For anyone unfamiliar with the patois of politics, the term “lame duck” may seem like a bit of an odd duck, rhetorically speaking. As defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the more common understanding of this phrase is “an elected official or group continuing to hold political office during the period between the election and the […]
Washington’s 2016 Year-End Spending Spree
As federal fiscal years wind down, a frustrating ritual takes place throughout departments and agencies: a spending surge on frivolous items in order to avoid budget cuts in the next fiscal year. The final month of fiscal year 2016 is no exception.
Unauthorized Spending, Sacred Cows, and the Need for Training Wheels
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has long advocated for reforms to the way that Congress does business, focused on senators and representatives who turn blind eyes to ever-increasing spending. One such reform, introduced on March 14, 2016 by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) is H.R. 4730, the Unauthorized Spending Accountability (USA) Act.
Upstate New York Film Project Flops
When state officials decide to dabble in the movie making business, the plotline often takes an unfortunate twist.
Possessed by Pensions: Impending Union Bailouts
With Halloween around the corner, teenagers and adults alike will dust off classic scary movies, ranging from the comical (Ghostbusters) to the terrifying (The Exorcist). They may have seen these movies dozens of times, but they continue to be surprised and still jump at the sight of these demonic possessions when young Regan “spider-crawls” down the stairs of her mother’s Georgetown home or ghosts terrorize New York City. Like these and other scary movies, Congress is on the verge of yet another horror show that has been seen too many times: a taxpayer-funded bailout.
A Cure for Electoral Depression: Focus Final 2016 Presidential Debate on Policy Solutions
In a recent poll, a sizable portion of young Americans said they would rather vote for a giant meteor to strike the Earth over either of the two presidential candidates. There might be a reason for such a dark and depressing result. The first two presidential debates have utterly failed to discuss important issues facing the nation with any depth, choosing to focus on shenanigans instead of substance.
Medicare Making Improper Payments to Prisoners
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently exposed vulnerabilities that end up costing taxpayers hundreds of billions in wasteful spending due to erroneous and sloppy billing, and outright fraud. The OIG’s October 7, 2016 report documented that even though The Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization […]
Clinton/Trump Round 2: Taxpayers Deserve a Policy Debate
Before the first Presidential debate on September 27, 2016, CAGW proposed policy questions that would enlighten taxpayers as to where each candidate stands on critical government waste issues facing the nation. Unfortunately, the debate utterly failed to discuss any of these issues with any depth, choosing to focus on shenanigans instead of substance. Hillary Clinton […]
Farewell CO-OP Number 17
In an August 3, 2016 NJBiz article, the headline blared “N.J. rules helped guide Health Republic to success as Obamacare co-op!” The article goes on to praise the fact that Health Republic was “one of the seven health insurance co-ops still standing” and that its stability had a lot to do with the fact that “New Jersey’s 1992 health care reform laws were similar to the current Affordable Care Act, and allowed both insurers and actuaries to draw from prior experience to create health plans and pricing.” The article contends that New Jersey’s CO-OP is a great success story.
America’s Longest War: On Poverty
In his 1964 State of the Union address, President Lyndon Johnson declared an “all-out war on human poverty and unemployment in these United States.” President Johnson said, “Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it.”