{"id":123086,"date":"2025-06-16T10:02:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T18:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/06\/16\/hows-this-for-wasteful-government-spending\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T10:02:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T18:02:54","slug":"hows-this-for-wasteful-government-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/06\/16\/hows-this-for-wasteful-government-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"How\u2019s This For Wasteful Government Spending?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I don\u2019t take hypocrites lightly.<\/p>\n

When I worked at a law firm, I was always annoyed, for example, when the firm had no money for business development for the plebian partners but somehow always found money for exotic locales, five-star hotels, and $100-a-bottle wines when the Management Committee was meeting.<\/p>\n

The same thing happens at corporations, of course.\u00a0You hear that every department must urgently cut 5% of its workforce!\u00a0But the 300-strong group of corporate muckety-mucks can fly off to Europe (or wherever) for three days to enjoy fine meals and a chance to hobnob at cocktail receptions.<\/p>\n

Pass the frigging shrimp.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m now watching the federal government do the same damned thing.<\/p>\n

The federal government is apparently broke.\u00a0It was absolutely critical that Elon Musk and crew essentially eliminate foreign aid, condemning tens of thousands of people to illness or death.\u00a0Domestically, we must cut Medicaid, eliminating health insurance for millions of Americans.\u00a0And Congress is playing games to convince people that holding taxes low will somehow reduce the budget deficit.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the U.S. Army estimates that we\u2019re spending a minimum of\u00a0$25 million to $45 million<\/a>\u00a0for a military parade to honor either the Army or our president\u2019s 79th birthday, depending on whom you believe.\u00a0I say \u201ca minimum\u201d because the multimillion-dollar estimate covers only the\u00a06,700 soldiers, 28 Abrams tanks, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 28 Stryker vehicles, four Paladin self-propelled howitzers, eight marching bands, 24 horses, and two mules participating in the parade.\u00a0Once\u00a0other costs<\/a>\u00a0are factored in, the expenses are likely to be much higher.<\/p>\n

Our last military parade was to celebrate our victory in Iraq in 1991.\u00a0I personally \u2014 and every other American, save one \u2014 could do without a parade in a time when government is so strapped for cash.\u00a0Let\u2019s see if some outfit \u2014 let\u2019s call it \u201cDOGE\u201d \u2014 can find $25 million to $45 million (plus) to save in a heartbeat, without sacrificing lives overseas or medical insurance at home.<\/p>\n

Same deal with sending the Marines to Los Angeles.\u00a0Whether or not you believe the governor and mayor, who are elected officials and thus perhaps not trustworthy, the local police chief says that there\u2019s no need to call in the Marines to control the demonstrations in Los Angeles.\u00a0If there were a need for police help, you\u2019d think you\u2019d get an honest opinion there.\u00a0So there\u2019s no need for military help, and sending in the Marines for an estimated 60 days will cost\u00a0$134 million<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Where\u2019s Musk when you need him?\u00a0The average fully loaded cost of hiring one federal government employee is just under\u00a0$157,000<\/a>\u00a0per year.\u00a0(This includes salary of just over $100,000 plus insurance and other benefits.) Divide $134 million by $157,000, and you could hire 853 federal government employees for a year for the cost of an unnecessary military deployment.<\/p>\n

Multiply that times other unnecessary military deployments that you\u2019ll see in the coming months and soon you\u2019re talking real savings.<\/p>\n

How about Donald Trump\u2019s almost weekly golfing excursions to Mar-a-Lago?\u00a0They run the government \u2014 that\u2019s you and me \u2014 about\u00a0$800,000<\/a>\u00a0per trip.\u00a0How about staying at the White House for a couple of weekends?\u00a0That\u2019d save you the entire $800,000 \u2014 five federal employees \u2014 per trip.\u00a0Or golf at Camp David, which apparently has a single adjustable hole with\u00a0four different tees<\/a>\u00a0that permit different driving distances, along with a driving range?\u00a0The Secret Service wouldn\u2019t spend any 800 grand each weekend to protect Camp David, which is already a secure location.\u00a0Or golf at your own resort in Bedford, New Jersey.\u00a0That ain\u2019t free, but at least it\u2019s a shorter flight.<\/p>\n

But no.<\/p>\n

For you and me, it\u2019s austerity.\u00a0We can\u2019t spend a dime.<\/p>\n

But for political showboating and presidential golf, there\u2019s plenty of money for everything.<\/p>\n

Pass the frigging shrimp.<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>inhouse@abovethelaw.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post How\u2019s This For Wasteful Government Spending?<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I don\u2019t take hypocrites lightly.<\/p>\n

