The Senate Finance Committee has reported out S. 1796, its version of a health care reform bill. This was preceded, and indeed made possible, by an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the bill would increase federal government spending by only $829 billion in 2010-2019. With new taxes and reductions in projected spending in Medicare and Medicaid, CBO said this would actually result in a net saving to the federal budget of $81 billion over this period. The bill’s advocates greeted this estimate with relief, tinged with self-congratulation for having produced a bill that, in the current environment, was considered by them to be fiscally responsible.
Broadband Boondoggles
Wanted: $4.7 billion for a national broadband grant program. Prior experience not necessary.
U.S. to File Concerns Over Google Book Pact
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. […]
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.
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.
End Deficit Spending
With a turnout estimated at hundreds of thousands of people, the Taxpayer March in Washington, D.C. on September 12, 2009 demonstrated the public’s support for restraining government spending. In order to understand the motivation of the protesters, one only needs to look at the current fiscal condition of the country.
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.
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 […]
“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.
The Devil is in the Details of the Healthcare Bills, Or Not
President Obama and congressional Democrats have been playing defense on healthcare reform throughout the month of August as congressional town hall meetings across the country have erupted in anger and frustration. A favorite theme in the President’s and his allies’ speeches is that Americans have been manipulated and exploited by opponents of his healthcare initiatives, jack-booted obstructionists who are peddling falsehoods about what is actually in the bills.