Which of the following three entities of the U.S. government would you say is the least responsible when it comes to the U.S. federal government budget? The President of the United States The U.S. Senate The U.S. House of Representatives Here are the key responsibilities of each entity: By law, the President of the…
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The federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing minimum sound requirements for electric cars, hybrids and other vehicles in order to warn pedestrians, cyclists and the sight-impaired. The rule is based on a 2009 NHTSA study of state-level accident data finding that 77 of 8,387 hybrid vehicles (.9 percent) were involved in…
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The U.S. tax code places a “significant, even unconscionable burden” on taxpayers and needs to be completely overhauled. That is the view of Nina E. Olson, national taxpayer advocate with the Internal Revenue Service, as she explained to Congress on January 9. The code is so complicated, that individuals and business have to spend…
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How much will your paycheck change as a result of the recently passed fiscal cliff deal in Washington D.C.? The answer to that question depends not just upon how quickly your employer can incorporate the required changes in federal withholding tax rates, but also upon which set of instructions they received from the IRS…
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We have been following California’s hidden-money scandal, in which bureaucrats in the state Parks Department concealed $54 million for more than a decade, even as the Department was shutting down 70 parks, the state facing budget deficits of $16 billion, and politicians stumping for huge tax increases. One legislator wanted to know how much…
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Millions of Americans are bracing for fiscal cliff fallout, looking for jobs, postponing purchases and cutting back on spending. Not so Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors. As the Los Angeles Times noted, Mr. Musk just plunked down $17 million for a 20,248-square-foot Bel-Air mansion with a gym, seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, tennis court,…
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On January 3, 2013, President Obama signed, via autopen, the fiscal cliff deal, in which President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 income tax cuts were made permanent for all but those individuals earning more than $400,000 per year or families earning more than $450,000 per year, who are now required to pay the Clinton-era 39.6%…
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Most American voters want to see the federal government make spending cuts across the board, but those same voters doubt such cuts will take place, according to a recent Rasmussen Poll. The survey found that only 39 percent of likely voters think it is somewhat likely that government will significantly reduce spending while 57…
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On December 21, U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order giving all federal workers except the U.S. Postal Service a holiday on December 24. The Los Angeles Times estimated the cost of the shutdown at $100 million and noted that in addition to Christmas Eve, federal employees got, count ’em, 10 paid holidays…
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