COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Many know the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracks Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. Few know how much it costs the American taxpayer.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) puts the cost of tracking Santa at $231 billion this year, a ten percent increase from 2012.

The costs began to accrue in the planning stages. Due to Pentagon rules, a large scale publicity stunt needs to be supervised by several generals. Six Lieutenant Generals were honorarily promoted, four from the Air Force and two from the Army. Their promotion ceremonies alone cost $88 billion.

The generals said they wouldn’t be able to work without a separate office suite for themselves and their staff. It cost $8 billion to make a 1500 square foot office in the interior of a mountain. At one point the workers hit a magma vein and eight were burned alive. Due to already ballooning costs, their survivors were not paid benefits.

After creating the office the generals demanded multiple…