Recent events make it clear that we have lost our way. Our societal values are proven less by what we say and more by how we allocate our money. “Fraud, waste and abuse” in career government pales in comparison to wasteful decision making by politicians, due to a lack of or dishonest public debate of issues.

The start of 2025 saw tremendous passion spent to root out “fraud, waste and abuse” in government. One can argue the success or failure of DOGE but at the end of the day government spending was still higher at the end of 2025 than the year before. Government career civil servants were not the problem.

Deficient political decision making is responsible for vastly more waste. We removed the Taliban from Afghanistan, spent $3.4 trillion over 20 years, only to turn the country back over to the Taliban. Similar gross waste occurred in an ill-advised Iraq war. Now we are spending $1 billion per day in Iran — after we “obliterated” its nuclear capabilities in June 2025 — with no clear objective. In September alone, the Pentagon spent $93 billion partially to ensure it did not leave any “allocated budget money” unspent. This Department of Defense spending included a $100,000 Steinway piano, lobster tails and ribeye steaks, among other items.

We need to seriously evaluate the politicians who are running for reelection this year. “Years of experience” in office appears to beget costly inertia, which is keeping us from addressing our social problems at home. Money is not our biggest hurdle!

Jeff Gardner
Cumberland