March Madness started this week, arguably one of sports fans’ favorite times of the year. Millions of people tune in to see college basketball teams from all over the country face off in a single elimination tournament in a bracket of 64 teams until only one is left standing as champion. Embracing that spirit of bracketology, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) decided to host a little March Madness of his own on Thursday.
“U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) announced his 2024 March Earmark Madness Tournament consisting of 16 of the most egregious earmarks in the $1.2 trillion spending bill being considered by Congress this week,” a press release from Paul’s office said. “These ‘Shameful 16,’ which spend Americans’ hard-earned tax-payer dollars on individual Senators’ pet projects, were chosen amongst more than 1,400 earmarks detailed over 1,000 pages released just one day before leadership in both parties will force a vote on the deal.”
I think it’s an absolutely brilliant idea. It’s a fun and innovative way to bring awareness to how the nation’s elected leaders are wasting millions of dollars on unnecessary projects. A keen addition was saying that the bracket was sponsored by the uniparty and President Joe Biden.
The “Shameful 16” bracket connects an important political concern that many people are not aware of to the pop culture phenomenon of the college basketball tournament, which makes it more relatable to the country’s voters. After all, what better way to cope with the bracket-busting shock of the No. 3 seed Kentucky Wildcats losing to the No. 14 seed Oakland Golden Grizzlies than realizing the government wants to spend $1.5 million of taxpayer money “to expand the gaming industry”?
Other outlandish earmarks included in the “Shameful 16” include $250,000 for the Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education Archives, named after former Ku Klux Klan chapter leader and senator, proposed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV); $2 million to the University of Maine for the construction of a kelp and shellfish nursery, proposed by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME); $388,000 to Columbia University in New York, a private university with a $13.6 billion endowment, proposed by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); $1 million granted to SAGE, an elderly LGBT+ advocacy group in New York for “cultural competency” training for medical staff, proposed by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); and $1.7 million to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, proposed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA). One could only imagine the Final Four that will emerge from Paul’s March Madness competition — and the amount of money wasted on those four projects.
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Anyone interested can access Paul’s March Earmark Madness on his X account.
Unfortunately, unlike the NCAA Tournament, the effects of the government’s wasteful spending won’t end after 40 minutes of game time. If the government’s reckless spending continues, the ramifications will be felt for years to come. And while at the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament, one winner will emerge as national champion, all of us will continue to lose unless the nation’s elected leaders learn some fiscal responsibility.