In 1776, Scottish thinker Adam Smith wrote the book The Wealth of Nations to explain why countries grow rich.
The Waste of Nations is about the opposite – how countries waste money and become poor.
This waste is not accidental and it cannot all be laid at the door of individuals, political parties or interests. There are patterns, underlying mechanisms, that are well documented in economic research.
Competition of the most outrageous government waste
Make an entry and tell the world about how taxpayers’ money is wasted in your country.
Contest Entries
EU Corona Fund
The EU has set up a post-COVID fund. From a pot of EUR 750 billion, countries will be able to claim money for the “recovery” of their economies. Sweden is expected to contribute about SEK…
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A pink unicorn in Malmö
Vital core tax spending, at least for the City of Malmö: a six-metre tall sparkly pink unicorn on a rainbow plinth. The City of Malmö spent SEK 850,000 on the unicorn to decorate the city…
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Public sector headcount increased to 5.8 million in UK
New research from the TaxPayers’ Alliance UK has revealed there are now 426,000 more people working on the public payroll than in September 2018. For all the talk about reining in Whitehall and cutting back on…
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Brand building by government agencies
Government agencies are producing more and more advertising and marketing to promote themselves and tell us they are doing their jobs.
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Millions on luxury limos and top-end cars
Local authorities in UK splashed a grand total of £2,689,959 on luxury limos and top-end cars between 2019 and 2022 – primarily to ferry their mayors to ribbon-cutting ceremonies and photoshoots. It’s worth remembering some of these are the…
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The Stockholm education platform
The City of Stockholm, Sweden, decided to produce its own digital interface between parents and schools. The School Platform was launched in 2018, late and over budget. Although the platform had cost about SEK 1…
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