Episode 55: Taxpayer Waste Under Trump: Billions Lost to Vanity, Grift, and Mismanagement

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Eight months into Trump’s second term, the price tag of taxpayer waste is already staggering. From a $200M White House ballroom to $21.7B lost through mass layoffs at the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump has turned public service into a personal profit center. Grift, canceled programs, dismantled oversight, and self-dealing are draining billions with little to no benefit for the American people. What does this mean for classrooms, hospitals, and communities left behind?

Key Takeaways To Listen For

• Defining taxpayer waste: What qualifies, what doesn’t, and why it matters
• Vanity projects: $200M ballroom, $30–45M parade, $23M+ in Mar-a-Lago trips, $380K ICE “recruitment cars”
• DOGE’s “Deferred Resignation Program” that wasted $21.7B in just six months
• Trump properties pocketing millions from the Secret Service, foreign governments, and lobbyists
• Policy-induced costs: Tariff bailouts and Guard deployments burning through billions
• Dismantled oversight risking $93B in annual taxpayer savings once recovered by inspectors general
• How canceled education, health, and VA programs translate into lives, services, and futures lost

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Bella Goode is a pseudonym — but the voice, research, and mission are all real. A Republican turned Democrat advocate in 2016, I was raised by middle class parents in Pennsylvania. I’m a former marketing executive, entrepreneur, and lifelong learner with an MBA from Wharton and a Master’s in Psychology from Penn. I spent decades telling stories in the business world; now I use those skills to connect the dots in American politics.

I’m here because the truth matters — and because the stakes have never been higher. Surviving Trump isn’t lighthearted. It’s clarity, evidence, and a fight for the future of our democracy.

Follow my blog on Substack bellagoodepodcast.substack.com