A swanky bus stop
In 2013, Arlington County, Virginia, received federal funding to build a luxury “SuperStop” bus stop complete with Wi-Fi, heated benches and sidewalks, and a steel-frame roof. Too bad said roof doesn’t do much to keep out rain and snow, or provide shade in the summertime. “If it’s pouring rain, I’m going to get wet; if it’s cold, the wind is going to be blowing on me,” a county board member told the Washington Post.
Cost to taxpayers: $1 million
Social media “likes”
State Department officials wanted to increase traffic on the agency’s various Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, so they spent lavishly on in-site advertising. What did they get in return? Not much. Less than 2 percent of visitors to their pages “liked” or “favorited” any of their posts or tweets, according to the December 2013 issue of Wastebook, published by U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. Here are 11 other bizarre things the U.S. government actually spent money on.
Cost to taxpayers: $630,000
