Amanda Aronchik

They were very proud of their $6 hammer awards. And, you know, they did many, many rounds of reviews and cuts over many, many years. They cut jobs, they cut whole offices, and they got...

Right, obviously. This is basically the start of our relationship with tea. Okay. Wait, these were tea tasters? Yeah, they were tea tasters. Like a real little agency with paid government employees under the Food and Drug Administration who met every year in a converted Navy warehouse in Brooklyn to sample the tea that was being imported into the U.S. So refined. Right?

Right, obviously. This is basically the start of our relationship with tea. Okay. Wait, these were tea tasters? Yeah, they were tea tasters. Like a real little agency with paid government employees under the Food and Drug Administration who met every year in a converted Navy warehouse in Brooklyn to sample the tea that was being imported into the U.S. So refined. Right?

Right, obviously. This is basically the start of our relationship with tea. Okay. Wait, these were tea tasters? Yeah, they were tea tasters. Like a real little agency with paid government employees under the Food and Drug Administration who met every year in a converted Navy warehouse in Brooklyn to sample the tea that was being imported into the U.S. So refined. Right?

The board was technically a remnant from the 1890s when there were these... concerns about tea exporters sending the U.S.

The board was technically a remnant from the 1890s when there were these... concerns about tea exporters sending the U.S.

The board was technically a remnant from the 1890s when there were these... concerns about tea exporters sending the U.S.

There were also subsidies that Elaine says were costing taxpayers money that they also got rid of, like the wool and mohair subsidy.

There were also subsidies that Elaine says were costing taxpayers money that they also got rid of, like the wool and mohair subsidy.

There were also subsidies that Elaine says were costing taxpayers money that they also got rid of, like the wool and mohair subsidy.

It was like to boost domestic production of wool, basically?

It was like to boost domestic production of wool, basically?

It was like to boost domestic production of wool, basically?

Like it doesn't just go away, right?

Like it doesn't just go away, right?

Like it doesn't just go away, right?

The Wyoming farmers, I'm sure, pushed back. Right. This wool and mohair thing is actually really indicative of how difficult it is to undo things in the federal government. Even a really small, not that beneficial anymore subsidy.

The Wyoming farmers, I'm sure, pushed back. Right. This wool and mohair thing is actually really indicative of how difficult it is to undo things in the federal government. Even a really small, not that beneficial anymore subsidy.

The Wyoming farmers, I'm sure, pushed back. Right. This wool and mohair thing is actually really indicative of how difficult it is to undo things in the federal government. Even a really small, not that beneficial anymore subsidy.

When they wanted to overhaul the way the government bought hammers or planes that the military uses to move other planes, they passed a procurement bill through Congress. When they undid the tea tasters and the wool law, Elaine says, they needed bipartisan support. Congress voted on those things.