The biggest waste of money that I can see is the War on Drugs. So far, between federal and state spending, the U.S. spends an average of $51,000,000,000 per year on the War on Drugs. Though this is a substantial sum in and of itself, just think of the costs as they add up year over year. It has been waging for 30, and while it may not always have had such a high price tag, that still is a dramatic amount of money.

The war on drugs is not just expensive in money, either. It is costing us lives. There are over 1.6 million arrests expected this year, due to drug related offenses. That is about 13% of total arrests, and the rate Is one arrest every 19 seconds. Of those, about half, depending on the year, are Cannabis-related, and of those, nearly 90% are possession only. The number of people incarcerated every year has been growing an average of more than 40,000 per year, and about a quarter of those incarcerated were sentenced for drug related offenses. Black men are incarcerated at 6 times the rate of white men, hispanic men are incarcerated at twice the rate, and black females are Incarcerated at twice the rate of white females, and hispanic females at three times the rate of white females. When cross referencing racial information, one finds that, though drug use is similar across all demographics, black people, who make up about 13% of the population, represent 30% of those incarcerated for drug violations, and hispanics, who make up about 17% of the population, comprise 20% of those incarcerated for drug offenses. So this isn't just a War on drugs, it is a War on People, and particularly People of Color. Especially given that jail hasn't really been an effective deterrent from future crimes, even those related to drug violations.

President Obama just a couple of days ago, spoke about the drug problem in America, and said that the War on Drugs has focused too heavily on supply, and has not given proper attention to prevention and addiction. While we may not know whether that war would be any less expensive, I believe it would prevent a lot of unnecessary incarceration, and would help improve people's lives.