Where is the Money Going?
Pentagon Freezes Workforce Size, but Increases Outsourcing
It is unclear whether the Department of Defense is really saving money by freezing the size of its civilian workforce.
Pentagon leaders insist their Defense Efficiencies Initiative will reduce the amount of tax dollars consumed by the departme... read more
Justice Dept. Agrees to Pay Native Tribes $1 Billion for Mismanaged Funds
The Obama administration has reached a settlement with more than 40 Indian tribes to resolve claims of mismanaged funds by the Department of the Interior.
After 22 months of negotiation, the U.S. Department of Justice agreed with tribal repres... read more
IRS Slow to Meet Goals for Auditing High Wealth Americans
More than two years after launching its special unit targeting very wealthy Americans, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has completed less than 40 audits.
The IRS’s Global High Wealth Industry Group, created to review the tax filings of indi... read more
Defense Dept. Allowed Dubious Contractors to Self-Verify as Disabled-Vet Owned
The Department of Defense has allowed companies to obtain contracts intended for disabled-veteran owned businesses by doing little more than check boxes on a form, thanks to a self-verify system that provides no accountability.
The Pentagon’s ... read more
Corporations Usually Lose Tax Fraud Cases in Supreme Court
Although the current U.S. Supreme Court has the reputation of being pro-business, corporations would be wise not to press their luck with the high court when it comes to tax fraud. Two university law professors found that, historically, businesses... read more
Banks Fight Credit Unions over 5% of Small Business Loan Market
Banks currently control 95% of the small business lending market. Now they are lobbying Congress to stop credit unions from cutting into the market.
At issue is S. 2231, the Credit Union Small Business Jobs Act, which would raise the cap on th... read more
Postal Service Spent $717 Million on Unauthorized Overtime Pay
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) allowed its employees to earn more than $700 million in unauthorized overtime over the past two years. Postal workers received overtime without approval from supervisors totaling $294 million in 2010 and $423 million... read more
If Pennies Cost More than 2 Cents to Make, Why Do We Still Use Them?
Even the U.S. penny has a lobby, which helps explain why the costly currency is still around.
Some people in Washington want to do away with the one-cent coin, due to its costs of manufacturing. For every penny produced by the U.S. Mint, the g... read more
Senior Citizens Still Paying Off Student Loans
Borrowing for a college education can be a lifetime commitment.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, about $36.5 billion of the nation’s student loan debt is owed by Americans in their sixties or older. This includes more than $4... read more
Lockheed Comes Out on Top in Pentagon Budget Battle
Despite cuts to next year’s military budget, weapons merchant Lockheed Martin did very well for itself in the Obama administration’s proposed spending plans. Although Lockheed took a big hit to its main franchise, the $400 billion F-35 Joint Strik... read more
Big Businesses that Qualify as Small Businesses
When is big really small? When the federal government says so.
The Small Business Administration (SBA), responsible for helping “small” businesses, allows many types of companies to qualify even though they wouldn’t seem to most Americans to b... read more
38 House Members Filtered Government Money to Relatives and Their Employers
Nearly 40 members of the House of Representatives earmarked $150 million to organizations affiliated with themselves and their family members from 2008 to 2010, according to a government watchdog organization.
Citizens for Responsibility and E... read more
U.S. Government Spends almost $1 Billion a Year on Advertising
Advertising is a billion-dollar investment for the U.S. government, which ranks in the top 10 of biggest spenders on marketing campaigns.
In 2010, federal agencies spent $945 million on ad contracts. More than half of this total was allocated ... read more
Wall Street Set to Cash in again by Buying Bulk Foreclosed Homes and Renting Them Out
Having helped cripple the housing market, Wall Street firms are now seeking to profit from the millions of foreclosed homes by buying up properties and renting them out.
Fannie Mae is helping arrange the deal, by packaging large numbers of ban... read more
Should Bipartisan “JOBS Act” be Renamed “De-Regulate Big Business Bill”?
Rather than focus on helping smaller businesses, Republicans and Democrats in Washington have come together on legislation that would assist large corporations and allow them to skirt financial disclosure rules.
The Jump-Start Our Business Sta... read more
Banks Paid Off Government Loans by Taking More Government Loans
The good news about the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is that most of the remaining money owed by banks will soon be paid back. The bad news is that some of the loans are being paid with other taxpayer dollars.
Of the $414 billion in TA... read more