The long saga of the Air Force refueling tanker may be coming to an end soon; or maybe not. The latest request for proposal is due to be released shortly, and hearings this week on Capitol Hill indicate the battle may not be over.
Stimulating…or Just Plain Depressing?
February 17, 2010 marked the one-year anniversary of America’s favorite farce, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Ironically, this $862 billion “stimulus” bill has proven to be nothing more than a profligate program that has further depressed the nation’s economy.
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.
As Massachusetts Goes….
…so goes the ongoing effort to fight government waste, higher taxes, and save the future for our children and grandchildren.
The result of the special election for Senate in Massachusetts reflected a national outpouring of outrage over the overreaching Congress and White House, and a lot of buyer’s remorse for the 2008 election. Americans wanted change, but they did not want it to include massive new government regulations, a highly partisan Congress, backroom deals on major legislation, and a takeover of large parts of the economy.
Prime Cuts 2010: Quantifiable Recommendations for Change (We Believe In!)
President Obama’s January 27th State of the Union Address raised more questions than answers. While the national debt continues to soar past $12.3 trillion and the unemployment rate hangs at 10 percent, Americans long to hear the President offer some commonsense solutions. Instead, the President stubbornly clings to his stagnant tax-borrow-and-spend policies. Taxpayers don’t want to pay for another stimulus package (which will undoubtedly be stuffed with wasteful pork-barrel projects like its predecessor), nor are they fooled by the administration’s attempt to re-label it as a “jobs” bill.
Time to End Stealth Tax Increases
Thirty-two states impose ad valorem excise taxes on moist smokeless tobacco (MST). An ad valorem tax is based on a percentage of the price of the product, so the tax rises any time the price of the merchandise increases. This is similar to property taxes that rise along with increased assessed values.
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.
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.
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 […]