Today, the Department of HHS finally revealed the premium prices for Obamacare. Several press outlets got an advanced copy and some reporters were not all that impressed. Here is Politico’s take: The Obama administration on Wednesday released a long-awaited report on premiums in Obamacare’s federal insurance exchanges — the first look at the rates that will apply […]
Boeing Bogusness is Business as Usual
Today, Citizens Against Government Waste expressed outrage over the revelation that laid-off Boeing workers in the state of Washington will qualify for federal Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), an unemployment benefits program that far exceeds the benefits normally handed out to unemployed workers. According to an August 1 story in the Seattle Times, the Department of […]
CCAGW Points to Rogues’ Gallery of Sugar Cartel Republicans
CCAGW Points to Rogues’ Gallery of Sugar Cartel Republicans
Show Ex-Im the Ex-It
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is among the federal government’s least-known but most obvious examples of corporate welfare. Its populist mission – the subsidization of American exports – might appeal to a wide swath of economically unsophisticated observers, but it is nonetheless an unfair giveaway of tax dollars. The Ex-Im bank […]
The Proof is in the Metrics
On Tuesday, May 14, 2013, the House Oversight and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing on “Data Centers and Cloud Computing: Is the Government Optimizing New Information Technologies to Save Taxpayer Dollars?” Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) most recent cloud computing report, the 2012 Federal Cloud Review discussed the potential for savings […]
The Flights of the Navigators
You might think I am going to talk about the 1886 movie, “The Flight of the Navigator,” but in this case, you would be wrong.
Though Some Cuts Made, Farm Bill is still Flush with Waste
On June 21, 2012, the Senate voted 64-35 in favor of S. 3240, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, which would cut the deficit by $23.6 billion over a ten year period. At first glance this seems like a lot of money, until you realize that the bill authorizes a total of $969 billion in spending for fiscal years (FY) 2013 to 2022, and that the $23.6 billion reduction represents just 2.4 percent annual savings or $2.36 billion per year over the coming decade. The legislation does eliminate some wasteful programs, such as the Average Crop Revenue Election program, direct payments, and counter-cyclical payments, but many profligate programs are left largely unreformed and new ones have been created.
CCAGW Denounces Senate for Further Backpedaling on USPS
CCAGW Denounces Senate for Further Backpedaling on USPS
Obama Doubles Down on Corporate Welfare
On February 17, 2011, after touring Boeing’s plant in Everett, Washington, where the Dreamliner is built, President Obama announced that he will ask Congress to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), and that he will encourage the bank to match export financing provided by foreign governments in an effort to “ensure that [manufacturers] are competing on an even footing.” The President’s statement dovetails with his “fairness” agenda, but Ex-Im Bank is unalloyed corporate welfare. Its populist mission – the subsidization of American exports – might appeal to a wide swath of economically unsophisticated observers, but it is nonetheless un unfair giveaway of tax dollars. Ex-Im Bank should be terminated, not renewed, and certainly not expanded.
Technology Policy Update
On August 16, 2011, CAGW recently filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on a petition from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) seeking clarification on the commission’s interpretation of Section 652 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This section imposes cross-ownership restrictions on cable operators and incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) in order to prevent the two then-dominant service providers in each local area from merging and thereby controlling the only two wires to a customer’s premises.