Upcoming Soccer Match Will Cost New Jersey Taxpayers $750,000
July 29, 2024
Topline: Taxpayers in New Jersey will spend $750,000 to help bring an exhibition soccer game to Red Bull Arena in Harrison on July 31, even though the match is sponsored by the multibillion-dollar energy drink giant.
Key facts: The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority will cover the costs of bringing England’s Aston Villa team for the match, according to NJ.com. The Germany-based football club RB Leipzig, owned by Red Bull, will also travel to New Jersey to play the English team.
The state expects the game to generate $6 million in economic benefits and bring media attention to the city of Harrison, but it’s unclear why Red Bull can’t pay for it themselves. The company is worth $18.9 billion, per Forbes.
A spokeswoman for the state was reportedly evasive when asked by NJ.com if public money will also be spent on future sports games, such as the World Cup final coming to New Jersey in 2026.
Supporting quote: A state spokesperson told NJ.com the soccer game expense is justified because Red Bull “remains responsible for a majority of the costs of the event.”
“On occasion [the state] provides assistance to New Jersey venues to help attract and secure marquee sporting events [that] benefit the state by increasing tourism, generating significant tax revenue and facilitating job creation.”
Critical quote: “I don’t think there should be any public entities giving money to anybody for stuff like that,” Harrison Mayor James Fife told NJ.com. “Red Bull is a multi-billion-dollar corporation and those two [teams will] probably sell out the arena.”
Background: The soccer game’s economic benefits won’t entirely offset the amount New Jersey taxpayers spend on payroll at the Sports and Exposition Authority.
The agency’s 91 employees collectively earned just under $8 million last year, according to records at OpenTheBooks.com.
Senior Vice President John Duffy led the way with a $200,000 salary, and 25 others earned six figures.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Summary: The soccer match is a “friendly” that won’t count toward either team’s record. The only number that will change is the one in New Jersey’s bank account.
Biden’s White House Is Lawyering Up
July 30, 2024
Topline: Almost one in every 12 staffers at the White House this year is a lawyer, according to payroll data analyzed by auditors at OpenTheBooks.com. President Joseph Biden employs 45 attorneys, making a collective $6.3 million in salary.
Donald Trump had 30 lawyers in his final year as president, and Barack Obama employed 34 lawyers before leaving office.
Key facts: This years’ White House payroll includes attorneys with varying titles: “senior deputy associate counsel,” “senior ethics counsel” and similar variations.
There are seven other staffers that assist the White House counsel’s office, such as the “advisor to the White House deputy counsel” and a communications specialist.
The most highly compensated White House employee besides Biden himself is associate counsel Michelle Barrans, who is making over $251,000 this year. All of the other full-time lawyers make between $110,000 and $191,000.
The most expensive attorney on Trump’s White House payroll made only $180,000 — though since leaving office, Trump has spent over $100 million fighting personal legal battles.
Senior tax counsel Amanda Bartmann works with the IRS’ “national taxpayer advocate,” but she cost taxpayers over $167,000 in salary this year.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Background: The White House counsel exists to advise the president on all legal issues related to his administration and policy agenda.
Lately, they’ve also been working to protect Biden’s public image.
In February, the White House counsel’s office asked special counsel Robert Hur to amend a legal report that said Biden’s memory “appeared to have significant limitations.”
In March, White House counsel Edward Siskel — who makes $180,000 — wrote a letter urging Speaker Mike Johnson to end an impeachment inquiry into the president. House Republicans have been investigating the president’s family’s business dealings but have not shown evidence of wrongdoing on Biden’s part.
Summary: Trump and Biden might not agree on much, but both have certainly learned to appreciate the value of a good lawyer.
$293 Million of Afghanistan Aid May Have Funded Taliban
July 31, 2024
Topline: Two bureaus in the U.S. State Department failed to properly track $293 million of humanitarian aid delivered to Afghanistan, meaning the funds could have ended up supporting the Taliban terrorist group, according to a new federal audit.
Key facts: The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) could not prove that they performed required background checks on Afghani nonprofits before giving them federal funds.
That means there is an “increased risk” that U.S. taxpayer money went to groups who send cash to the Taliban or support its mission, according to the audit.
Over 1,000 new nonprofits have been registered in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over in August 2021, and U.S. officials say they’ve “heard rumors” that “many” of them have connections to the violent extremist group.
Auditors asked the two agencies to show documents demonstrating that they properly vetted the nonprofits who received U.S. aid. The INL only had documents for three of 22 required background checks, and the DRL could only show three of seven documents.
