in Congress.

[@MrAni02]

That’s true, but he also forgot billions sent to Ukraine and billions in tax cut for the rich corporations. He is doing exactly what he is told by giant corporations. That is to sway us, the normal public away from the real cause of why the US debt keeps growing.

[@1krani]

All the taxes in the world would not pay for how much we spend. Tax 100% of the rich's money and you could run our government for less than half a year. We have a spending problem, not an income problem. There is a difference.

[@TheMarcosvolta]

ukraine isnt hurting our debt. you also misspelled TRILLIONS in tax cuts for the rich and corporations. the real reason US debt keeps growing is because the GoP keeps increasing mindlessly so they can keep getting campaign donations from the donor class, and the Dems just dont do anything to move the needle back the other way cuz they too get campaign donations from the donor class. one groups constintuents are too stupid to see what theyre doing, and the other are simply disenfranchised by never seeing any progress from their elected representatives. it just flip flops between those two variables to no end. then of course the real politicians actually working to help people, they are the ones demonized and attacked by the corporate puppets.

[@Puppets4sale]

@@1krani Bingo, but the U.S. has to convince the useful idiots that just a little more squeeze on the 1% will bring about the equity and opportunities they were promised. These politicians are working hand in hand with the oligarchs of our country yet people think they will hand the pot to the serfs when the money is seized? What a joke.

[@davidstar4156]

so true...why do we allow this? it is pathetic how US tax dollars are wasted.

[@manatee_flips6811]

Stop paying

[@bernardkung7306]

Because it's not actually, meaningfully true. Rand is cynically misrepresenting a few carefully selected, out-of-context, partial facts, to spin a lie -- and his base is too ignorant and/or gullible to apply a little practical, common sense skepticism to a whale of a fish story, let alone exercise a little critical thought about it.

[@davidstar4156]

@@bernardkung7306 you must be profiting from it

[@VoiceDisasterNz]

@@bernardkung7306 Yes don't take ANYTHING a politician says at face value. They've always got their own greed-driven agenda. Paul is no exception. They're good at telling people what they want to hear though, which appears to be working, looking at most of the comments here.

[@liebekatz1]

Include cutting salaries of every elected official until our debt is zero!!! They need to be held accountable. Our government is like putting foxes in the hen house. They shouldn't be able to govern themselves, namely their fricking salaries.

[@nistrum385]

@Trev also bar them, their families, and anyone in their work or social circle from being able to play on the stock market or invest in any company.

[@blakefolta4998]

They need raises, make it an attractive job to attract better talent. Make it so they don’t need to accept under the table money to be wealthy.

[@markc1548]

​@@blakefolta4998 Minimum wage, WITH huge bonuses for performance and being under budget.

[@afhostie]

Peg their salaries to some calculation of real economic growth (non-inflated) minus the percentage of spending that is deficit spending. Then add in a bonus for paying down debt.

[@xx_deadlyviper_xx6149]

then stop reelecting them! for decades there is no excuse having all these baby boomers still in office make decisions on a future they will never see.

[@jt2506productions]

This was wonderfully put

[@elgooges]

Well he's not wrong.

[@gmax9797]

Rand Paul should run for President, but politicians won't let him because he would stand in the way of their agenda

[@MsTinyLady24]

No should not because he knows what going on all the time he been there long time and now just saying something most people in this country are fool the people in government bullshit l,m because I'm old school I know bullshit when I see it he been there for a long time he knows what going on don't get trick with this bullshit my opinion

[@bls5160]

He ran in 2016 and he was the only good one standing on the stage in the initial debate. But we barely heard him answer more than a couple questions because they focused intirely on Trump. I wish Rand would have had the nomination because I would have voted for him because he is just like his father, and honest man with integrity.

[@beebob1279]

Happened to Trump

[@toosense]

Constitutionalists would never win, he would get rid of all the lobbying and money going overseas. Can’t bribe Rand Paul, he actually has integrity. His father is an amazing man.

