Where is the Money Going?
Air Force to Save $17 Million…by Turning Off Computers at Night
In order to keep open the possibility of installing software and updates at night, the U.S. Air Force decided several years ago that it was a good idea to have all of its PCs programmed to come on during the middle of the night and stay on continu... read more
Obama’s $4 Billion Education Grants All Go East of the Mississippi (and Hawaii)
The latest round of funding from the U.S. Department of Education designed to reward innovation in K-12 education went almost entirely to the Eastern United States. The lone exception was Hawaii.
The eastern winners (with the amounts based on ... read more
Single-Family Home Sales Hit 15-Year Low
The dreaded double-dip may be just around the corner. With the latest home-sales figures showing a huge drop off, compared to last month and last year, economists fear the housing market could experience another sustained fall in prices, making it... read more
Environmental Groups Hugely Outspent by Oil and Gas Industry
Not wanting to take anything for granted, what with a Democrat in the White House and Democratic majorities controlling both houses of Congress, environmental groups decided in 2009 to ramp up their lobbying expenditures in order to push through l... read more
Tax the Super Rich by Adding Tax Brackets: James Surowiecki
The problem with the Obama Administration’s plan for taxing the rich (by allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire) is that the increases really don’t target the super rich, writes James Surowiecki in The New Yorker.
By relying on an antiquated tax... read more
Medical Errors Cost Americans $19.5 Billion a Year
As if health care wasn’t costly enough in the United States, from the treatment of illnesses and injuries patients bring with them into the doctor’s office, there’s the cost of mistakes made by medical professionals. One assessment has pegged the ... read more
Government Paid off $62 Million in Student Loans for Federal Employees
Wouldn’t it be nice if your employer paid your student loans for you? That’s what the federal government has been doing the past eight years for a select group of government employees.
A report from the Office of Personnel Management shows 36 ... read more
Blackwater/Xe Pays $42 Million to Continue Contracting with U.S. Government
To keep from losing its business with the U.S. government, Xe Services (formerly called Blackwater Worldwide) has agreed to pay $42 million in fines to the State Department to settle hundreds of violations of export law. Had the security company n... read more
Pentagon Awards $7.3 Billion Contracts for Outsourced Spy Imagery
It used to be that the production and maintenance of spy satellites was in government hands, but now this important aspect of national security is routinely outsourced. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the Department of Defense’s... read more
Local Small Businesses Received Only 14% of Clean-Up Funds after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Small businesses in states ravaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were cut out of most of the government contracts for clean up and rebuilding work that followed the storms in 2005.
An assessment by the Government Accountability Office found t... read more
Stimulus Funds Go to States that Need Them Least
When the White House and Congress decided last year to stimulate the economy, they relied on existing federal spending formulas for distributing the $862 billion. The problem with that strategy was that it resulted in too much money going to state... read more
Student Loan Debt Passes Credit Card Debt for First Time
Credit cards are no longer the biggest personal debt problem for Americans. As of June, outstanding student loans totaled $829.8 billion, while credit card debt was $826.5 billion. Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org and FastWeb.com, told The... read more
Cost of Going to College Jumps 28% in Two Years; Most Non-White Students Live at Home
Going to college is costing considerably more than just two years ago, forcing the majority of minority students to live at home. A new survey produced by Sallie Mae found the average cost of attending a university or college in 2009-2010 was $18,... read more
Pentagon Gives Up on Reducing Contractors
Only a year ago, the Department of Defense announced a commitment to reduce the number of contractors it uses for various services and functions. That plan has already been discarded by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who quietly dropped the go... read more
Sen. Rockefeller Asks FCC to Redirect Landline Funds to Wireless and Broadband
Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-West Virginia) is lending his support to a plan by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to redirect monies dedicated for universal landline phone service to expanding wireless and high-speed Internet access... read more
Nuclear Power Subsidies Would Shift Risks from Industry to Taxpayers
Having been bailed out twice before, and subsidized only five years ago, the nuclear power industry is seeking even more federal assistance from taxpayers, who would be on the hook if expensive, new reactors don’t pan out.
Under the proposed s... read more