The Popcorn Stand: Only a jackass would come up with ideas like this

Only in America. Not really. Wasteful spending by governments happen all over the world as covered by this website: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/offbeat/24-ridiculous-things-governments-have-wasted-money-on/ss-AAk7vyB#image=18.

This isn’t a Popcorn Stand to rail away about red herring projects that cost us really little in the grand scheme of things. Mainly because of the politics involved.

Some may accuse me of the liberal heretic side of me coming out here, but again I’m a bottom line guy and people know my stance on green energy. As John McKay said when he was asked about his team’s execution: “I’m all for it.”

One of the red herring political footballs that became the poster child for wasteful spending was Solyndra, a green energy company that had to file for bankruptcy after receiving a government loan. Never mind the U.S. Energy Loan Program involving Solyndra has actually turned a profit.

It would be nice, though, if there was some kind of process to make sure U.S. taxpayers didn’t have to pay $171,000 to study the gambling habits of monkeys.

When looking at all these things governments come up with to spend our money on, my first thought isn’t they’re wasting my taxpayers money, but who in the world came up with an idea like this? I mean who thinks to study the gambling habits of monkeys? Humans, yes. But monkeys? Who actually sat in an office and said, “You know what would be a good idea, studying the gambling habits of monkeys.”

By the way, like humans, monkeys enjoy gambling, too. Not a big surprise.

Or who in the European Union came up with the idea for a donkey to blog about its travels across Europe (at a cost of $7.7 million). Not a human being. Not a mascot dressed up like a donkey. But an actual donkey.

When it comes to cockamamie ideas, sometimes people just make jackasses out of themselves.

— Charles Whisnand