This week highlights the important work of the Trump Administration (and the Congress that enables their actions). Every week, we see the administration use our tax dollars as a piggy bank for comfort, virtue signaling, and self-aggrandizement. Let me give you a few examples of this week’s expenditures you should know about:

1. ‘Drug boat’ strikes – In the virtue signaling category comes the strikes on small boats off the northern coast of South America. Most of the boats have been attributed by the Trump Administration as ‘drug boats’ from the Venezuelan cartels, carrying fentanyl. Never mind that Venezuela is not a source of fentanyl (Mexico is, as is China for its component parts). The more recent strikes have been Columbian and Ecuadoran nationals (who were returned to their countries instead of being tried for their supposed drug smuggling). This prompted the President to call the Columbian President an illegal drug dealer. So how much has this cost the American taxpayer? Well each strike with a Hellfire missile costs at least $150,000 – that’s 7 strikes costing $1.05 million marginal cost (not to include the drones used, the ships deployed, the aircraft used to track the boats, etc, etc.). Who traffics the drugs coming to the US? Mexican cartels. So taxpayers spent money attacking 35 people who aren’t the main source of our illicit drug imports.
2. DHS Gulfstream Jets – Two Gulfstream Jets were purchased for use by DHS leader Kristi Noem. The cost? $172 million! Technically the budget used was for the US Coast Guard. This a private long-range jet with the capacity for up to 19 passengers, a master suite with private shower, a dining area and seats that convert to beds. Comfy! I’m sure that when travelling at Mach .85 they will be carefully examining the seas for dangers and boats in distress like the Coast Guard budget intended.
3. National Guard deployments – there are two significant deployments that have taken place this year – one in LA and the other in DC. The LA deployment drew more protesters than existed before the deployment and ultimately resulted in a bunch of misdemeanor failure to disperse charges – but none of the felonies that you would expect from a need to quell an ‘insurrection’. A federal judge found the deployment to participate in civil law enforcement illegal. But it still cost $120 – 134 million dollars. Meanwhile in Washington, DC, a National Guard deployment which is largely supplementing police and supporting ICE operations, is set to wrap up on November 30th. And we got the extra bonus of troops picking up trash on the Mall. Cost? $200 million! This while the Trump Administration cut DC security funding by 44%.
4. Argentina – An economy about the size of the state of Georgia has been designated as critical to the United States by the administration, so much so that the Treasury Department has decided to use $20 billion of its emergency funds (that presumably would be used to support the US banking system) to provide an aid package to the Milei government in the form of a loan (through currency swaps – because its in the best interest of the US taxpayer to purchase a devaluing currency, of course). This is with a country that has persistently reneged on its loan obligations. A country that is giving preferred trade status to China to buy its soybean crop (a direct competitor of the US soybean farmer, who has seen no orders from China for this year’s crop). All to prop up an Argentine president whose party has less than a third of the lower legislative chamber and less than 10% of the upper chamber.
5. Trump’s claim to the DOJ – the President put in a claim for $230 million to the Department of Justice to compensate him for the legal proceedings against him (investigating Russian influence in his first campaign and mishandling classified documents he illegally removed from the White House upon leaving office). The upshot – Trump claims that he can approve his own claim. The people in charge of reviewing his claim – his former defense attorneys. I can’t make this stuff up. The US taxpayer is his own piggy bank. And how might he use that money? To rebuild the East Wing of the White House, that he just tore down this past week, to build new offices and a new ballroom (resulting in a wing that will likely dwarf the White House that all Americans know)? Heck, that is charity, isn’t it?

What don’t you see in this list of tax dollar expenditures? Something (anything!) that helps average Americans. The president who was going to lower the cost of living? Well this video tracking grocery item costs tells of this administration’s failure to do anything on that score. Small business bankruptcies continue to rise. Consumer confidence continues to fall. And health insurance for millions of Americans is about to increase dramatically.

And the national disgrace continues…