Where is the Money Going?
GSA Employees Who Work from Home Racked Up $750,000 in Travel Expenses
The Public Buildings Service (PBS) of the General Services Administration (GSA) has yet another scandal on its hands. PBS has been plagued by a series of scandals since April 2008, when GSA Administrator Lurita Doan was asked by the Bush White H... read more
Farm Service Agency Proposes Microloans for Small Farmers
The Obama administration has proposed making it easier to provide federal agricultural loans to young farmers in need of financing.
New rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), aimed at the 70% of American farms that gross ... read more
Banks Siphon Student Dollars through Campus Debit Card Deals
With the transition from checks to debit cards for disbursing college student aid, financial institutions have found a new way to make money that at the same time has increased debt risks for young people.
Today some universities arrange for s... read more
Half a Million Long-Term Unemployed Lose Benefits Earlier than Expected
Congress giveth and Congress taketh away when it comes to extending unemployment benefits for those hit hardest by the Great Recession.
Lawmakers in February approved another extension for states’ unemployment programs drained by the long-term... read more
Homeowners Sue Arizona over Diverted Foreclosure Settlement Funds
Two homeowners in Arizona are suing the state for trying to divert money from the nationwide foreclosure settlement for uses other than helping struggling mortgage holders.
Forty-eight states and the federal government sued five national banks... read more
Why are Taxpayers Subsidizing For-Profit Colleges while Public Colleges Slash Budgets?
While state governments continue to cut funding for community colleges, the federal government has helped for-profit universities grow and prosper.
In recent years, federally guaranteed student loans to students attending private “proprietary ... read more
Bank Profits Hit 5-Year High
Four years after crashing the global economy as a result of their irresponsible gambling with other people’s money, U.S. banks posted record profits for the first quarter of 2012, according to a report released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Cor... read more
Swiss Company Accused of Stiffing U.S. for $750 Million Supplying Food to Troops in Afghanistan
Seven years after it was hired to provide food to troops in Afghanistan, a Swiss company has been accused of overcharging the Department of Defense about three-quarters of a billion dollars.
Supreme Foodservice AG of Switzerland has been paid ... read more
Massive Backlog of Defense Contract Audits
Four years ago, the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) was admonished by Congress’ watchdog agency to improve its performance, which presumably meant doing more work rather than less.
DCAA apparently thought the opposite.
In fiscal year ... read more
For the First Time, Number of Unemployed Who Attended College Outnumber Those Who Didn’t
Parents may have a tougher time winning the argument with their children about the importance of attending college if their offspring hear the latest news from the U.S. Department of Labor.
As of April, the number of unemployed people (age 25 ... read more
Facebook Goes Public and the Big Winners are…California Taxpayers
News of Facebook’s initial public offering couldn’t have come at a better time for California Governor Jerry Brown.
Confronted with a budget deficit of nearly $16 billion, Brown and the state’s lawmakers have been looking for new sources of re... read more
Kentucky Congressman Forces Citizens to Waste $17,000 on Each Helicopter Drip Pan
Why would the Department of Defense spend $17,000 for a helicopter drip pan when it could buy the same component for one-eighth the cost? Because a powerful congressman wants it this way.
The pricey drip pan, which catches leaky transmission f... read more
Older Long-Term Unemployed Don’t Just Lose Income, but also Lifetime Benefits
Prolonged unemployment for older Americans has become a serious problem with both immediate and long-term consequences.
As of December 2011, approximately 3.65 million older Americans were unemployed or underemployed. For workers age 50 and ol... read more
States Diverting Monies Meant for Homeowners to Cover Budget Deficits
When the Obama administration ran interference and helped to get a huge legal case settled against the nation’s largest banks over mortgage fraud and improper foreclosures, more than $2 billion in cash was sent to the states to help struggling hom... read more
It’s Legal to Regulate the $300 Trillion Swap Market, but Regulators Don’t Have Budget to Do It Right
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has been told by Congress to do more with less, taking on the responsibility of regulating the multi-trillion-dollar swaps market while having its funding frozen at an inadequate level, according to ... read more
RBS Citizens Bank Accused of Profiting from Customer Math Errors
RBS Citizens bank is being sued for allegedly taking advantage of customers when they mistakenly low-ball the amounts of their deposits, resulting in the bank keeping the difference.
In a federal class action lawsuit, lead plaintiff Todd Bower... read more