The latest inflation figures show annual consumer price growth of 3.5%, still well above pre-pandemic levels.That means millions of families are struggling to get back on track. in 2021.
This is not surprising, as Washington's deficit spending remains too high. In 2023, the federal government spent $6.1 trillion (about $47,000 per household) and posted a staggering $1.7 trillion deficit.
But the Biden administration appears determined to make the situation worse, consistently choosing policies that increase the deficit in pursuit of its ideological agenda. This country cannot afford such reckless spending. The economy will run more smoothly if the budget deficit is reduced.
But too many elected officials either don't know this or don't care. They see the federal government as a giant piggy bank.
The Biden administration has been aggressively tapping into the swamp's vast budget to fund leftist activities through grants.
Here are some examples of such grants approved by the administration from December 2022 onwards.
- $45 million for “diversity and inclusion” scholarships in Burma. Not content with just promoting the DEI trend in the US, governments are also subsidizing his DEI initiatives around the world.
Burma (also known as Myanmar) has serious problems, including a deeply flawed judicial system, rampant corruption, and high poverty due to a lack of property rights and heavy government intervention in the economy. $45 million in DEI scholarships will do nothing to solve these problems.
- $3 million for “girl-centered climate action” in Brazil. Not content with creating a “climate change force” in the United States, the government awarded a grant to a Netherlands-based organization to promote DEI-based environmental work in Brazil.
As with Burma, this subsidy focuses on niche far-left concerns rather than the real issues facing South America's largest country.
A $124.9 million grant to the National Network of Public Health Laboratories threatens to further damage the already fraught relationship between public health organizations and the American public.
The group's “racial justice capacity model” is rooted in critical race theory and argues that disparities in outcomes between racial groups must be caused by systemic racism. Insisting on addressing “inequality'' means imposing CRT ideology on the health care system, and that is the last thing America needs.
- $573,000 to anti-Israel groups to fight “disinformation.” The Biden administration has embraced the left's crusade against “disinformation,” which is often code for censoring dissent.
This approach also applies to foreign policy, as the State Department provides grants to many organizations operating abroad. A problematic example of this is his two grants worth more than $573,000 to Virginia-based MENAACTION.
Key members of the group themselves parrot disinformation and repeat false claims about Israel's fight against Hamas. Therefore, not only are anti-disinformation grants of questionable value to begin with, but these grants are likely to spread disinformation rather than suppress it.
- $288,563 to a “diverse” group of birdwatchers. Proving that nothing is safe from the reach of DEI enthusiasts, the National Science Foundation has awarded grants to ornithological societies (bird enthusiasts) to create “affinity groups” based on identity characteristics. approved.
It is not based on significant evidence of bias or discrimination, but rather on some members as if birdwatching groups were dens of racists. ”[lacking] sense of community or sense[ing] Their voices are not being heard. ”
These tone-based concerns may be worth addressing in a company meeting. But the federal government doesn't need to be involved at all, especially when the nation's total debt stands at $34.6 trillion.
When the federal government becomes this bloated, it is impossible to avoid wasteful subsidies. But the Biden administration has made matters worse by greenlighting such an absurd project.
As Congress begins work on legislation to fund the federal government in 2025, lawmakers will examine the agencies and programs funding these grants as they look for taxpayer savings. There is a need.
The Biden administration definitely won't do that.
David Ditch is a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation's Herman Center on the Federal Budget.
