The WasteWatcher
The WasteWatcherHow to Build A Bigger Boondoggle
The media has settled on a politically palatable historical metaphor for the new Obama administration and it is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Time made it official when it put a photo of Barack Obama as FDR on its cover for its November 24, 2008 issue...
The WasteWatcherCongressional Oversight Needs Improvement
The House and Senate convened for the 111th Congress facing a record budget deficit and are currently considering a massive “stimulus” spending package. Now, more than ever, increased oversight of federal programs is essential to ensure that...
The WasteWatcherMassive Expansion of SCHIP
Congress is poised to pass a massive expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Originally, SCHIP was designed to help low-income families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid gain access to health insurance for their...
The WasteWatcherStimulus Turns Federal Funding Spigot Into a Raging Firehose
With our nation’s faltering economy, businesses, communities, and families are undoubtedly suffering. However, they will not receive relief in the near future from the Democrat’s new federal fiscal stimulus proposal. According to a stimulus...
The WasteWatcherUSDA Makes $49 Million in Payments to Ineligible Individuals
In October, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report titled “Federal Farm Programs: USDA Needs to Strengthen Controls to Prevent Payments to Individuals Who Exceed Income Eligibility Limits.” The report was requested by Senator...
The WasteWatcherThe Mayors’ Stocking Stuffers
In anticipation of the rapid passage of a $1 trillion stimulus package as soon as President-elect Obama and the new Congress take office in January, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released its wish-list of what it called “shovel-ready” projects that...
The WasteWatcherCAGW’s Project: Privacy
Project: Privacy was created in 2008 and is affiliated with Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW). CAGW’s Project: Privacy will examine government’s role in ensuring that every person’s information is protected and help citizens manage their...
The WasteWatcherTroubles With TARP
Barely sixty days after its establishment, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is itself, well, in big trouble.
The WasteWatcherFat Corporate Welfare Payouts
On November 4, 2008 Barack Obama won the battle for the Presidency. On January 20, 2008, he will face many difficult challenges. The national economic and financial crisis will place a heavy burden on the federal government. With a $1 trillion...
The WasteWatcherThe "Not-So-Big Three" Beg for a Bailout
The so-called “Big Three” domestic automakers, General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford have kicked into overdrive to lobby Congress to salvage what is left of their business operations using taxpayer funds. General Motors, which has entered negative...
The WasteWatcherThe 111th Congress: House of Card Check
Ironically, as Congress debates a bailout for the auto industry partly as a result of its massive, union-stimulated legacy costs, there are widespread expectations that Congress and the Obama administration will quickly try to push though the so-...
The WasteWatcherRAC-king Up Medicare Savings
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its most recent analysis of improper payments in the Medicare program on November 17, 2008. The good news is that vigorous cost recovery programs have helped whittle the percentage of...
