Where is the Money Going?
Big Companies Rake in Early Stimulus Funds
Many of the nation’s largest corporations have received million-dollar stimulus contracts after facing modest to no competition, according to The Wall Street Journal. About 20% of the 22,000 federal contracts given out using stimulus monies have b... read more
Final Report on the Bush Economy=Failure, Failure, Failure (Except for the Rich)
The eight years the United States was under the leadership of President George W. Bush were not good ones according to statistics relating to income, poverty and health care. Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau show the median household income... read more
Auto Industry Bailout Looks Like a Loser for Taxpayers
From a purely financial standpoint, the auto industry bailout was not a wise maneuver on the part of the federal government. It can be argued that the assistance was necessary to avert even more job losses in an already recession-wracked economy, ... read more
The Insidious Growth of Overdraft Fees
Overdraft fees have become a lucrative business for banks, especially in recent times when consumers easily run short of cash in their checking accounts. Banks are expected to reap $27 billion in overdraft charges on ATM card transactions alone th... read more
U.S. Has to Pay to Get Rid of Obsolete Ships
When it comes to disposing of old merchant vessels, the U.S. government can’t even give them away. A drop in steel prices, combined with stringent environmental rules, has undercut the value of aging maritime ships in the eyes of salvage companies... read more
Hard Times? Not for U.S. Weapons Makers
The United States is indeed No. 1…when it comes to selling weapons to developing nations and throughout the entire world. Despite a global recession that has put a crimp in worldwide arms sales, business is booming for U.S. weapons manufacturers, ... read more
Bailout Bonuses for Executives
According to the latest report by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) on Wall Street compensation, executives of the top 20 banks that accepted federal bailout money received an average of $32 million each from 2006-2008. The same banks have be... read more
Postal Service Must Borrow to Pay Retiree Health Benefits by End of Month
By the end of this month, when its fiscal year ends, the U.S. Postal Service will have lost $7 billion in 2008-2009, and it will need a loan from the U.S. Treasury just to pay for health benefits for retired postal workers. USPS’s cash on hand, wh... read more
Banks Spend Lavishly to Fight Regulation of Derivatives
When an investment market is worth almost $600 trillion, banks are going to spend heavily to try and keep federal regulators from touching it. That’s what five commercial banks—JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Cit... read more
Pfizer to Pay Largest Criminal Fine in History
After paying $75 million for illegally testing an antibiotic on African children, pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer has agreed to pay the largest health care fraud settlement and the largest criminal fine of any kind ever for illegally marketing ... read more
Jobs Available with Federal Government
Within the next three years, the federal government will be hiring more than 250,000 workers to meet growing demands for skilled workers ranging from health to legal services. A new report by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service says feder... read more
Subprime Lenders to Rake in Government Billions
In an effort to encourage banks that were former subprime lenders to restructure failing mortgages, in February the Obama administration approved the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) that will dole out billions of dollars of taxpayer mo... read more
SEC and Bank of America Fight Back in Court over Weak Bonuses Penalty
Judge Jed Rakoff still isn’t satisfied. The federal judge who refused to accept the settlement between Bank of America and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over attempts to hide the payment of billion-dollar bonuses from bank sharehold... read more
Border Stimulus: $15 Million for Little-Used Checkpoint in Montana; $0 for Major One in Texas
More than $700 million in federal stimulus funds dedicated to upgrading checkpoints along the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada is being unevenly distributed thanks to political influences in Washington. An investigation by the Associated Press ... read more
Banks in California Gained $1 Billion from Unauthorized Bond Sales
School districts throughout California took on an additional $1 billion in debt this decade as a result of bond refinancing schemes encouraged by banks—and now deemed unconstitutional by Attorney General Jerry Brown. About 200 cash-strapped distri... read more
Pharmacies Sue Pfizer and Wyeth over $68 Billion Merger
If pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Wyeth are allowed to merge, the result will be higher drugs prices, lower quality, and the loss of thousands of jobs, according to a lawsuit seeking to halt the $68 billion merger. The challenge has been filed b... read more