That part that frustrates me is this is just one example of spending for no reason, so how many others like it are also out there?
Yes, that is true. I just felt like this article hyped this one specific case as the financial ruin of all Americans, whereas I don't particularly care if a few cents of my taxes were spent suboptimally.
I think the point is not that Adak gets this money wasted on them, but that this is endemic across the US. Adds up to way more than 340K.