Author Archive: Stephanie Freedman

Stephanie Freedman a former Publicity Coordinator at the Independent Institute.
Full biography and recent publications

Extravagance at Taxpayer Expense Continues…to Maui!


Tuesday May 22nd, 2012   •   Posted by Stephanie Freedman at 10:49am PDT   •   1 Comment

Did Washington learn anything from the GSA fiasco? Only a month after the scandal, government bureaucrats seem to be at it again: showing no financial responsibility on taxpayer dime. Destination: Maui. Aloha! Breitbart reports: Judges from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, federal district and bankruptcy courts in nine Western states and two Pacific island territories,…
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“The Life of Julia” Promotes a Lifetime of Dependency


Wednesday May 9th, 2012   •   Posted by Stephanie Freedman at 2:52pm PDT   •   2 Comments

“The Life of Julia” is an interactive slideshow from Barack Obama’s reelection campaign that portrays a woman living her whole life reliant on government programs. In so doing, it inadvertently exposes the cyclical effect that government “help” can produce. Meet Julia, a girl who is automatically put into the system by being placed in…
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Defense Secretary Spends $30,000 Per Trip to Go Home Weekly


Tuesday April 17th, 2012   •   Posted by Stephanie Freedman at 5:00pm PDT   •   5 Comments

The Wall Street Journal reports: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta defended his government-plane trips to his California home Monday, but said he regretted the cost to taxpayers—about $870,000—at a time when the Pentagon faces billions of dollars in spending cuts. “I regret that it does … add costs that the taxpayer has to pick up,”…
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Washington Hires the Most Expensive Gardener Known to Man


Friday April 13th, 2012   •   Posted by Stephanie Freedman at 10:57am PDT   •   10 Comments

CNS News reports: The government spent at least $205,075 in 2010 to “translocate” a single bush in San Francisco that stood in the path of a $1.045 billion highway-renovation project that was partially funded by the economic stimulus legislation President Barack Obama signed in 2009. It must be easy to spend this kind of…
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Government Spending on Autopilot


Wednesday April 4th, 2012   •   Posted by Stephanie Freedman at 2:18pm PDT   •   0 Comments

A recent article in the Huffington Post points out that our country is officially on spending autopilot. What do I mean when I say the budget is “on autopilot”? Right now, vast swaths of government spending are classified as “mandatory.” That means certain programs are funded automatically. In other words, they are funded outside…
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Another Day, Another Taxpayer Waste


Tuesday March 13th, 2012   •   Posted by Stephanie Freedman at 9:16am PDT   •   6 Comments

I realize that I might be getting a tad redundant by reporting all these aggravating ways that the government is wasting our hard earned money, but I can’t get enough of the stupidity of some of these “investments.” Story via endoftheamericandream.com.  #1 The U.S. government is spending $750,000 on a new soccer field for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. #2 The…
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Super Tuesday Special: How Does Each Candidate Rate?


Tuesday March 6th, 2012   •   Posted by Stephanie Freedman at 11:33am PST   •   0 Comments

CNN Money offers a clear cut break down of what each candidate’s budget plan would do for the deficit: Newt Gingrich’s plan Debt over next decade: Adds $7 trillion, increasing debt to GDP to 114%. Costliest proposal: Create an alternative flat tax of 15%, which would increase debt by $3.4 trillion. Biggest cost saver: Turn means-tested federal programs…
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Nothing “Interesting” About These Numbers


Monday March 5th, 2012   •   Posted by Stephanie Freedman at 12:07pm PST   •   2 Comments

CNN reports the monstrosity of a bill that our interest alone will be handing the U.S. in the coming future. Uncle Sam will shell out more than $5 trillion in interest payments over the next decade, according to the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office. That’s more than half of the projected $11 trillion…
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Thanks Uncle Sam! The Tale of the $725,000 Pizza Machine


Wednesday February 29th, 2012   •   Posted by Stephanie Freedman at 4:00pm PST   •   5 Comments

Remind me to take Uncle Sam on my next shopping spree because it seems like he’s up for purchasing anything! Here are more glorious examples him wasting taxpayer money courtesy billshrink.com. The $725,000 Pizza Machine One all too common consequence of spending other people’s money is failure to think ahead. A telling example can…
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America’s Per Capita Government Debt Worse Than Greece


Thursday February 23rd, 2012   •   Posted by Stephanie Freedman at 4:11pm PST   •   7 Comments

Via The Weekly Standard: The office of Senator Jeff Sessions, ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, sends along this chart, showing that “America’s Per Capita Government Debt Worse Than Greece,” as well as Ireland, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain! Not that I can’t say I’m not shocked, but it is still quite sad.

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