Congress is supposed to be on a no-pork diet in 2011. After Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.) nonbinding one-year earmark moratorium passed in the Senate on November 16, 2010, and as more and more politicians began to speak publicly about the importance of ending pork-barrel spending, longtime earmark opponents like Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) began to think that the earmark era might finally be coming to a close. Those prospects seemed even rosier when President Obama announced that he would veto any bill containing earmarks during his 2011 State of the Union Address.
Multi-Billion Dollar CMS Overpayments Continue
Healthcare, General Waste
Don’t Let Trade Adjustment Assistance Block Free Trade
George Bernard Shaw once said that if you laid all the world’s economists end to end, they still would not come to a conclusion. On most issues, from the effects of fiscal stimulus, to ideal tax rates, to the appropriate size of government, he was probably right. For every right-leaning Milton Friedman there has long been an equally leftist John Kenneth Galbraith. But there is one issue on which the vast majority of economists speak with one supportive voice: free trade.
Congress Should Plug the Holes Before It Raises the Roof
As high levels of federal spending persist, the nation is on pace to reach its statutory $14.294 trillion debt limit in mid-May. Debates over whether or not to raise the debt ceiling as well as whether or not to attach provisions to reduce the deficit and debt have ensued. Scare tactics are being employed to compel members of Congress to vote for another increase, or else experience “catastrophic economic consequences” and default on the national debt. Lawmakers face a major dilemma and are gearing up for a fight when Congress reconvenes after the Easter recess.
Future Shock
In the 1986 ad known as “The Deficit Trials,” a young prosecutor speaks on behalf of a poor, tattered generation that by 2017 has suffered the consequences of failing to address what was then a $2 trillion national debt. Today, at $14.3 trillion, or $45,800 for every man, woman and child in America, Washington continues to put off the tough decisions necessary to solve the rapidly growing problem.
Federal Real Property: Buried Alive!
When it comes to property management, the federal government is a bit of a pack rat. It likes to purchase and hoard a lot of real estate. Due to a combination of bad incentives and typical government bloat, selling real estate is a long, costly process. As a result, Uncle Sam owns more real property than any other entity in America: 900,000 buildings and structures covering 3.38 billion square feet. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that 55,000 properties are underutilized or entirely vacant, costing taxpayers $1.66 billion to maintain each year. That is probably too much stuff to cram into an hour-long “Hoarders” episode, but it should still be brought to the public’s attention.
Earmark Moratorium Backlash
After years of feeding at the trough, it appears that some members of Congress are not adapting well to the newly imposed two-year earmark moratorium. Despite affirmation by congressional leaders that earmarks will not exist in the 112th Congress, the pork addicts are chafing under the new strictures.
Tax Dollars Disappear into Black Hole
March is National Black Hole Awareness Month, a perfect time to match science with spending. While scientists continue to identify black holes in the far reaches of space, the closest and most deadly vortex is the nation’s $14.3 trillion national debt. Indeed, there are striking similarities between the astronomical black holes and the fiscal abyss facing the United States.
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.
Victory!
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.