California governor Jerry Brown has signed off on a $5.2 billion deal that will raise the tax on gasoline, raise the tax on diesel and raise user fees on motorists. Before the Memorial Day weekend, Brown ranted that those who complain about this tax hike are “freeloaders.” This doesn’t deserve a response, but taxpayers…
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While beating the drum for tuition hikes, University of California president Janet Napolitano maintained a secret slush fund of $175 million and tried to block an investigation by state auditors. That was okay with the University of California regents, who hailed the leadership of the former Arizona governor and Department of Homeland Security boss….
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How much has changed at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs over the last three years? That’s an important question to ask on this Memorial Day holiday. Just over three years ago, MyGovCost began covering the secret wait-list, healthcare-rationing scandal at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Here’s how we described the roots of…
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Before diving into the more interesting numbers in President Trump’s first official budget proposal, let’s ask a budget-history trivia question: When was the last time that any U.S. president proposed a federal budget that would be balanced within 10 years? If you guessed President George W. Bush in 2007, you’re right! Now, suppose you…
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As we noted, failed presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has been pushing California to establish what he calls “single payer” health care. This is a misnomer for several reasons, particularly on the issue of cost. As legislators recently learned, the price tag is $400 billion a year to cover all health and administrative costs, twice…
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It’s here! After months of anticipation following March release of President Trump’s “skinny” budget proposal (cover pictured on the right), the president’s “fat” budget proposal is being released today. Bloomberg summarizes the main features that define President Trump’s first full budget proposal. President Donald Trump would dramatically reduce the U.S. government’s role in society…
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President Donald Trump has decried the “tremendous waste, fraud and abuse” in the federal government, and proclaimed “we’re going to get it.” When it comes to the Pentagon, that is going to be a tough task. As we noted late last year, the Pentagon buried an internal study exposing $125 billion in administrative waste….
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What happens to Americans who have taken out student loans from the U.S. government, but aren’t able to pay them back? Increasingly, the U.S. government is taking them to court to get its money back. National Public Radio’s Bobby Allyn reports on a relatively new policy that the U.S. Department of Education put into…
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As we noted, University of California president Janet Napolitano has been beating the drum for tuition hikes while maintaining a secret slush fund of $175 million, California’s state auditor recently revealed. As Republican assemblyman Dante Acosta pointed out, Napolitano’s office spent the hidden money “on things such as administrator bonuses and renovating the homes…
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The state of Connecticut’s fiscal outlook took a sharp turn for the worse this week. Following the state’s sharp plunge in income tax revenues earlier this month, which prompted the state to completely drain its rainy day fund and to modestly cut the state government’s budget, the state’s growing debt burden and pension liabilities…
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