[@bnssoftware3292]

Same with Trump we would but we just overwhelmed the cheating the first time around. They were ready the second.

[@vikkyshenoy1]

Just 1% cut in military budget (Dept. of Defense) would mean ~$8 billion annually, which is almost equal to the ENTIRE research funding for National Science Foundation! Perspective matters.

[@dirtymfnsanchez]

Why stop at $8 billion? You see the interest payments on $1Trillion? 😢

[@gavine2363]

Science is cool. We invest in our knowledge, but investments need to make a return. Drastically reduce NASA funding. military spending can be cut in half and i thnk we’d be okay

[@donlayton8781]

I'm up for that as A PART OF a much larger cut across the board. The US Government actually has very little they were supposed to spend money on...mainly the military and infrastructure. Look at what we're funding now. We have lost our collective minds.

[@bbgun061]

Social security and Medicare are 2/3 of federal spending.

[@destroyer-fr4dz]

The department of defense gives billions of dollars to universities across the country to conduct research. You are kind of missing the info there

[@ginacanadiangirl]

Way to go, Senator. Your fiscal lucidity is second to none!

[@scottjohnson7780]

Some lawmaker has a niece, a grand kid, a father a friend ..... that is being employed by one of these programs, that's why these programs never go away.

[@vincentroppo5100]

We all need to sue the federal government and they owe us money.

[@ShimmeringIceCrystal626]

​@6079 Smith W we just need to stop paying taxes for a year. If we do that the politicians won't be paid. If they're not getting paid then they will change their ways.

[@aslkdjfzxcv9779]

why only for a year?

[@Woobieeee]

tell me you are an idiot without saying you are an idiot.

[@deepketo6931]

Don’t sue the federal government, sue the individual politicians who are responsible. They have tons of money.

[@derikuk2967]

@@deepketo6931 It's not only the politicians. It *IS* the US government --- the permanent bureaucracy, a.k.a. "the deep state".

[@brendanmcpike184]

Bros saying studying biology, anthropology is a waste of time. I’m conservative and he lost me on this one

[@morgoth5460]

Be prepared for more of this im guessing

[@TomWebsterChannel]

Only time I’ve ever agreed with him. So much waste and zero accountability. 30 f’ing trillion.

[@oldskipper1394]

We don't have a "Budget". They don't even bother to lie about it anymore. All you'll hear them talk about is the "Spending Plan".

[@zzzarkka]

A spending plan is a budget. Lmao. But it’s true they don’t really have one. They said we do.

[@coryhoggatt7691]

What we have had since G Bush are continuing resolutions. We haven’t passed a budget in 14 years.

[@rozzbourn3653]

we are almost $32T in debt and we give $5T per year in taxes. the only reason i can see for us to be in this type of debt is because they are trying to destroy the American economy. no one in their right mind would spend money on ridicules things like this if they were in debt as much as we are unless there is an alternate motive. maybe we need to take the budget out of the politicians' hands and vote on things ourselves.

[@Dan-sc7us]

You and I don't print the currency, the government does! That's why they can run perpetual debt with little or no consequences!

[@garyjackson3531]

Search "Cloward and Piven" They were two left-wing Democrat college professors who created the blueprint for destroying the United States. It involved creating an unsustainable welfare state and racking up insane amounts of debt. Cloward and Piven were prominent within the Democrat Party. Often attending events where presidents signed legislation into law. President Reagan used a modified version of Cloward-Piven to cause the collapse of the Soviet Union, and win the Cold War without firing a shot. Reagan went into debt rebuilding the military that had been decimated by previous regimes. This caused to Soviet Socialists to spend wildly trying to keep up. Money they didn't have, and would never have. It destabilized the Soviet Union.

[@RoronoaZorosHaki]

It’s actually at 100T if you combine funded and unfunded liabilities.

[@google_was_my_idea_first]

We should all listen to Rand Paul. He is a doctor after all.

