For most people who rely on grants, they have noticed that the pot is pretty much empty when it comes to organizations and the government handing out money. Grants are typically given to artists, businesses, people who are dealing with financial issues, and a range of start-ups. Of course, there's no sort of legal obligation that says anyone is entitled to grants; however, America has had a wide range of grant programs for the past couple of decades. Since COVID in 2020, most grant programs have either dried up entirely or have become so selective that the grant program itself is accused of discriminatory practices. A Rotary Club in Houston, Texas hopes to get back in the giving spirit this holiday season, and they're holding an auction in order to fund fine arts grants.

The Friendswood ISD Education Foundation has decided that they're going to give whatever they can in order to help promote the education of arts throughout the area, by working with the Rotary Club. When organizations like this reach out to the state to ask about possible funding, the state always comes back with the same answer: There is no money. The CARES Act money is just gone, and so Friendswood ISD has to come up with their own plan to gain funding for grant programs. The Rotary Club is planning on holding an online auction, selling off various pieces of artwork. The goal is small, but the Rotary Club believes that this just means the goal is achievable. They want to spend $5,000 on grants.

It seems like a really sad day in America when the government cannot use money it takes from citizens to hand out a measly $5,000 in grants to those people, but this is where America has been for going on two years. With record inflation causing high prices for food, fuel, rent and every other sort of expense, state governments are simply tapped out. They're busy funding food programs and offering rent and utility assistance. Most of these programs are entirely underfunded, and this means that the government just doesn't have the money available to fund things like art grants. So, it falls to organizations like the Rotary Club to build its own grants.

In many ways, this is a good thing. This is a community that's coming together in order to fund important grants, and one of the biggest benefits of funding the program through an online auction is that it could very well exceed all expectations. All it takes is one wealthy benefactor to purchase something for a high price, and the Rotary Club will have more than enough to fund their grant, and possibly even create more.

The auction will feature 36 original pieces of art, most of which come from local artists in the area. The goal is set for $3,600, or $100 per piece, but the auction could always end up making a lot more.
 

The Disappearing Money That No One Seeks to Find

In Congress right now, there's a fight going on about whether or not to spend another $1.7 trillion via an omnibus bill. This isn't a budget bill, nor is it some sort of essential infrastructure bill. It's really a spur of the moment bill that politicians have decided to print out, 4,000 pages worth of spending, and none of it seems to be aimed at funding grant programs. There's another fortune in there to pass over to Ukraine, along with over a billion dollars to be spent on online speech control. Though as far as spending on things like fine art programs, or even further spending for people's utility bills this winter, you won't find a single dollar allocated to such things. Even people who've long been a fan of the federal government have really started to get angry at how they conduct themselves in Washington.

This $1.7 trillion worth of spending is following up over $2 trillion, which followed up over $3 trillion. Not only does this require the Fed to print more money to put into circulation and raise inflation even more, but it's also money that ends up unaccounted for. Hundreds of billions of dollars are left unaccounted for from the previous spending bills pushed through Congress and signed by both former President Trump and President Biden. This isn't a right or left thing; this is a federal government thing. The money just seems to vanish. No one knows where it goes.

People just know where it doesn't go. None of this money ever seems to go toward helpful grants.