When I worked at a law firm, I was always annoyed, for example, when the firm had no money for business development for the plebian partners but somehow always found money for exotic locales, five-star hotels, and $100-a-bottle wines when the Management Committee was meeting.<\/p>\n

The same thing happens at corporations, of course.\u00a0You hear that every department must urgently cut 5% of its workforce!\u00a0But the 300-strong group of corporate muckety-mucks can fly off to Europe (or wherever) for three days to enjoy fine meals and a chance to hobnob at cocktail receptions.<\/p>\n

Pass the frigging shrimp.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m now watching the federal government do the same damned thing.<\/p>\n

The federal government is apparently broke.\u00a0It was absolutely critical that Elon Musk and crew essentially eliminate foreign aid, condemning tens of thousands of people to illness or death.\u00a0Domestically, we must cut Medicaid, eliminating health insurance for millions of Americans.\u00a0And Congress is playing games to convince people that holding taxes low will somehow reduce the budget deficit.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the U.S. Army estimates that we\u2019re spending a minimum of\u00a0$25 million to $45 million<\/a>\u00a0for a military parade to honor either the Army or our president\u2019s 79th birthday, depending on whom you believe.\u00a0I say \u201ca minimum\u201d because the multimillion-dollar estimate covers only the\u00a06,700 soldiers, 28 Abrams tanks, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 28 Stryker vehicles, four Paladin self-propelled howitzers, eight marching bands, 24 horses, and two mules participating in the parade.\u00a0Once\u00a0other costs<\/a>\u00a0are factored in, the expenses are likely to be much higher.<\/p>\n

Our last military parade was to celebrate our victory in Iraq in 1991.\u00a0I personally \u2014 and every other American, save one \u2014 could do without a parade in a time when government is so strapped for cash.\u00a0Let\u2019s see if some outfit \u2014 let\u2019s call it \u201cDOGE\u201d \u2014 can find $25 million to $45 million (plus) to save in a heartbeat, without sacrificing lives overseas or medical insurance at home.<\/p>\n

Same deal with sending the Marines to Los Angeles.\u00a0Whether or not you believe the governor and mayor, who are elected officials and thus perhaps not trustworthy, the local police chief says that there\u2019s no need to call in the Marines to control the demonstrations in Los Angeles.\u00a0If there were a need for police help, you\u2019d think you\u2019d get an honest opinion there.\u00a0So there\u2019s no need for military help, and sending in the Marines for an estimated 60 days will cost\u00a0$134 million<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Where\u2019s Musk when you need him?\u00a0The average fully loaded cost of hiring one federal government employee is just under\u00a0$157,000<\/a>\u00a0per year.\u00a0(This includes salary of just over $100,000 plus insurance and other benefits.) Divide $134 million by $157,000, and you could hire 853 federal government employees for a year for the cost of an unnecessary military deployment.<\/p>\n

Multiply that times other unnecessary military deployments that you\u2019ll see in the coming months and soon you\u2019re talking real savings.<\/p>\n

How about Donald Trump\u2019s almost weekly golfing excursions to Mar-a-Lago?\u00a0They run the government \u2014 that\u2019s you and me \u2014 about\u00a0$800,000<\/a>\u00a0per trip.\u00a0How about staying at the White House for a couple of weekends?\u00a0That\u2019d save you the entire $800,000 \u2014 five federal employees \u2014 per trip.\u00a0Or golf at Camp David, which apparently has a single adjustable hole with\u00a0four different tees<\/a>\u00a0that permit different driving distances, along with a driving range?\u00a0The Secret Service wouldn\u2019t spend any 800 grand each weekend to protect Camp David, which is already a secure location.\u00a0Or golf at your own resort in Bedford, New Jersey.\u00a0That ain\u2019t free, but at least it\u2019s a shorter flight.<\/p>\n

But no.<\/p>\n

For you and me, it\u2019s austerity.\u00a0We can\u2019t spend a dime.<\/p>\n

But for political showboating and presidential golf, there\u2019s plenty of money for everything.<\/p>\n

Pass the frigging shrimp.<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[email\u00a0protected]<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t take hypocrites lightly. When I worked at a law firm, I was always annoyed, for example, when the firm had no money for business development for the plebian partners but somehow always found money for exotic locales, five-star hotels, and $100-a-bottle wines when the Management Committee was meeting. The same thing happens at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":123045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-165790475-1snTlC-scaled.jpeg?fit=2557%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}