[@Bob27kayackman]

The most ridiculous stuff that the US taxpayer is spent on, is Rand Paul"s salary. What a waste of money.

[@drewblanktalks]

Long live rand and Ron!

[@tlindsay1007]

Totally agree. There is no reason that our country can't have a balanced budget.

[@brupeboring]

last time that happened a democrat was in office

[@Dan-sc7us]

Balanced budget is doable, we had it under Bill Clinton! But paying off the debt is nonsense!!

[@johnnygoode8712]

@@brupeboring and how many democrats have been in office since ? When they had 100% control they did nothing but increase the debt ! Good try !

[@filster1934]

@@brupeboring, that's because Newt Gingrich kept Slick Willie in check.

[@derekjackson1039]

Got to tax the rich. Elon, Bezos and co. Imagine if they donate 100 billion each to improve our country because government can’t manage the money. But wishful thinking

[@MrBrady505]

Unacceptable! Outrageous!

[@jbalou4722]

Thank you Senator

[@monikaw1369]

He makes so much sense! We need that in congress and senate.

[@scottleggejr]

Common sense isn't marketable.

[@JanFWeh]

Making sense immediately disqualifies you.

[@scottleggejr]

@@JanFWeh imagine if it were a job interview... Opening question "what do you offer to keep the culture war enthralled in dividing people?" 🤣

[@danbobway5656]

He doesn't make any sense lmao

[@tylertalton1943]

Theres NO way….any person with taxes, bills and responsibilities would say “absolutely not” to this…….

[@tiredidealist]

The biggest waste of taxpayer money? The House and Senate.

[@tagirattana]

Have to agree with Paul on this and I vote Democrat.

[@johnh3611]

Handouts to billionaires in the form of subsidies and tax breaks should be number 1 on this list. Taxpayer money is meant to improve the country, not be hoarded by the wealthiest people alive.

[@johnnoreau3570]

If a billionaire makes a billion dollars off his own investments. Meaning he worked for his money. It is his. Why are you entitled to what he earned? And if he’s hoarding his own wealth. Why does it belong to tax payers? See y’all always go “the billionaires don’t pay their fair share!” But everything they own. Isn’t money. It’s assets. They’ve got a billion dollar company or they have cars that worth up to a billion dollars. The money isn’t physical. So again I ask. Why are you entitled to what someone else earned?

[@brupeboring]

@@johnnoreau3570 ignorant comment most billionaires inherited their wealth and to suggest they have no obligation to society is asinine the average citizen pays a higher percentage of their money in taxes than billionaires do because the tax laws have been skewed to favor the rich

[@nodrogskram1857]

@@johnnoreau3570 I agree someone earned that money from hard work.

[@johnnoreau3570]

@@brupeboring it’s not an ignorant comment. Elon musk didn’t inherit his wealth did he? It was not inherited. Meaning he worked for it. He built Tesla and space x. You can make a company and be successful too. Yet here you are complaining someone has more money than you. Instead of working for it. My comment is not ignorant. It was meant to be thought provoking. What’s ignorant is claiming billionaires all inherit their wealth so they shouldn’t have any money at all it should be given to you. That’s ignorant. If you want money do badly. Work or invest for it. Not hard to do unless you’re on KZbin all day complaining. Won’t catch a bag that way at all.

[@sheshotjfk8375]

@@brupeboring You're the ignorant one. Taxation is stealing. No one should be stolen from. There should be no taxes. Period.

[@ncjay08]

Greed runs the show these days. Nobody is going to reduce their budget unless you threaten their way of life. How many houses and boats do the senators own? I'd be interested to know that one.

[@marionmohr8856]

He is absolutely right! What a waist of money!

[@Equals488]

SUPPORT THAT BILL!

[@coffeemixer4292]

00:42 Restraint is the word❤

[@brupeboring]

unless it is giving money to billionaires right

[@anacc3257]

@@brupeboring Right. Letting the rich and multinational corporations rule over everyone seems to be the preferred choice by many of these anarcho capitalists and libertarians. It's not just criticism of careless spending.

