The 10 dumbest ways the feds waste money

According to a new report from Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, the federal government wasted $6.5 billion in 2011.

The Daily Caller points out that the list includes more than $100,000 on a video game “preservation” center, $120 million in salaries to dead employees and $15.3 million for one of the infamous Bridges to Nowhere — all in a year when the federal deficit rose by nearly $2 trillion.

Coburn’s “Wastebook 2011” report lists 100 of the most egregious spending boondoggles.

Here are some of the top 10, with commentary by The Daily Caller:

Arlington, Texas has one more beer and pizza joint, thanks to this grant to a private developer. The groovy Mellow Mushroom, a national chain, is known for its hippie theme.

These funds were awarded to promote Hawaii’s chocolate industry. The Aloha State is already full of sandy beaches, clear blue water, and sun. Why do they get all the good stuff? (That’s the mayor of Hershey, Penn., on Line 1.)

Maybe the wizards at the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Mich., can make the federal deficit disappear. The grant was awarded to promote the “history of magic entertainment.”

To read more, and for a link to the entire list of 100, click here.