Should the Federal Government Spend $150 Million on the 250th Anniversary of America's Founding?

As we recently re-discovered when the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) went to work, bureaucrats haven't learned anything in 50 years.

The Cato Institute uncovered its own "Wastebook" of 100 projects that reached the level of "silly."

The National Institutes of Health’s grant-making is roundly criticized. NIH provided $533,000 to study the “effects of meditation," $387,000 to provide Swedish massages to rabbits, and $371,000 to study whether moms love dogs or their own children more.

How about $1.4 million to build a luxury hotel in Cary, N.C., when there are 50 hotels within 15 minutes of driving distance.

According to Reason.com, the Big, Beautiful Bill contained a line item authorizing the Interior Department to spend $150 million on "events, celebrations, and activities surrounding the observance and commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. "

Don't get me wrong. I love a good July 4th party as much as the next degenerate American. Bring me beer for my horses, a single malt for me, and plenty of homemade ice cream for the kids.

But I wouldn't ask my neighbor to pay for it. 

I might, however, ask the wealthiest guy in town to volunteer to pay for it. That's an entirely appropriate ask considering the momentous nature of the celebration and the undeniable fact that the Rich Guy was able to become wealthy because he lives in the richest, freest, most blessed, most wonderful, magical, and uncommonly best country in the whole, wide world. 

I would shame him into bankrolling my party.

Donald Trump is not only wealthy but also has a smartphone full of billionaire contacts who could, in a patriotic minute, come up with the $150 million for the semiquincentennial with little trouble.

Why is the U.S. taxpayer being asked to pony up for this?  

Commemorating America's 250th birthday has been a quiet priority of the second Trump administration. In January, the president signed an executive order that established the White House Task Force on Celebrating America's 250th Birthday. The task force, which is housed in the defense department, will coordinate with federal agencies "to plan, organize, and execute an extraordinary celebration of the 250th Anniversary of American Independence and shall coordinate agencies' communications with the United States Semiquincentennial Commission." (The White House has since launched a website that includes a countdown to next year's festivities.)

This order also reinstated two executive orders signed during the first Trump administration, which had been rescinded by President Joe Biden, to establish a National Garden of American Heroes. In April, the National Endowment for the Arts began accepting applications from sculptors for the garden, reports Reason's Joe Lancaster. However, the garden faces several roadblocks to its planned opening of July 4, 2026, including a lack of quality sculptures and a designated location. 

The $150 million for the 250th anniversary of America's independence celebration does not rise to the level of supplying funds to confirm your suspicions that your mom loved Rover more than you. And eliminating this project won't come close to balancing the budget.

This country will be forced to confront its fiscal irresponsibility in the next five to ten years (perhaps sooner). The path we are on now is so obviously unsustainable that no one is going to be surprised when the collapse comes. 

But a gesture like cancelling federal funding for the semiquincentennial (and the literally thousands of line items in the budget like it) might put us closer to being on the path to fiscal righteousness. 

It's not going to happen overnight. It took us 75 years to get into this mess, and it's probably going to take almost as long to get out of it. But we have to start somewhere.

Here and now sounds about right.