The Rail Subsidy That Could
by: David Williams

In the children's story, "The Little Engine That Could" a small train engine persevered to pull a train over a steep mountain even with the odds stacked against it. It appears that Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is twisting the lessons of that book into a rail subsidy that could be one of the biggest taxpayer rip-offs, ever. He helped to secure a $2.3 billion loan from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to expand and improve the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern Railroad (DM&E), which is used primarily to transport coal from Wyoming to Minnesota.

Newark Mayor Takes Taxpayers for a Ride
by: Katherine Walkenhorst

With a salary of $186,000, one would think that the mayor of Newark would have no need for taxpayers to pay for his vacations. Think again. Even though former mayor Sharpe James had an annual travel expense budget of $25,000, he is currently under investigation for adding $150,000 for numerous expenses and exotic vacations. The globe-trotting has been chronicled by The Star-Ledger of Newark.