Speak of wasteful government spending ...

According to this GAO report, last year's delay in raising the Federal debt limit, by reason of Congressional brinkmanship, "led to an increase in the Treasury's borrowing costs of $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2011," and will continue to cost us money in the future.

This was not even a transfer (to the U.S. and foreign investors who would have been paid less interest otherwise) - it was purely waste, since the investors were merely being compensated for uncertainty about whether and when they'd be paid.