From Wolters Kluwer, the publishers of the CCH Standard Tax Reporter, comes the answer to the perennial question: how long is the U.S. tax code? For the 2013 tax year (the one for which you either needed to file to pay your federal income taxes or to file for an extension on April 15,…
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The first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing added new confusion to the tragedy. Some politicians still blamed the FBI for not following up on tips from Russian intelligence but a government report blames the Russians for not providing sufficient information. Whatever the case, some facts remain clear. No U.S. intelligence agency, military force,…
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As we have noted, the IRS targets supporters of limited government, calls it “horrible customer service,” and resists inquiry. The IRS also does a poor job combatting fraud, and sends out more than $3 billion to identity thieves. The Social Security Administration has paid out more than $30 million to at least 1,546 dead…
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With the launch of the MyGovCost iPhone app, it’s a good time to consider the trends in government spending that generated the concerns that motivated its creation, by looking at just three numbers: Ten Over the last 10 years, the total public debt outstanding of the U.S. federal government has increased by ten trillion…
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The federal government maintains an $11.6 billion school lunch program feeding 31 million students daily. In 2010 First Lady Michelle Obama championed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which as this report notes “imposed a dizzying array of requirements on calories, portion sizes, even the color of fruits and vegetables to be served.” The rules,…
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The National Taxpayer’s Union has summarized each of the major budget proposals for the U.S. federal government’s 2015 fiscal year. We threw together the following chart to make for a quick visual comparison of each: As you can see, each of the budget proposals increase total spending over FY2014’s baseline level. Each of the…
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When politicians start confusing deficits for “surpluses”, can a train wreck be far behind? Before we go any further, for the sake of avoiding any confusion, let’s define exactly what a deficit is. A deficit is the amount by which cash expenses exceed cash income or revenue. That makes a deficit the exact opposite…
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As we have noted the federal Department of Defense wastes plenty of money and even spends on hardware that the military doesn’t need or want. Likewise, Obamacare has been incredibly wasteful but according to this report, taxpayers should also be looking at the State Department, which can’t seem to find how they spent $6…
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What happens to the price of a product for consumers when the government imposes new regulatory burdens and taxes on those who provide it? If the product is health insurance, where new regulatory burdens have been imposed by the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. “Obamacare”), the answer is that the cost to consumers rises substantially….
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General Motors knew about faulty ignition switches that could cause vehicle engines to turn off, disabling air bags with deadly results. Federal government investigators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration knew about this problem but as this report notes the NHTSA “twice passed on investigating” the faulty switches that “led to at least…
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