[@brupeboring]

@@anacc3257 careless spending happens because 90 percent of politicians are bought by the rich and corporate leaders until we get money out of politics this will continue get rid of citizens united which made bribery of politicians legal

[@wadepowell7879]

I have always wanted to see a line-by-line item budget and run it like we do at home! Let's wipe out the whole budget and start with a clean state. No more interest groups, lobbying should be illegal, 2 term limit on all political positions including congress, FBI, CIA etc... Period!

[@chrisreynolds3351]

USA has a $32 BILLION DOLLAR DEBT! It´s reached the legal ceiling. Not enough funds left to pay the interest. The delay arrangement only last until election day and then whom ever gets elected will inherit a ticking financial debt bomb! The Democrats have spent the lot and more. As Biden has never given a direct order, just done what he was told, WHO has authorised this level of loans and where has all that funding gone. That is what I and millions want to know.

[@toh6261]

I bet I know exactly what that would look like in the case of Ukraine spending. It would be a very ornate, yet thin binder. It only has one page, and when you open it up it says "🖕🇺🇲".

[@seanjournot7115]

it doesn't work like that at a higher level. The budgets approved by congress often contain line items that are "buckets" for a lot of smaller projects. For example, there may be a "research, development, test, and evaluation" line item on a budget. That could be divided down to other buckets such as "basic research", "applied research", "advanced technology development", and so on. each of those buckets could then be divided into hundreds or thousands of other buckets or actual projects. Each project may have a different primary investigator and each bucket and sub-bucket may have different administration. Compiling all of this into a project level list of line items each with a detailed description of the project would be a monumental task, it would be incomprehensible to a single person, and it would step on the toes of administrators at lower level institutions (military bases, colleges, and so on) who need the discretion to allocate and reallocate funding as projects evolve and the true cost of things like facilities upgrades, research, and procurement become apparent. Yes, absolutely, mistakes are made. Dumb things get funded and worthwhile projects outright fail and are abandoned. This is going to happen when we are talking about billions of dollars and thousand upon thousands of projects. Those 500 dollar wrenches make a lot more sense when you realize they are one off copper alloy wrenches used to decouple a fuse assembly from a warhead that required weeks worth of design and engineering and only 20 were ever made.

[@justdoingitjim7095]

That would be great, except it'll never happen. All of those things you mentioned have to be changed by congress, who benefits directly from each item. They would have to vote to literally take all future money from their own pockets and you know full well those politicians aren't going to cut their own throats!

[@mikeb8342]

Can't make lobbying illegal. There's this thing called the 1st Amendment. Lobbying is simply people telling their representatives in government what they want. Now getting the MONEY out of lobbying might be possible. Here's the fix (or at least a good start)..... 1. Jurisdictional election funding. Only money that can be spent on a campaign should come from the jurisdiction that political seat covers (senators getting money only from the state their running in, Congress members their district, etc). 2. Jurisdictional taxation. Can't tax one state to pay for another state, etc. Same at the county level, city level, etc.

[@EducationalChannel28349]

CUT TAXES!!!

[@SigmaSheepdog]

$31 Trillion in debt and counting!

[@geraldboesen5037]

Actually, 31. 3 trillion .... and counting.

[@SigmaSheepdog]

@@geraldboesen5037 Ooooops, my bad!

[@brupeboring]

oops republicans under the orange turd is responsible for 25 percent of that

[@Dan-sc7us]

How does that hurt us??

[@4touchdownsinonegame178]

Donald Trump added 7 trillion dollars to the deficit and gave it to the rich when he was president, he didn't do nothing for the middle class

[@johnsaucedo1131]

One of the few lawmakers in Washington committed to fiscal responsibility.

[@edwardroche2480]

Watch out Rand Paul vote if you want to know who he really is.

[@ggalloway1]

Or just anti-science.

