7/28/2013 newsmax.com: Treasury Secretary Jack Lew: "We still have a gap in terms of the amount of revenue we need to make sure we support all the things that we do in this country," Lew said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

OK Secretary Lew. Let's take a look at some of "the things that we do in this country" with the money we give the U.S. government.

    $431,363:    Stimulus Project Concludes 'Gay Fathers' Have Less Time for Sex
    $880,000:    Feds Fund to Study Benefits of Snail Sex
    $402,721:    Feds Spend on Underwear That Senses Cigarette Smoke
    $355,825:    U.S. Taxpayers Spend to Reduce Stigmatization of India's Transgenders
    $3M:           To Study Health Risks of Dating Mexican Prostitutes
    $2M:           Grant to Improve Labor Laws in Georgia...The Republic, Not the State

That totals $7,069,909.

Could $7M have been better spent?

Consider first:    Positions in skilled trades, such as welders and electricians, lead ManpowerGroup's list of the hardest jobs to fill in 2012.

Then consider:   Average median salary for a certified electrician: $23.20 hourly. $48,250 annually.
                        Average median salary for a certified welder: $18.46 hourly. $38,410 annually.

Now consider, instead of the above asanine expenditures:
                        Identify disadvantaged intercity youths that through all their adversity are graduating high school.
                        Offer grants to train and certify those that express an interest in becoming electricians and welders.
                        At an average cost of about $15,000 each, 466 men and women could have been trained and certified in these trades.
466 men and women that could otherwise be considered "at risk" would have be given a legimate opportunity at the so-called middle class American dream.

When government stops wasting money I'll consider its plea for more.

August, 2013