Where is the Money Going?
Massachusetts Law Charges Drivers to Fight Traffic Tickets
No matter how much a Massachusetts motorist might want to avoid a traffic fine, going to court to fight a citation is still going to cost them. That’s because the state now charges residents $25 just to appear before a traffic court judge to argue... read more
Wealthy Get Even with Obama by Not Buying: Dan Kennedy
There are plenty of reasons why the rich are not spending money like they have in previous years, including investment losses and poor-performing businesses, writes entrepreneur Dan Kennedy. More than half of all households earning $250,000 or mor... read more
Bailout Freed GM from Pollution Cleanup Responsibilities
General Motors got not only a new lease on life from its government-engineered reorganization, but also permission to walk away from cleaning up its old polluted factory sites. From Michigan to New York local officials are seriously concerned that... read more
Women on Obama Staff Earn Less than Men
In some respects President Barack Obama has done right by women—by including gender identity in the administration’s employee nondiscrimination statement (a first) and by signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. But when it comes to which members... read more
Banks are Back to Their Old Tricks
Bank officials are at it again. Having survived last year’s financial meltdown—in large part because of the federal bailout program—many of the nation’s biggest financial institutions are once again offering high-risk opportunities to investors, w... read more
Congressman Proposes Sin Tax on Oil Speculators
Levying a tax on oil speculation would produce two important benefits for the country, argues Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and supporters of his plan. By treating oil speculation like gambling, and implementing a 0.02% sin tax on the trading o... read more
Who Got Federal Small Business Contracts? Don’t Ask, Government Won’t Tell
With previous government investigations revealing the awarding of small business contracts to large corporations, the American Small Business League (ASBL) figured it would be a good idea to check up on who is receiving contracts from federal agen... read more
Obama’s New Friend: Powerful Drug Industry Lobbyist
So much for Billy the bad guy. Last year during the presidential campaign Barack Obama singled out former Democratic congressman Billy Tauzin of Louisiana for helping the pharmaceutical industry keep its drug pricing regime with Medicare as part o... read more
With Stimulus Funds, So Far, Big Companies are Biggest Winners
Many of the nation’s largest government contractors have received the biggest portion of stimulus funds to date, according to an analysis by Government Executive. The publication found 17 corporations were awarded $1.62 billion in contracts under ... read more
Biggest Tax Revenue Decline Since 1932
Thanks to the lean economic times, the U.S. government is hungry for cash, as tax receipts across the board have dropped the most in one year since the Great Depression. Overall, tax revenues are expected to be down 18% from 2008’s total, a declin... read more
Fox News Loses Suit Demanding Federal Reserve Loan Information
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Fox News to learn which banks were loaned money by the Federal Reserve during last year’s financial crisis was rejected last week by a federal judge in New York. But the effort to force the Fed to tur... read more
U.S. Shifting to Military Economy
A growing trend in the sale of military goods versus civilian manufacturing has left some observers wondering if the United States is headed towards a military-based economy. Since the beginning of this decade, military durable goods have steadily... read more
More War, More Money for DynCorp
War has been very good for DynCorp, a security and logistics contractor that has earned billions from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than half of the company’s $3 billion in annual revenues comes from jobs in the two war-torn countrie... read more
Banks Engage in Gotcha Capitalism: Carl Horowitz
Banks trying to gouge good customers to make up for new restrictions passed by Congress has infuriated not only those on the left but even conservatives like Carl Horowitz, director of the National Legal and Policy Center’s Organized Labor Account... read more
Big Banks Paid $32 Billion in Bonuses While Losing $81 Billion
Having corrupted the meaning of the word “bonus” in the American lexicon, the nation’s largest banks rewarded employees to the tune of $32 billion last year while losing more than twice that amount and having to accept even larger sums from the fe... read more
Nascar Track Goes Solar
If solar power is to go mainstream, it wouldn’t hurt to win over Nascar fans. The first step may be taking place in Pennsylvania, where owners of the Pocono Raceway are committed to spending $15-$17 million to install the largest solar farm in the... read more