CAGW Releases December WasteWatcher

A Monthly Dispatch From Citizens Against Government Waste

No Last-Minute Delivery on Postal Reform
By Leslie K. Paige

The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced on November 15, 2012 that in fiscal year (FY) 2012, which ended on September 30, the agency lost a record $15.9 billion. In June, 2012 at a PostalVision 2020 conference in Washington, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe flatly stated that if the USPS management team was not soon allowed to address its multiple structural deficiencies, its long-term fiscal outlook would most resemble the strife-ridden country of Greece …

Defense Waste: The Final Frontier
By Sean Kennedy

As the country careens toward the automatic year-end program cuts and expiration of tax breaks labeled “the fiscal cliff,” Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has been on the offensive, releasing reports in consecutive months highlighting wasteful spending in government …

Wireless Taxes Continue Upward Trend
By Deborah Collier

Wireless communications adoption has grown from 48.7 million subscribers in 1997 to 321.7 million subscribers in 2012. While the number of wireless consumers is on the rise, and a greater number are choosing to “cut the cord” on their landline connections, the state and local tax burden has also skyrocketed …

Identity Fraud Hits Taxpayers in the Wallet
By Luke Gelber

For many years, it has been clear that identity theft is a grave threat to the fiscal sovereignty of millions of Americans. For its victims, many of whom are saddled with the new and unwelcome full-time job of battling fraudulent credit card charges and mounting debt, normal life can seem a long way off …

Two Different Worlds: Public vs. Private Sector Compensation
By PJ Austin

Despite the popular belief that federal employees are underpaid public servants, the data tells a very different story. When all of the factors that affect compensation are accounted for, there is significant evidence that federal employees make considerably more than their private sector counterparts …

More Oversight Needed for Our Veterans
By Tom Miller

On January 24, 2011, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a report detailing the improper benefits given to disabled veterans …

Abolishing a Free and Open Internet: the Fight is Just Beginning
By Deborah Collier

From December 3 through December 14, the U.N. International Telecommunications Union will be convening the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) to review proposals to the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR) …

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.