As the Illinois legislature winds up the 2013 session by creating a new $750,000 “Forever Green Illinois Program” (it’s really there on pp. 8-9 of the 284-page budget bill) that would fund the “maintenance and beautification of greenery,” including grass, weeds, trees, shrubs, bushes, and plants on state or local government property, elected officials should also consider adopting a new official […]
Uptick in Part Timers Linked to Obamacare
Trend is Toward Fewer Hours Not More Jobs First, let me offer congratulations to the 165,000 families whose personal unemployment rate went from 100% to 0%, always a joyous event, both in terms of economics, as well as self-worth and esteem, during the last month! Unfortunately, it is widely estimated that the minimum average monthly […]
Peeling Back Another Onion
As I wrote last week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has gotten herself into some hot water concerning her solicitation for donations for non-profit groups that will help with the implementation of Obamacare. She asked for donations from corporations, some of which are regulated by HHS, and foundations. Reuters reports the non-profit “Enroll America” seems to […]
Show Me the Money
The Washington Post had an interesting column a few days ago. It seems Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is asking for more money from health industry officials to help implement Obamacare since Congress is refusing to provide more funds. While the effort is caged as asking for “donations” it does not take […]
We Agree with David Axelrod
Every once in a while a politician or political operative says something with which everyone can agree. So today, for the first time, all of us at CAGW agree with David Axelrod to the extent that he acknowledged that the government is too big. Obviously we don’t agree that the size of the government excuses […]
Nothing New Under the IRS Sun
By now I am sure you have heard that the IRS targeted and harassed Tea Party and conservative groups that were trying to obtain non-profit status. If a group used words like “tea party” or “patriot” in their organization’s name or the phrase “making America a better place to live” it was enough to raise […]
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 Farmers Love This Bill
“The farmers love this bill, The farmers love this bill, High, HIGH, the dairies go, The farmers love this bill!” While it’s a tortured version of the original, the verse scribbled above represents a more fitting rendition of the classic nursery rhyme these days, given ongoing congressional action. Today, the Senate will markup its version (S. […]
Brood DC
All of the mid-Atlantic area is awaiting the arrival of the cicadas. “What are they?” you may be asking. If you are “lucky” enough to live along the Route 95 corridor from North Carolina to New Jersey, you may already know what they are but for the rest of our dear readers they are simply […]
Because They Could
Americans need to take heed to the shenanigans that the Obama Administration has undertaken in response to the sequester, which began March 1. Its action in the recent air traffic control episode to slow down air travel demonstrates arrogance and indifference toward the American people. In response, Congress had to pass legislation to halt the […]