$250,000 Toilets And Other Government Money Flushes

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Wichita City lawmakers voted to install two portable toilets at a cost of $500,000. Called the “Portland Loos,” the cost has rightfully sparked outrage, especially with one Republican councilman, Dalton Glasscock.

Glasscock appeared on the Todd Starnes Podcast and voiced his anger.

“This is ludicrous spending from the left. These are the policies that get people pissed off. I’m mad because this is not how government should be spending money.”

On the company’s website, the toilets are described as:

“The sleek and modern kiosk discourages crime with graffiti-proof wall panels and open grating that allows you to see if and how many people are inside.”

“The coating on the steel wall panels makes it simple to clean with a hose, and all plumbing and building components are common and easy to replace or upgrade.”

“It can be delivered on-site as a complete enclosure and requires minimal utilities that can operate on solar power or low-level volt power.”

They left out the expensive part. Especially when, as Glasscock pointed out, the average home in Wichita costs around $197,000.

“It’s incomprehensible. There’s no line of logic. Voters saw the overspending at the federal, state, and local levels, and they rejected it. Voters have woken up. They’re tired of these policies, and they’re tired of liberal policies destroying this country.”

Inspired by Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, Glasscock is seeking the help of local citizens to locate and expose wasteful spending.

“This group will review the budget line by line, along with our ordinances and regulations, to identify areas where we can save and reduce unnecessary burdens on personal freedoms.”

As we all know, it’s not just local governments that make poor money decisions, which is why Trump has decided to create the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

This week, they posted a video on the DOGE X account of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) revealing some of the ridiculous spending he has included in his annual “Festivus” report.

One study spent $100,000 of taxpayer money determining if gin or tequila makes sunfish more aggressive. Another astounding example is that the US government spent nearly $1 million on a study to determine whether cocaine causes Japanese quail to be more “sexually promiscuous.”

The government also spent $750,000 to determine if astronaut Neil Armstrong’s famous line was “One small step for man” or “One small step for a man.” By the way, after spending all that money on one letter, the study was inconclusive.

Paul explained that the government spent $2 million on the “construction of a kelp and shellfish nursery in Maine. It also spent $1.5 million to encourage video gaming in New York. We might be better off spending $1.5 million to discourage kids from playing video games, $388,000 for Columbia University, $249,000 for the Baltimore Symphony, give money to all the symphonies.”

In a Sunday Morning appearance on Sunday Morning Futures, Ramaswamy explained the basis for DOGE.

“Over the last 40 years, even conservatives, we’ve talked a big game for 40 years about cutting the federal government, about reducing the scope of the federal government. Politicians haven’t been able to do it. And so, Elon and I, we’re not politicians. We’re businessmen. We’re coming at it from the outside.”

“Sometimes, if you go inside, you become native to the system.” He then commended Donald Trump for “setting this up for success.”

He then explained the strategy they want to initiate to establish the program.

“In the early months, score quick wins through executive action, show what can be done, and then I think we’ll lay the groundwork for Congress to take meaningful steps for the future.”

During his appearance on the show, Ramaswamy emphasized that the federal government currently has significant waste, fraud, and abuse.

“Federal contractors are really exploiting the federal government. You could take haircuts across the board, and they would be no worse off for it. He then added that DOGE plans to make “massive reductions” at some federal agencies, and others will be “deleted outright.”

“We expect massive cuts of all federal contractors and others who are overbilling the federal government. So, yes, we expect all of the above.”

As an example of how long this has been going on, I can remember stories in the 1970s of the government paying $10,000 for toilet seats and hundreds of dollars for screwdrivers. They simply don’t oversee the money that is being spent. Even worse, in many cases, they simply spend recklessly because if they don’t, they won't get the same budget the next year. In other words, If they don’t spend it, they lose it, so if they overspend, they don’t care.

Trump is already making smart moves that will benefit American taxpayers. These moves won’t be popular in the swamp, but they are definitely necessary.

Milt spent thirty years as a sales and operations manager for an international manufacturing company. He is also a four-time published author on a variety of subjects. Now, he spends most of his time researching and writing about conservative politics and liberal folly.