Government spending projects often sound great when legislators are focused on passing their authorization bills and finding the appropriations in the fine print of the US Code. But as soon as the signature ink dries, the same officials move onto the next "grand" plan of governing America. Seldom do they consider the far reaching implications of the grey zone between tasking and mission accomplished – an area where the costs really rack up the taxpayer's tab.
Veronique de Rugy, Contributing Editor of Reason Magazine, took beginning and ending price tags of various government projects:
