On April 21, 2010, the U.S. Treasury released its new version of the $100 bill. Featuring an updated portrait of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, the bill boasts advanced measures to obstruct counterfeiters. However, while the federal government has recently focused on this large tender, more attention needs to be paid to the other end of the currency spectrum: the $1 coin.
Don’t Count on an Efficient Census Bureau
The Census and the Super Bowl are American traditions whose paths had never crossed until February 7. That is when the Census Bureau spent $2.5 million for an ad during the big game to urge people to fill out and send in their questionnaires. This expenditure was just the latest in a number of high profile missteps by the agency.
The Year of Living Dangerously
The nation will hear President Obama’s first State of the Union Address on Wednesday as he tries to salvage a devastating plunge in popularity for his agenda. But, as bad as it has been for the President, whose support has dropped from 69 percent a year ago to 48 percent, the largest first-year drop by any President that has been tracked by polls, it has been much worse for taxpayers.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – The Voldemort(s) of the Financial Crisis
On January 13, 2010, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) launched a year-long probe on the financial crisis with two days of hearings, starting with testimony from the CEOs of Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley. It is not clear whether the hearings and the subsequent report will be an authentic “teachable moment” or just another in a long line of show trials masquerading as serious congressional inquiries, but the early signs don’t look promising.
Time for a Constitutional Line Item Veto
As the year draws to a close and the nation’s deficit soars to $1.4 trillion, Congress’s spendthrift behavior persists. On December 16, 2009 President Obama signed a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill; $446.8 billion of that amount covered six of the seven remaining appropriations bill.
Weatherization: More Clouds on the Horizon
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the so-called stimulus package, continues to be a source of contention and controversy as the end of 2009 approaches. When Congress first considered the $787 billion legislation, CAGW expressed grave concerns about the entire plan, especially those programs which received massive increases in their budgets.
Jobs Numbers and White House Propaganda
One of the cornerstones of the stimulus bill was to create jobs and help the economy get back on its feet. The Obama administration estimated that between 3 and 4 million jobs would be created or saved once the bill was enacted.
Obama Administration Proposal Would Cost U.S. Jobs
The Obama administration keeps coming forward with proposals that would undermine the economic recovery even as it claims to be trying to save it. At least $1 trillion has been spent to supposedly “stimulate” the economy and the budget deficit is at a record level. Yet, the economic gurus within the executive branch have floated another proposal that is both incongruous and counterproductive.
Public vs. Private: May the Best Contractor Win
The government should not compete with its citizens; it should rely on the private sector for commercially-available goods and services. This is a common-sense idea: allow individuals, small businesses, and entrepreneurial companies to contract with the government, instead of creating duplicative and expensive government-run agencies and programs.
A Word of Caution for President Obama
President Obama and Congress are in the process of putting together a “stimulus” package in order to spur the economy and create or save 3 million jobs. The House of Representative’s proposal contained $275 billion in tax cuts and $526 billion in “carefully targeted priority investments” for a total cost of $820 billion. It would be better to call it a de-stimulus package because each of the 3 to 4 million jobs that the President and his allies claim to be saving and creating will cost taxpayers about $275,000.