From an early age, I realized that I was one of the lucky ones. I grew up in a middle-class family. I was able to go to undergraduate and graduate school and found good jobs with benefits. I believed in paying my fair share of taxes so that the government could sustain and improve our infrastructure, provide access to healthcare for all, conduct valuable research, and protect our country.
These days I am appalled at the over-the-top spending of an Administration out of control with priorities that are, in my mind, indefensible. Last week, our national debt topped $40 trillion and is expected to continue to climb.
Let’s take a quick look at the crazy spending spree that is occurring right now.
The country’s 250th birthday party extravaganza that Trump is orchestrating, including massive aircraft flyovers, the Great American State Fair on the Mall, and the largest fireworks display in history, cost taxpayers $45 million.
The UFC cage match to celebrate Trump’s 80th birthday cost taxpayers $60 million, complete with a full octagon, federal agency support, and a fight week event at the Lincoln memorial.
Trump’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix on Washington D.C. streets last weekend is estimated to cost taxpayers at least $68 million. (Believe it or not, more than 200 manhole covers were welded shut before the race because supercars create aerodynamic suction capable of lifting and dislodging manhole covers. In addition, art preservationists have expressed concern that vibrations caused by racing cars could damage paintings and sculptures at the National Gallery of Art and the Hirschorn.)
Trump’s vanity arch, dubbed “Arc de Trump,” has a $15-million taxpayer downpayment. At this point, there is no final estimate of ultimate costs.
The adding and removing of Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center has cost the institution millions of dollars—never mind the deep financial crisis that the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera are suffering. It has recently been reported that the physical removal of the lettering of Trump’s name has caused structural panel damage to the Kennedy Center’s outer marble structure.
During the government shutdown, Trump spent $172 million to buy two Gulfstream G700s, plus a $70 million Boeing 737Max business jet.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to spend between $10 to $20 million to purchase thousands of specialized electric-shock gloves for ICE agents.
Trump spent $2 million paving over the White House rose garden.
The D.C. deployment of ICE agents alone costs $1 million a day. The mobilization effort in Los Angeles racked up $134 million in costs.
As of August 2026, official Pentagon estimates place the direct military cost of the ill-begotten Iran war at $37.5 billion. No end to the war is in sight.
According to tracking by CREW, in 512 days, there have been 73 weekends or 146 weekend days that Trump has visited resorts and golf courses, amounting to more than one-third of his presidency. Official presidential reports estimate that each trip to Mar-a-Lago costs $3.4 million. Each hour flight on Air Force One is estimated to cost $200,000.
Trump’s tax cuts to the uber-wealthy under the second Trump administration are projected to reduce government revenue by $2.5 trillion. Trump’s pardoning of white-collar criminals has wiped out more than $102 million in direct criminal fines that would have otherwise been paid to the U.S. Treasury. His first-ever pardons to corporations have wiped away $100 million anti-money laundering fines owed to the government. (Trump’s pardons have also wiped out approximately $113 million that was owed to victims.) According to several sources, the settlement involving the reporter who divulged Trump’s tax returns means that Trump no longer owes more than $100 million to the IRS.
However, dear readers, never fear. We eventually will be able to revel in a White House ballroom with a fine granite walkway so that we can sip cocktails on our way inside, a White House helipad decorated with gold coins and a large presidential seal, a Trump arch, hopefully a repaired reflecting pool, a gold-gilded White House oval office, and more.
Meanwhile, cuts have been made to clinical trials, healthcare research, environmental protections, veteran benefits and jobs, foreign aid, infrastructure aid to Blue states, SNAP benefits, student loans, small businesses and housing programs, special supplemental nutrition programs for women, infants, and children, preschool development grants, workforce development grants, national parks, and more.
Economists estimate that the average American family is spending $3,500 extra on basic living expenses due to rising prices on everyday goods. (Gas prices cost on average $600 a year more. Ground beef is up 18 percent. Orange juice is up 20 percent. And tariffs have added an estimated $1,700 to $2,000 to the average family’s cost annually.)
To those of you who say there has always been government waste, you are right. No one can deny that some programs have had questionable impact and results. But I contend that no one can deny that this administration’s flagrant waste of tax dollars and misplaced priorities is beyond the pale. And let’s not forget that Trump has fired almost all Inspectors General whose job was to identify waste, fraud, and abuse.
In conclusion, let me remind you of a few statements Trump made on the campaign trail.
“Prices will come down. You just watch. They’ll come down and they’ll come down fast.”
“We will eliminate regulations that drive up housing costs with the goal of cutting the cost of a new home in half.”
“Starting on day one we will end inflation and make America affordable again. We’ll do that. We’ve got to bring it down.”
“I call myself the king of debt. I’m great with debt. Nobody knows debt better than me. I like debt for me. I don’t like debt for the country. We are sitting on a time bomb.”
The author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” My case rests.
Outstanding article!
Thank You