On election day, taxpayers turned out in droves to support fiscally conservative candidates that they entrusted with the responsibility of cutting the federal budget, reducing the size of the national debt, and returning Congress to the hands of the American people. Charged with these critical tasks, the 112th Congress has agreed to new rules and proposed debt-busting legislation in an effort to restore some semblance of fiscal sanity.
Does Obamacare Save or Cost Money?
The strange world of congressional budget scoring obscures whether Obamacare saves or costs money, but it also provides insight into why the federal government is in such a financial mess. Revenue and cost figures are thrown about in an attempt to justify each side’s position. Understanding the relevant facts provides a clearer picture of reality.
Obama’s SOTU, Yet Another Disappointment for Taxpayers
During a time of record annual budget deficits and public debt, the country, more than ever, needs solutions to its fiscal problems. Most taxpayers were expecting the President’s State of the Union speech to signal a major policy shift, away from rampant government spending and toward private sector solutions to the nation’s fiscal woes. Instead they heard the President pay lip service to a few spending issues and introduce more programs for which taxpayers will be responsible. In short, it was a major disappointment.
Fiscal Commission: The First Step in a Journey of a Thousand Miles
On February 18, 2010 President Obama set up a bipartisan panel to address the deficit and debt. Dubbed the National Commission on Fiscal Reform and Integrity, the effort was co-chaired by former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Senate Whip Alan Simpson (R-Wy.).
All Signs Point to a Waste of Tax Dollars
A strange unfunded mandate from the federal government is slated to cost taxpayers millions of dollars over the next few years. A new regulation by the Department of Transportation dictates that all street signs must be in a mix of upper and lower case font, and must meet new higher reflectivity standards. Local governments must pay for the replacements themselves. Each sign typically costs more than $100, so high-density areas face huge costs. For example in New York City, the cost is projected to reach $27.5million. It will cost smaller cities, like Milwaukee, approximately $2 million.
State Piglet Roundup
In conjunction with state taxpayer groups, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released sixPiglet Books in 2010. The Piglet Books bring CAGW’s national expertise in exposing waste, fraud and abuse to the state and local levels.
Federal Bailout No More! State and Local Governments Must Deal With TheirOwn Pension Predicaments
In December 2008, state governments had nearly $1.94 trillion set aside in pension funds for approximately 20 million active state and local government employees and seven million retirees and dependents who currently receive benefits.
Using market-based discount rates that reflect the risk profile of pension liabilities, finance professors Robert Novy-Marx of the University of Chicago and Joshua Rauhof Northwestern University calculated that states have pension liabilities of $5.17 trillion, which means that state pension plans are unfunded by $3.23 trillion. Local government pension plans are unfunded by $574 billion.
Cut Corporate Income Taxes
America has been called the land of opportunity largely because it has been a place where businesses and individuals prosper. This has been the result of a stable government, an educated workforce, protection of intellectual property, and a tax rate that historically has been low. Unfortunately, taxes are now going in the wrong direction.
Extending Bush Era Tax Cuts Will Aid the Economic Recovery
One of the more spirited public policy debates that hasunfolded leading into the midterm elections has been what Congress should do with the Bush-era tax cuts,which are set to expire at the end of this year. President Obama has stated he favors only extending tax cuts for the middle class and letting others expire, while businesses, Republicans, moderate Democrats, and taxpayer advocates maintain that anything other than a full extensionamounts to a tax increase that will only prolong the nation’s current economic woes.
Pork on Life Support: Time to Pull the Plug
Save America’s Treasures was one of the 60 programs proposed for elimination in President Obama’s 2011 Terminations, Reductions, and Savings report. Released in February 2010, the report recommended the elimination of the program because it “has not demonstrated how it contributes to nationwide historic preservation goals.” Its demise would allow the National Park Service to“focus resources on managing national parks and other activities that most closely align with its core mission.” Citizens Against Government Waste has long criticized the program, which has been the source of tens of millions of dollars in pork since 2001.