Yes, we might be $23 trillion in debt, but don’t worry: The federal government is a very responsible steward of taxpayer money. The trusty folks in Washington, D.C., are running a tight ship, ensuring every taxpayer dollar is spent effectively for the common good.

Just kidding. That couldn't be further from the truth.

A new report from the libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul shows just how callous and wasteful the federal government is. On Monday, the Kentucky Republican released the latest version of his regular “Waste Report,” which has, in the past, exposed absurd government expenditures such as subsidized frog mating and taxpayer support for the Pakistani film industry.

The latest revelations are no less disturbing.

Once again, The Waste Report takes a closer look at just some of what the federal government is doing with the American people’s hard-earned money... https://t.co/A9wFAApdnl — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 25, 2019

According to Paul’s report , the federal government spent $700,000 in taxpayer dollars funding research about getting fish addicted to nicotine, $85,000 buying a statue from Bob Dylan, and $300,000 to fund debate and Model United Nations competitions in Afghanistan.

The U.S. government also wasted 16 million taxpayer dollars trying to improve education. This is a noble goal, but there's just one problem: The money was sent to Egypt. Another $33 million went to buying students in Afghanistan textbooks, while the government also deemed it necessary to allocate $22 million to improving the quality of Serbian cheese.

That's a lot of cheese.

Yes, seriously. These are only a few examples, but the total waste calculated in just this one report ran up to $230 million.

Anthony Bellotti, White Coat Waste Project president, said in a press release, “Between nicotine-addicted fish, coked-up quails, and as we recently exposed, junkie monkeys, Uncle Sam is clearly addicted to spending, and we’re all paying the price. Sen. Paul’s Waste Reports are one of the best ways taxpayers can learn about egregious government waste that’s ballooned the national debt to a historic $23 trillion.”

Egregious government waste, indeed.

Of course, critics will note that a few hundred million dollars are, compared to the massive federal budget, just a drop in the bucket. They’re not wrong — although what does that say about the god-awful size of our government? Yet Paul’s report isn’t identifying all the exhaustive examples and ways in which the government wastes our money, as that’s a task that would take a lifetime to fulfill. It’s merely highlighting a few prominent examples of woeful mismanagement, to remind us that the federal government is a terrible steward of taxpayer funds.

In a time when Democratic presidential candidates such as Sen. Bernie Sanders are saying that “billionaires shouldn’t exist” and pushing massive big-government programs, it’s an absolutely crucial message to remember. When Democrats advocate for higher taxes and more spending, what they’re really saying is that they think the government knows better than you how to spend your money best.

If this report shows us anything, it’s that the government only knows better than you if you want money wasted on Serbian cheese or nicotine-addicted fish.