Stop Wasting My Money

Nearly every time we have a wealthy celebrity on, Stuart asks the same question, "How do you feel about paying 50% of your income in taxes?"

The answer is usually some combination of "I hate it" and "I know I have to."

What they don't say is, "I wouldn't care as much, if the money weren't wasted."

We brought you the story about wasted money in state unemployment programs -- $19,000,000,000 worth. Payments made to people who had gone back to work or otherwise were not deserving of that money. That amounted to more than 10% of all the money paid out by states over the 3-year period ended in June. These are not biased numbers; they're from the Labor Department.

This comes at a time when we are being told we need to pay more in taxes. More is needed for food stamps. Unemployment need to be extended beyond 99 weeks. More, more, more. Too much is never enough.

And those who protest, those who say "we already give you enough" are branded as greedy, insensitive to the needs of the poor, or as racists who hate the President.

Government waste like this supports the argument our guests frequently make: get the government out of the way and let private citizens and private businesses take care of it. When a company wastes $19 billion the culprit gets fired. When the government does it, the culprit gets re-elected.

I drive from my home in New Jersey every single day to Fox News headquarters in Manhattan. I have to cross the George Washington Bridge. I come in before 6am, I use E-Z Pass and my toll is still $6 a day. That is going up to $7.50 next week. If you want to pay cash, and drive during peak hours it will cost you $8 now, $12 on Monday and $15 in a few years. I could live with that (I'd still complain, but I could live with it) if in return for my money I got a smooth, well-operated bridge. Instead, I get a frequently-congested bridge that is often under construction.

Isn't that the point? Not only can we not expect government to do things efficiently, we have to pay through the nose for these wasteful projects.

So to all those in Washington who say they need more of my money, stop wasting what I already give you!