Where is the Money Going?
Ex-Sen. Dodd, Now a Lobbyist, Threatens Democrats with Loss of Hollywood Support
Democrats in Congress were threatened last week by one of their former colleagues, ex-senator Christopher Dodd, who warned lawmakers they had better support controversial anti-piracy legislation or else risk losing Hollywood’s bounty of campaign c... read more
Extreme Revolving Door: Ex-Rep. Delahunt Profits from Earmark He Created
In what may be the first of its kind, a congressman who once earmarked money for a local alternative energy project is financially benefitting from the very same project, now that he has left office
William Delahunt (D-Massachusetts) served in... read more
Over-Policed Suburb to Shut Down Police Department to Save Money
In an era when budget cuts have crippled police protection in some cities, the tiny village of Woodmere, Ohio, which employs nine officers to serve and protect only 884 residents (one of the highest ratios in the country) is on the verge of elimin... read more
Obama Donors Reap Rewards
Like other presidents before him, President Barack Obama has made sure to reward those individuals who help collect money for his presidential campaign.
An investigation by the Center for Public Integrity found that hundreds of "bundlers" (peo... read more
Growth Industry: Helping Rich People Get Richer
There is money to be made, a lot of it, helping the wealthy make and protect their fortunes.
One group is known as compensation consultants. These high-flyers assist Wall Street firms decide how many millions they can spend each year on bonuse... read more
Bodies of the Poor Piling Up at Chicago Morgue
Times are so tough in Illinois that the state and its largest city are having a difficult time burying its poor.
In Chicago, bodies are stacking up in the city morgue because the medical examiner's office hasn't paid for the burial boxes used ... read more
More than Half of Americans’ Home Equity Lost in Last 6 Years
Shortly after the New Year began, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sent a sobering, if not alarming, report to Congress on the state of the U.S. housing market.
Right off the bat, Bernanke told lawmakers in the first paragraph of the repo... read more
Median Income for White Families in U.S. Almost Double Blacks and Latinos
Whites today enjoy considerable economic advantage over the largest minority groups in the United States—a disparity that's expected to exist far into the future even as Caucasians shrink in numbers and no longer represent a majority of the Americ... read more
Pentagon Plans to Spend $37 Billion on Drones
Budgetary plans by the Department of Defense demonstrate that the U.S. military plans to spend heavily this decade on unmanned aircraft.
Between now and 2020, the Pentagon intends to spend nearly $36.9 billion on a variety of drones. Two of th... read more
44 Congressional Darlings of the Koch Brothers
Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a pro-big business group that, along with sibling organizations also funded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, has spent millions advocating against health care reform, labor unions, federal stimulus sp... read more
Embarrassed Oregon Town Poised to Cancel Project to Build Bus Shelters for $106,000 Each
Chagrined by media attention on its plan to build four bus shelters at a total cost of $530,000, the small southern Oregon town of Grants Pass (population: 33,225) is set to cancel the project its city council approved only a few days ago. Althoug... read more
U.S. Government Forks Out $100 Million in Grants to Secure Republican and Democratic Conventions
Seeking to ensure the protection of top Republican and Democratic politicos, the U.S. government has funneled $100 million to the host cities of this year’s presidential nominating conventions. This calls into question why the 42% of Americans who... read more
Corporate Welfare: State Taxpayers Pay to Train Workers for Large Corporations
Taxpayers are increasingly covering the cost of training for a corporation’s workforce, without getting any long-term benefit in return.
For instance, North Carolina has spent a million dollars for 400 residents to learn skills for working in ... read more
Pennsylvania Teachers Agree to Work for Free after Funds Cut
Teachers in Pennsylvania’s Chester Upland School District in Delaware County, west of Philadelphia, intend to keep working indefinitely even though they won’t be paid after Wednesday by the broke district.
Unions representing more than 260 ins... read more
College Graduate Unemployment Depends on Your Major
Students who decided four or more years ago to major in nursing or teaching have fared a lot better in the job market than those who focused on computers, liberal arts or social sciences.
A new study by researchers at Georgetown University fou... read more
$20 Billion Later, Ethanol Tax Credits Finally Expire
It took three decades and a historic deficit to motivate them, but Congress finally killed a lucrative farm subsidy that promoted the sale of ethanol.
Technically, lawmakers took no action to end the corn-based subsidy, as it was set to expire... read more