Because of the delicate, private, and proprietary nature of information provided by individuals and businesses to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on tax returns, audits are an inherently governmental function that should be conducted solely by government employees. This confidential process should not be handed over to outside individuals or organizations. However, that is exactly the situation that Microsoft Corporation found itself in May 2014, when the IRS decided to hire an outside litigation firm to conduct an audit of the company’s international division, and then proscriptively issued regulations allowing the agency to take such action.
Donald Trump Commits to Several CAGW-Endorsed Reforms to Eliminate Government Waste
At a speech to the Union League in Philadelphia today, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump committed to several government-wide reforms that could save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars:
Social Impact Partnerships: No Social Solyndras
Too often, Congress seems to blindly throw money at the problem du jour and then, without any measure of effectiveness, consider its work to be complete. This tired (yet persistent) approach may help to explain why federal spending has metastasized unabated, while many social ills remain unsolved.
Western Lands; the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The history of federal land ownership in the West is long and complex. In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase established the federal government as administrator of vast stretches of land not already under control by states. In 1862, the federal government attempted to transfer some of that control back to the populace through the Homestead Act, which provided settlers with 160 acres of public land.
And the Medallion goes to … the Taxicab Monopoly!
Buried in the bleak history of the Great Depression can be found the beginning of the end for the iconic “Yellow Cab.” With unemployment at a staggering 18 percent in 1938, the working class scrambled to find ways to make ends meet. Driving taxicabs became the only choice for many. This influx of drivers quickly […]
IRS Undermines Congressional Budgeting
In a July 2016 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could improve its budget data in its justifications to Congress. The report found that the IRS, while it has taken steps to more effectively manage its budget, has not correlated its priorities to relevant appropriations accounts. In its […]
Failure of PEPFAR in Africa: Abstain from Abstinence
The President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief (PEPFAR) is an initiative started by then-President George W. Bush in 2003. PEPFAR was design to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa by providing antiretroviral treatments to people in resource-limited settings. According to a February 14, 2013 Foreign Policy article, the program is estimated to have saved million of lives in the last ten years. However, some parts of the program have been heavily criticized for attempting to impose an outside set of values on communities that are significantly different culturally.
Perks for Past Presidents Potentially Pruned
In a little-heralded move that was lost in the Friday afternoon news dump where important information typically goes to die in Washington, D.C., something verging on the miraculous occurred in the nation’s capital.
Speaker Ryan’s Better Way on Poverty
On June 7, 2016, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) made good on his long-standing commitment to address the pernicious issue of poverty in the United States. Speaker Ryan joined other House leaders at a drug rehabilitation facility in Southeast Washington, D.C. to unveil their “Better Way” to fight poverty and increase “opportunity and upward mobility.”
Social Security Must Avert Identity Theft
In 2015, $15 billion was stolen from 13.1 million Americans as a result of identity fraud and 16 percent of complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2014 were related to identity theft. According to a February 2, 2016 Javelin Strategy and Research study, the success of microchips in credit and checking cards to prevent identity theft have driven criminals to focus on fraud that relies on an individual’s name and other stolen personal information.