On February 16, 2011 taxpayers and the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) scored a major victory when the House of Representatives voted 233-198 to kill funding for the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter as part of H.R. 1, the Full-Year Continuing Resolution (CR) for fiscal year (FY) 2011. The CR, which cut $100 billion from President Obama’s FY 2011 budget (equal to $61 billion from fiscal year 2010 approved spending levels), was approved by a vote of 235-189. The CR contained 61 spending cuts worth $9.9 billion were either identical or similar to recommendations in CAGW’s Prime Cuts.
Blackmail to Avoid Blackouts is Not Sound Policy
Imagine that you’re settling in to watch your favorite must-see-TV when your station de jour abruptly goes black. You suddenly can’t watch the big game, or the American Idol finale or (fill in your “can’t-live-without-it” show here). How could this possibly happen? You try rebooting your cable box as you frantically flip through the TV guide to make sure it’s really Super Bowl Sunday.
Four Myths about the Export-Import Bank
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is an independent government agency founded in 1934 in an effort to encourage U.S. exports. In 2010, Ex-Im Bank provided $24.4 billion in taxpayer-backed direct loans, guarantees, and export-credit insurance to private firms and foreign governments. Whatever its original intent may have been, today Ex-Im Bank is an obvious example of corporate welfare. Denying Ex-Im Bank’s charter, which is up for renewal in 2011, would eradicate a regressive, wasteful institution whose time has passed.
High-Speed Rail off the Tracks
When stumping for Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) in October 2010, Vice President Joe Biden made a telling statement regarding the government’s role in investments. He credited the government with “every single great idea that has marked the 21st century, the 20th century and the 19th century,” adding that “in the middle of the Civil War you had a guy named Lincoln paying people $16,000 for every 40 miles of track they laid across the continental United States. … No private enterprise would have done that for another 35 years.”
Net Loss
For many years there has been a vigorous debate on the pros and cons of net neutrality. On December 21, 2010, the nation took a technological step backwards when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to institute net neutrality rules on the Internet.
New House Rules Focus Members on Making Serious Spending Cuts
On election day, taxpayers turned out in droves to support fiscally conservative candidates that they entrusted with the responsibility of cutting the federal budget, reducing the size of the national debt, and returning Congress to the hands of the American people. Charged with these critical tasks, the 112th Congress has agreed to new rules and proposed debt-busting legislation in an effort to restore some semblance of fiscal sanity.
Obama’s SOTU, Yet Another Disappointment for Taxpayers
During a time of record annual budget deficits and public debt, the country, more than ever, needs solutions to its fiscal problems. Most taxpayers were expecting the President’s State of the Union speech to signal a major policy shift, away from rampant government spending and toward private sector solutions to the nation’s fiscal woes. Instead they heard the President pay lip service to a few spending issues and introduce more programs for which taxpayers will be responsible. In short, it was a major disappointment.
Does Obamacare Save or Cost Money?
The strange world of congressional budget scoring obscures whether Obamacare saves or costs money, but it also provides insight into why the federal government is in such a financial mess. Revenue and cost figures are thrown about in an attempt to justify each side’s position. Understanding the relevant facts provides a clearer picture of reality.
All Signs Point to a Waste of Tax Dollars
A strange unfunded mandate from the federal government is slated to cost taxpayers millions of dollars over the next few years. A new regulation by the Department of Transportation dictates that all street signs must be in a mix of upper and lower case font, and must meet new higher reflectivity standards. Local governments must pay for the replacements themselves. Each sign typically costs more than $100, so high-density areas face huge costs. For example in New York City, the cost is projected to reach $27.5million. It will cost smaller cities, like Milwaukee, approximately $2 million.
Fiscal Commission: The First Step in a Journey of a Thousand Miles
On February 18, 2010 President Obama set up a bipartisan panel to address the deficit and debt. Dubbed the National Commission on Fiscal Reform and Integrity, the effort was co-chaired by former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Senate Whip Alan Simpson (R-Wy.).