The Justice Department is expected Friday to outline a range of concerns it has about a settlement that Google Inc. struck with authors and publishers over the rights to distribute digital copies of certain works, according to people familiar with the matter. The Justice Department will submit those concerns in a filing to the U.S. […]
If It Ain’t Broke, Why “Neutralize” It?
On September 21, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed new rules for broadband providers. The so-called “net neutrality” policy is anything but neutral; it would allow for government regulation and intervention in the broadband industry and would prevent wireless companies from managing traffic on the Internet.
Budget Gimmicks Hide the True Costs of Obamacare –
There is a lot of discussion of how much the Obama healthcare plan will cost the federal government. The House bill, if passed, will spend more than $1 trillion over 10 years and the Senate bill would spend more than $800 billion over 10 years. This spending will be paid for with a lot of […]
Debt Watch
Most mundane procedural actions by Congress are not worthy of a headline or even a WasteWatcher article, but the raising of the debt ceiling will surely cause taxpayers to howl.
Restricting Sugar Imports, Hidden Tax Increases, and Just Plain Waste
The antiquated U.S. sugar program continues to cause trouble for American companies, consumers and taxpayers. While supporters of the program have always tried to claim that it doesn’t cost taxpayers any money, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the highly restrictive import quota already costs U.S. consumers as much as $1.9 billion annually, which is nothing more than a sugar consumer tax.
OMB Plays Three Card Monte With Deficit Numbers
As a rite of August when the nation’s capital moves slowly, official Washington plays an interesting game of re-estimating the budget deficit. It is known as the Mid-Session Budget Review and both the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) take part. While both review the state of the federal budget and outlook for projected deficits over the next 10 years, they issue very different reports.
OMB Plays Three Card Monte With Deficit Numbers
As a rite of August when the nation’s capital moves slowly, official Washington plays an interesting game of re-estimating the budget deficit. It is known as the Mid-Session Budget Review and both the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) take part. While both review the state of the federal budget and outlook for projected deficits over the next 10 years, they issue very different reports.
“Cash for Clunkers” Comes to a Screeching Halt
This past June, Congress added $1 billion to the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act for the “Consumers Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009”. Though it had no business appearing in an emergency war funds bill, this “Cash for Clunkers” provision established a new one-year program administered through the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that gave individuals with older, less fuel efficient cars a credit worth up to $4,500 towards the purchase of a new car that met certain fuel efficiency standards.
Public Outrage Grounds Congressional Jets
In 2005, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) tried to fund the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere,” which would have connected the mainland of Alaska to an island of only 50 people. After the bridge became the “poster child” for pork and taxpayers expressed their disdain, funding for the “Bridge to Nowhere” was eliminated.
Let the Sun Shine In on How The Government Spends Your Money
The nation just marked the six-month anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or the stimulus law, that Congress passed hurriedly in February. Billions of our hard-earned tax dollars were injected into the ailing economy. In that mad rush, we were told there wasn’t time to work out all the details.