Either the agencies never performed the required “risk assessments” or they did not keep records of the assessments, which auditors said could violate the Federal Records Act.
It’s possible that even more than $293 million was improperly tracked. The audit only covers spending between March and November 2022.
Auditors said the three other State Department bureaus working in Afghanistan are following proper protocols.
Background: This is far from the first time auditors have raised concerns over the $17.9 billion the U.S. has sent to Afghanistan since 2021.
That includes the $2.6 billion that the United Nations had sent to humanitarian groups, which a March inspector general report found yields a profit for the Taliban when the U.S. currency gets exchanged for afghani currency.
One month later, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko testified to Congress that he could not guarantee that U.S. aid was not being diverted to terrorists.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Summary: If a federal agency cannot ensure that taxpayer money is not supporting terrorism, it should not be entrusted with the money in the first place.
Throwback Thursday: In 2008, National Parks Celebrated Centennial Too Early
August 1, 2024
Throwback Thursday!
Topline: Turning 100 years old is a big deal, and it would be reasonable to start planning a birthday party a few months in advance.
Beginning the festivities eight years early is something else entirely, but that’s exactly how the National Park Service spent $25 million in 2008. Never mind the fact that the NPS didn’t actually turn 100 until 2016.
That’s according to the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a white-hot spotlight on federal frauds and taxpayer abuses.
Coburn, the legendary U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, earned the nickname "Dr. No" by stopping thousands of pork-barrel projects using the Senate rules. Projects that he couldn't stop, Coburn included in his oversight reports.
Coburn's Wastebook 2008 included 65 examples of outrageous spending worth more than $1.3 billion, including the NPS’ birthday bash, which cost $36.2 million in today’s money.
Key facts: National park centennial programming was funded through private donations matched by the federal government.
Some money went toward ecosystem preservation and climate change research. But for every serious initiative there was one like the two-day “Parkpalooza” at Missouri’s Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which spent $60,000 on “rock climbing” and “learning how to pack a backpack.”
The New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park received $2 million to build outdoor and indoor stages for its jazz band. Zion National Park in Utah spent $75,000 to hire an “artist-in-residence.”
Meanwhile, the NPS had a $9.6 billion backlog of needed repairs on its properties.
The plan in 2008 was to spend $1 billion on the birthday celebration over the next several years. Thankfully that never happened, but Congress did allocate another $25 million before the actual centennial in 2016
That year, the NPS spent money on events like “Sing Across America,” which “brought young people together to express the human connection to nature through song.”
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Critical quote: "We will continue to raise the question about quid pro quo,” Bill Wade of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees said at the time. "And, we continue to be concerned that these kinds of projects don’t necessarily reflect the highest priority needs of the NPS, because a 'partner' is needed for the matching funding.”
Summary: A simple ice cream cake for the NPS would have saved taxpayers millions of dollars and been much easier for everyone involved.
NYC Spent $1.6 Million To Study Trash Cans
August 2, 2024
Topline: New York City Mayor Eric Adams went viral on social media this month after unveiling his plan for what he called a “trash revolution” in the city: putting ordinary garbage cans outside apartments.
The receptacles aren’t exactly groundbreaking technology, but the city’s budget does not reflect that fact. New York paid consultants $1.6 million for a 20-week study to determine if the trash cans would work.
Key facts: The trash study contract was awarded to management consulting firm McKinsey in 2022 for $4 million, but a city spokesperson told Business Insider the full amount was never paid out.
The study analyzed waste bins in Amsterdam, Paris and more and considered factors like the durability of garbage cans to help inform the mayor’s decision-making.
Many New Yorkers currently place their trash bags directly on sidewalk corners for collection. They’re now required to order the official “beautiful, durable NYC Bin” for $46 by November 12. But there are many residents who already use containers for their trash — yet they must order the new ones within 18 months.
Background: The initiative was spearheaded by Commissioner of Sanitation Jessica Tisch, who earns over $242,000 per year, according to OpenTheBooks.com. Kathleen Corradi, the city’s official “rat czar” earning $97,000, also lent guidance.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Supporting quote: Joshua Goodman of the Department of Sanitation described the study as “volumetric analysis.”
“Basically, they analyzed billions of different records of trash pickups and helped determine the appropriate volume breakdowns by block for the entire city,” Goodman told Fast Company. “They were paid $1.6 million for this kind of research, which appears on pages 81-87 of the ‘Future of Trash’ report.”
Summary: The new NYC Bins hold 35 gallons, but it might take more than that to fit all the cash thrown out studying garbage cans.
The #WasteOfTheDay is presented by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.