Welcome to This Week in Waste, a series by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) that highlights how taxpayer dollars are being wasted in the federal, state, and local levels of government and efforts to fight back against this spendthrift behavior. One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) Delivers Meaningful Tax Relief for Seniors In addition to […]
In 1995, the House of Representatives passed a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to the Constitution, but it failed in the Senate by a single vote. The budget deficit in fiscal year (FY) 1995 was $164 billion. It is now $38.7 trillion. On February 11, 2026, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its budget outlook for […]
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which extended and enhanced the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, included other significant benefits to taxpayers, like fulfilling the promise President Trump made during the 2024 presidential election campaign to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits. The OBBBA allows taxpayers aged 65 and over to deduct between […]
Welcome to This Week in Waste, a series by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) that highlights how taxpayer dollars are being wasted in the federal, state, and local levels of government and efforts to fight back against this spendthrift behavior. Taxpayers Win Big When the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Cannot File Their Taxes for Them […]
Congress continues to untangle the Minnesota fraud scandal, which was first flagged in Congress by Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.) in 2018 and then repeatedly brought up by whistleblowers. There have been three hearings on Capitol Hill since the beginning of the second session of the 119th Congress exposing how Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and […]
Saving taxpayer money is often achieved with common sense ideas that are used throughout the private sector, like sharing resources and services that are suitable for multiple applications The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) February 3, 2026, report described how federal shared services are being used and what can be done to improve their adoption. GAO […]
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA), which extended and enhanced the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, included other significant benefits to taxpayers, including the termination of a disastrous software program at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Citizens Against Government Waste raised the alarm for many years over the idea of allowing the IRS […]
Welcome to This Week in Waste, a series by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) that highlights how taxpayer dollars are being wasted in the federal, state, and local levels of government and efforts to fight back against this spendthrift behavior. CAGW Names Minnesota Governor Tim Walz January 2026 Porker of the Month Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz […]
Missouri is moving ahead with the process of eliminating the state income tax. In his January 13, 2026, State of the State Address, Governor Mike Kehoe (R) called for the income tax to be eliminated over five years. The process would require the approval of voters in the November 2026 election. On January 28, 2026, […]
Despite efforts to reduce the theft of copper wire, incidents continue across the country. On January 23, 2026, three men were arrested in Broward County, Florida for allegedly stealing “tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of copper wiring and tools.” These thefts have dire consequences for telecommunications networks and every business and consumer that relies […]
