Sign Flashers in Santa Barbara

By Brent E. Zepke, Esq.

The enthusiasm of those lining the curbs at the corner of Hitchcock and State Streets in Santa Barbara flashing signs at passing vehicles was impressive.

Watching them I wondered “What are the messages these ‘sign flashers’ are trying to convey with placards such as ‘Fund USAID’?

USAID?

USAID, which stands for the United States Aid for International Development, was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 through Executive Order 10973, following congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, to use economic development to fight poverty, foster global stability, and counter Soviet influence during the Cold War.

In 1980, the Office of Inspector General was established to ensure that the expenditures were consistent with the purpose of the USAID.

USAID expenditures

In 2019 during the Trump presidency the USAID expenditures were $14.7 billion. In 2023 while the taxpayers of the U.S. were struggling through COVID, the Democrat congress and the Biden presidency increased funds for USAID to $37.45 billion.

Did the sign flashers not protest the increased expenditures in 2023 while Santa Barbarians were suffering from COVID because that was not done by President Trump?

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) that provided “no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio took charge of the USAID functions and froze all foreign-aid funding while the government carried out a “review of all foreign assistance programs to ensure they are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.”

Just 24 days later, on February 13, 2025, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, appointed by President Biden, ordered the government to release payments for work completed by contractors and grantees.

In March 2025, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to require the payment of roughly $2 billion for already completed work.

The potential payment for work not yet begun was paused while the State Department reviewed them.

On June 13, 2025, Californians paid for their Attorney General Rob Bonta to file an amicus brief supporting a challenge to the administration’s freeze of federal USAID funding.

Were the sign flashers protesting the freezing of taxpayer dollars until it was determined that it was spent for the intended purposes?

The Department of Government Efficiency

During the summer of 2025, the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reviewed the projects and eliminated $14.3 billion in bogus USAID contracts and also cut roughly 10,000–16,000 direct employees (plus hundreds of thousands of contractors and local staff overseas).

The remaining 300 staff were transferred to the State Department where Secretary Rubio ensured that it was more efficiently administered by existing employees in regional offices and embassies who, by being closer to the intended beneficiaries, could ensure the aide was properly distributed.

Were the sign flashers protesting the reductions in administrators stationed in D.C. and foreign countries?

The New York Times article “A Year After U.S.A.I.D.’s Death, Fired Workers Find Few Jobs and Much Loss“ bemoaned the “struggles” of the workers laid-off after the DOGE review.

However, to quote a line from Raiders of the Lost Ark, “They chose poorly” as for example, Ms. Cowan, 57, was making $272,000 a year as a senior vice president at a USAID-funded nonprofit when she was let go at the end of March 2025. An indication of her market value is that last month she had an online interview for a $19-an-hour job managing a Penzeys Spices store near her home in Falls Church, Virginia.

Their readers responded “$272k for a job at a non-profit, paid for by the US taxpayer and she cannot find adequate employment elsewhere?”

“Which is yet another perfect example for why USAID was shut down. The average salary in the U.S. is $63,000….”

Ms. Cowans job and compensation illustrates the problem that also exists in Santa Barbara. When nonprofits are funded to administer the programs there are no effective controls ensuring that the money is spent fighting poverty, fostering global stability, and/or countering Soviet influence during the Cold War (which ended in 1991)?

In September, 2025, the Supreme Court overturned Judge Amir Ali’s requiring the administration to spend an additional $4 billion in 2025. Of course Justices Justice Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson voted to spend the taxpayer dollars.

Conclusion

The sign flashers in Santa Barbara, and elsewhere, may have delivered a powerful message although perhaps not the one they intended.

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