By Renee Scheidt

It’s a known fact that when investigating possible wrongdoings, one should “follow the money.” Discovering who funded a particular action leads to identifying those behind the crime or abuse. It may come as no surprise to some people, but recently it has been revealed that our government has betrayed us in how they spend our tax dollars. Through the work of DOGE, we’ve discovered that the government has funded activities that are against the best interests of our country. Both parties, Republicans and Democrats are guilty. Money has been allocated to certain agencies with very little oversight of its spending. It is shocking to learn the extent to which they foolishly threw away our money as if it were nothing but trash. If we had only known! Now, at last, Elon Musk has let the cat out of the bag. And as they say, “It ain’t pretty.” His audit has brought appalling revelations showing how carelessly our hard-earned tax dollars were discarded.

“Spending Porn” is what one Senator has called this irresponsible funding. When I saw the list of projects these Washington bureaucrats approved, I questioned if they had any common sense. US AID was the first agency to be audited. It has tossed its $40 billion budget around the world to support such ridiculous projects as electric vehicles in Vietnam, a transgender clinic in India, Sesame Street in Iraq and sex changes in Guatemala. It gave foreign aid to Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria, all countries run by terrorist groups who hate the USA.

These items are just the tip of the iceberg. Should these things take priority over the needs of our people, especially when citizens in WNC and California are still in dire straits? This is a perfect example of putting America last. To make matters worse, there are at least 15 other groups to be audited! I cringe to think what else will be disclosed as DOGE dives into the books of these agencies.

To my astonishment, Democrat leaders are crying like a baby whose pacifier was taken away. Nineteen attorney generals have filed lawsuits to stop this investigation, including North Carolina’s Jeff Jackson. I fail to understand how anyone, regardless of political party, opposes waste and fraud being removed from our bloated government. Have they forgotten that America is broke? Our nation is headed for bankruptcy. As of Feb. 20, the national debt was $36.22 trillion. This is the largest external debt of any nation in the world.

There’s plenty of room for finger-pointing at every president since FDR. when it comes to our national debt. Only Bill Clinton, with Newt Gingrich as speaker of the House, produced a balanced budget. The reality is that unless spending is drastically cut and income increased, our country is headed for economic disaster. Our politicians seem to think they can keep printing money, and giving it away to projects that have nothing to do with getting our financial house in order. It’s past time they realized there is no money tree in the backyard.

Every day, Americans who get up and go to work, trying to support their families, have to keep account of their personal finances. We expect our government to do the same. We don’t want to support LGBTQ projects in Serbia. Democrats protesting the work DOGE is doing must realize it’s impossible to know where money is being spent without following the money. Since people who have nothing to hide hide nothing, what are they afraid might be found?

President Trump campaigned on this issue. The 77.3 million people who voted for him are thankful he is keeping his promise. Democrats should quit screaming and get on board with the election results. No longer can they keep kicking the can down the road. A proper accounting of how our money is being spent must be done. Following the money is the only way to get out of the mess we’re in. The well-being of our country is too important to resist the needed work that will bring order to our financial chaos.

Renee Scheidt lives in Salisbury.