[@johntomasik1555]

Must be a weird place to keep voting him into office. Pretty much every American only wants what's in it for them and care nothing about fiscal responsibility.

[@gibbleway]

the reverend of truth. Rev Rand Paul

[@StephenSchaal]

How can you not like this guy

[@masonpeace8824]

Members of the house should make the median salary of their state

[@izzyman556]

The best thing about Rand Paul is his dad. I miss that man.

[@MrSeminole77]

lets not forget the ridiculous cost of paying for Rand Paul every year.

[@seanjournot7115]

The NSF budget request for FY24 is $11.314 billion. This is a drop in the bucket of our full discretionary budget (~1.8 trillion). Most of this is spent on academic institutions; this is the funding that many post graduates use to complete accreditation for masters and PH.D. degrees. It is the primary source of funding in a lot of fields. Beyond that it is used to fund big science projects like the LHC, Antarctic research facilities, a new 8 meter telescope, super computers, and oceanic research vessels. Cuts to the NSF budget screws over a lot of post graduates, professors, and college administrators. This is definitely not something we should be messing with if we want the United States to maintain and further technological and economic advantages over other countries; if anything we should be expanding funding in this area.

[@ft3265]

I agree, there is no need for an across-the-board cut to the NSF budget. Rather, the NSF budget should be focused on science programs with higher potential impact on technology.

[@seanjournot7115]

@@ft3265 it should; the problem is that we often do not know what is worth researching before we research it and sometimes researching bizarre things ends up yielding useful results.

[@chesshooligan1282]

@@seanjournot7115 Yeah, let's do research on any conceivable silly idea we can think of because you never know what could come of it. And what goes for research can also be applied to general investment. Run your home finances like that and you'll be broke and homeless in no time flat.

[@kellyarnett4062]

#1 taxpayers funds going to every country on the planet.

[@marshafrank7427]

EXACTLY 💯💥🇺🇲🤑

[@maxwagner9626]

Ukrainians: How dare you 🤬🇺🇦

[@jsk.71]

This is why we as kentuckians, keep voting for Rand Paul. Common sense solutions. Sadly he is in a uncommon sense govt..

[@michaelvonahnen3050]

❤ sen Rand Paul i would vote for president!

[@jackmeehof2440]

He failed to mention subsidies for pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbon fuels, cruise lines, food assistance for all Walmart employees which in essence is a subsidy…….. yes it’s extremely absurd

[@MrBeetsGaming]

There is no food assistance for all Wal-Mart employees.... It is a small amount of mostly part time people who get food stamps

[@TheMarcosvolta]

he conveniently avoids anything that would skew his narrative towards the truth of the matter. typical moron republican.

[@simonnachreiner8380]

You forgot “renewable subsidies” that fill in for the fact that money has been poured into the technology for decades and it’s still not profitable.

[@alenagoddess2400]

The way Walmart repays its employees is by taking out life insurance policies on them without their knowledge

[@azwife1715]

Love thisguy. Hope he is a VP for someone 😊

[@tankerd1847]

I liked him as a presidential pick but there was just no ground to be had against Trump. What a shame.

[@propulsidereal]

Tired of these paid actors on both sides lmao. Rand included. It's time to put a stop to this bs.

[@stevenjanelli3177]

Finally, a voice of reason. Rand Paul would make a great president if he was a touch more likable. Too bad most people can't see the man thru his delivery. I'd absolutely vote for him. His perhaps the most pragmatic senator in Congress. He won't blow smoke up your ass.

[@davidadamchick6945]

Thank you senator take care of it and drain the swamp down to bedrock through the mighty name of Jesus Christ amen amen

[@HSDarke]

and the FBI is still funded.

[@tlindsay1007]

The corrupt are always the first to get paid.

[@brupeboring]

@@tlindsay1007 like the orange turd right

[@uhu597]

So is the CIA.

[@VoiceDisasterNz]

You're on a list now

[@user-mj3rj7iq1z]

Really, him for president? Come on America deserve better