The acquisition misadventures of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program have been well-documented. In development for nearly 17 years and seven years behind schedule, the program is approximately $173 billion over budget and has encountered an abundance of persistent issues. An April 2015 Government Accountability Office report noted that the lifetime operation and maintenance […]
De Blasio’s Trolley Goes Off The Rails
A trickle of negative stories about New York Mayor Bill De Blasio’s (D) proposed Brooklyn-Queens waterfront trolley, known as the BQX, has turned into a deluge.
House Subcommittee Concerned over “Too Big to Fail” Mentality at NASA
On Thursday, June 14, 2018, the House of Representative’s Subcommittee on Space met to discuss the rising cost and schedule overruns at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). These overruns were attributed to what NASA Inspector General Paul Martin described as a “too big to fail” optimism at the agency, lack of consequences for […]
House Appropriations Boosts Spending for Costly F-35 Program… Again
On Wednesday, June 13, 2018, the House Committee on Appropriations passed the fiscal year (FY) 2019 Defense Appropriations bill by a vote of 48-4. The bill provides $674.6 billion in total spending for the Department of Defense (DOD), including $606.5 billion in base discretionary spending as well as $68.1 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operations […]
Senate Farm Bill helps largest 10% of farm operations
Despite the election year rhetoric about fiscal discipline and deficits, as well as advancing free-markets and trade, many lawmakers have sided with the influential farm lobby to continue doling out multi-millions of dollars to corporate agribusinesses instead of protecting taxpayers and the small and medium farms that make up rural America. A recent EWG analysis of USDA […]
The Internet is Alive and Well as of June 11, 2018
On June 11, 2018, the Restoring Internet Freedom Order (RIFO) went into effect. The hysteria over its impact nearly rivaled the doomsday scenarios created around January 1, 2000, when wild claims were made that every computer system in the world would be unable to adjust to the new century. For example, implementation of the RIFO […]
Conservative Groups Oppose Medicare Part D Changes in the BBA
On March 8, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), penned a blog which pointed out a harmful and major change to Medicare Part D that will cost pharmaceutical manufacturers far more than anticipated: $4.1 billion over 10 years, a 53 percent increase from the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) original score. Some may think whacking pharmaceutical manufacturers […]
Adieu Paris – One Year Later
One year ago, on June 1, President Trump announced that the U.S. would be withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Climate Treaty, or the Paris Accord. The significance of this wise and correct decision still rings true today. President Trump’s action removed the U.S. from an unrealistic goal of reducing carbon emissions that would have cost […]
California Gas Tax Increase Faces Voters
On November 6, 2018, Californians will elect their new governor, a U.S. Senator, 53 congressmen and women, 80 members of the State Assembly, and 20 state senators. For better or worse, as is usual in California, the ballot is likely also to contain numerous referendums. One of those questions will ask voters if they want […]
Feds Need to Protect Taxpayer Information Better
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the risk online activities pose to privacy and data security following the Equifax data breach and Cambridge Analytica’s use of social media sites to collect information about potential voters. It is understandable that consumers are concerned about how private companies protect their information; what should be of greater concern […]