A total of 2,800 employees who were disciplined for all types of misconduct collectively received $2.8 million in bonuses, extra paid time off or raises between October 2010 and December 2012, the inspector general found. The IRS doesn’t take into account if a worker has paid his or her taxes, or whether they have gotten into trouble, when administering bonuses and other awards.   read more

Utility companies fear the growth of mom-and-pop solar operations will eventually eat into their profits. So lawmakers in Oklahoma have decided to help utility companies charge higher rates to those who generate electricity through wind and solar power. Legislation—which passed in spite of opposition from solar advocates and environmental groups—represents a reversal in state law that’s been on the books since 1977, when legislators prohibited utilities from charging extra to solar users.   read more

The U.S. Postal Service has been selling off many of its post office buildings to help reduce its budgetary problems. But USPS officials failed to abide by federal regulations governing the preservation of historic public property while carrying out sales of important structures and art. The Postal Service “did not know how many historic properties it owned or what it cost to preserve them,” and failed to make notification when sales include art dating back to the New Deal.   read more

The Highway Trust Fund’s Highway Account, which finances maintenance and construction projects at the state level, currently has about $8.4 billion in it. But the U.S. Department of Transportation warns that demand for this funding is outpacing money available. As a result, the fund may go bankrupt by August. Without a new funding plan, the Transportation Department would have to stop reimbursing states for highway projects.   read more

In 2013, IRS auditors reviewed only 0.9% of returns filed by individuals earning less than $200,000 a year. That rate was the lowest since 2005. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told the Associated Press that the audit rate likely will go down even further this year. The chances of getting audited is much higher for the wealthy—about 11% for those making $1 million or more annually.   read more

U.S. federal and state governments would have more than $180 billion in additional revenue each year if corporations and wealthy individuals didn't hide their earnings in offshore accounts. Without that revenue, each U.S. taxpayer on average would have to pay an additional $1,259 in taxes to cover this loss. "Ordinary taxpayers [are] picking up the tab [in]...higher taxes, cuts to public spending priorities, or increases to the federal debt,” said the U.S. PIRG report.   read more

The governor added that increasing the minimum wage would only hurt businesses and lead to employees being laid off. She insisted most workers would not benefit from a minimum wage hike. Critics said the bill was intended to circumvent an effort in Oklahoma City, where signatures are being gathered to put an initiative on the city ballot raising the minimum wage to $10.10. That is the level to which President Barack Obama seeks to raise the federal minimum wage.   read more

An Arizona-based political organization funded almost entirely by the conservative Koch brothers—and that was fined for laundering political contributions—was awarded tax-exempt status by the IRS despite the agency knowing this. “Social welfare” groups are not eligible for tax exemption if they spend the majority of their money on politics. But Americans for Responsible Leadership, which had received 98% of its money from a Koch group, received that status from the IRS.   read more

The U.S. is experiencing “the worst rental affordability crisis” in its history, said the HUD secretary late last year. The problem is unlikely to abate anytime soon. Since the 2008 financial crisis, demand for apartments has soared as millions of homeowners lost their properties while struggling young Americans have turned to renting. Developers are constructing new apartment buildings in many cities. But often the structures going up are for high-end, luxury rentals.   read more

During her October 2009 trip to Russia, Clinton made no effort to hide her plans to help Boeing while meeting with the state-owned airline, Rosavia. Her persuasiveness paid dividends for Boeing, which secured a $3.7 billion contract for the planes only months later. Shortly after completing the deal, Boeing contributed $900,000 to the William J. Clinton Foundation to help rebuild schools in Haiti damaged by the 2010 earthquake.   read more

Efforts to restore a solar energy program in Maine have died at the hands of Republican Governor Paul LePage, who objected to the bill’s planned 69-cent annual tax increase on residents and business owners. The bill would have revived a solar rebate program to help establish more than 1,250 new solar panel and hot water projects in homes and businesses   read more

Residents of some states, like New York, face budget-busting costs to put their kids into day care. There, such services average $15,000 a year. Meanwhile, the expense of in-state college tuition is only $6,500 annually. Massachusetts has an even higher average per-annum day-care cost: $16,500 Other states with significant gaps between the costs of day care and college tuition include Colorado, Maryland and Oregon.   read more

Nearly all of the top 10 most common jobs in America don’t pay well, according to new figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nine of the 10 largest occupations produced an average wage below the U.S. average of $46,440 annually. The lone exception among top jobs was registered nurses, who make an average of $68,910 per year. The average for the rest ranged from $18,880 for food preparation and serving workers to $34,000 for secretaries and administrative assistants   read more

The plaintiffs allege that Hearst made them work full-time hours while receiving no income. The lead plaintiff, Xuedan Wang, says she was at Harper’s Bazaar between 40 and 55 hours a week while performing a variety of duties that paid workers perform, like handling expense reports and managing other interns. Under Labor Department rules, unpaid interns can’t replace regular employees or do work that provides an “immediate advantage” to the business.   read more

The two highest-paid doctors listed in the Medicare data are being investigated by the government for improper billing. Salomon Melgen, the Florida ophthalmologist, and cardiologist Asad Qamar have both contributed heavily to the political campaigns of Democratic candidates in Florida.   read more

The State Department’s Inspector General (IG) says the agency can’t locate more than $6 billion in contracts, raising the specter of mismanagement by officials. The paperwork went missing during the past six years, during which Hillary Clinton ran the State Department as secretary of state for most of that time. The unaccounted funds represents a “significant financial risk" and “creates conditions conducive to fraud, as corrupt individuals may attempt to conceal evidence.”   read more