The Reddit byline read: “The Pentagon Blew $22 Million of Taxpayer Money on Lobster Tail Last Year”. Understandably, it also made the rounds on Twitter to a lot of people hating on it. I get that. Sounds like a helluva lot of cash for what most consider a next level dining experience. I would only add, it was over a year’s time.



Talking About the Budget

Understanding government budgets starts with defining the fiscal year. October 1st one year to September 30 of the next one is a FISCAL YEAR. The Presidential Budget is based on the fiscal year.



“Where’s the money, Congress?”

The source article that prompted this comments and discussion, appears to be from “The Pentagon Blew $22 Million of Taxpayer Money on Lobster Tail Last Year. No surprise at some point the article comes to analyzing expenses and waste during the month of September. OK. In your mind you may be thinking, “So? What’s your point?”

September every year the Department of Defense has to spend the entire balance of their annual budget so Congress will provide them their “full budget” for the next Fiscal year. In determining the new budget, any amount from the previous year that is remaining or “unspent” is CUT .

Real Life

Personally, I can’t name one service member I served with over 28 years that thought the whole exercise in September wasn’t a grand waste of money. Sadly, we couldn’t fly during the last part of September most years. Generally it was for a week or sometimes longer. Reason? Our flying money budget was all used up.



Because the budgeted money for that one line item was all spent, people couldn’t get training. On the other hand, there is surplus money that we “have to spend” from another budgeted item. On this line item, the services were frugal in spending. So, when September comes, we were in office supply catalogs, shopping online.

What things are we looking for? Replacement tools like powered brooms to clean aircraft taxiing areas of foreign objects. A foreign object ingested by a jet aircraft engine can completely destroy it. To replace a ruined engine, the cost is $3 Million. Plus the cost of time needed to remove and its down time. Sound legit?

Focus on Slush Fund Instead

However, the cold fact remains in September every year, the military services HAVE TO SPEND the balance of their budget. So doing any budget analysis without having this information is like shooting fish in a barrel. It is “Easy pickins” to make the DOD and military branches look despicably wasteful with taxpayer money. As opposed to focusing on Congress, who until recently, for 17 years budgeted $1 Million each year to a fund for paying off harassment claims, that rolled the balance to the next year.

One Last Note

Supported claims show money is spent but without details. The questions are: Where? When? Who consumed the items? Food items have shelf lives. They are able to easily be stored for a later date with a specific reason. The article also mentioned a specific leather chair, commercial grade Foosball tables, golf carts, pianos, tubas, trombones, and a variety of steaks.

People reading and commenting on the article are speculating that the money was “wasted”. Instead, I’d offer that perhaps some of these items could have been replacement items. It is possible they are long overdue to replace unusable musical instruments . A leather chair, for an executive from its description may have gone to the Pentagon for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, possibly. I don’t know that for a fact. Also, funds for items listed may have gone to serve service members for morale, welfare, and recreation needs.

Two Things Congress Should Look Into



First, why do the DOD branches have to spend all their budget every fiscal year? Why isn’t it possible to save a portion of the budget to finance future weapon system development? That suggestion could spare all the budget shuffle with defense acquisition weapon development funding. Saving us big cash particularly in September!

All across America, hardworking taxpayers balance their household budgets, find ways to do more with less, and still manage to save for the future.



Washington should treat their tax dollars the same way. President Trump's 2020 Budget will do just that. https://t.co/Q3JZIZ190j — The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 11, 2019 Archive.is

Second, I know where government gets its money – OUR WALLETS. What I don’t know is where it all goes. That should be our focus for developing a better budget. Taxpayer households know what money they have coming into their pocketbook and where it’s going. Congress, as keepers of the government “purse”, I ask you, “Where is the money, Congress?”

