As we recently noted, California’s government employee unions do not hesitate to tell anybody who will listen that the state capitol is “our house.” Indeed, they hold mass rallies for that purpose. Journalists, on the other hand, have a hard time getting across the reality that government employee unions really run the place. But…
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There are some really surprising poll results from polling firm Rasmussen Reports, which give a sense of how popular spending cuts would be today. Rasmussen sets the stage for the environment in which they conducted their survey: President Obama yesterday criticized congressional Republicans for insisting on spending cuts in any budget deal that continues…
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As this column has noted, the federal government of the United States is a spending machine, much of it on autopilot. But the economic downturn of recent years has forced spending cuts known as “sequestration.” That has made the federal trough a noisy place, but also informative. Philip Joyce, a professor at the University…
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From the creative minds at Bankrupting America, a fun look inside how every federal government agency really works, inspired by “The Office”: The second episode of the web series is up at their site, with a third episode on the way….
Government profligacy often escapes notice because of its “slow-motion impact,” as a recent Sacramento Bee report on pension payouts confirms. Between 1999 and 2012 average monthly payouts for government retirees doubled and initial payments for one group nearly tripled. For state police and firefighters the average rose from $1,770 to $4,978. California Highway Patrol…
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We can all agree that there’s nothing easier than doing nothing, right? As it happens, there’s an easy way that the U.S. federal government can do nothing and save itself $35 billion worth of potentially wasteful spending. All it has to do is follow through on H.R. 2668, the bill that has already passed…
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U.S. spy agencies call themselves an “intelligence community” (IC). The Washington Post has good reason to dub it an intelligence “colossus,” with 16 spy agencies and 107,035 employees. The IC “black budget” for fiscal year 2013 is $52.6 billion, a lot of money even by Washington standards, and that figure is separate from $23 billion…
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Ever since 1995, the Congressional Budget Office, the main scorekeeper for determining the impact of federal government spending programs upon the United States’ national debt, has been using an accounting scheme that conceals the full scope of the liabilities being taken on by the nation to fulfill the promises of today’s free-spending politicians. But…
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The fire at Chevron’s Richmond, California, refinery has been out for more than a year, but the blaze still illuminates governments’ ability to take any crisis situation and make it worse. The August 6, 2012, fire belched smoke and drove thousands of people to medical centers for treatment of breathing problems. The US Chemical…
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When someone embezzles more than $300,000 from a business, that company is not likely to hire back the embezzler and give her a promotion. But such is not the case with the state of California, which even changed the rules so the embezzler could get a new job. As a recent report noted, Carey…
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