SNAP is the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, the latest ad copy for food stamps, also euphemized as “Dignity Cards.” In California the program is called CalFresh, which sounds like a family restaurant chain. Whatever the name, SNAP is part of a massive handout program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In…
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In his statist manifesto Who Stole the American Dream? New York Times vet Hedrick Smith says “government has to be much smarter in picking the companies it funds, and much tougher overseeing their performance.” Smith’s only example of un-smart funding and oversight was Solyndra, president Obama’s favorite solar energy firm, which transformed more than…
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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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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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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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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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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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Its safety is still in question, and parts remain unfinished, but the eastern span of the Bay Bridge connecting Oakland and San Francisco is slated to open on September 3, the day after Labor Day. The Bay Area Toll Authority approved $5.6 million for a celebration, but California taxpayers might want to take an…
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The recession has been tough on American workers but overall rather kind to the federal ruling class. The Obama administration, for example, has not eliminated any federal agencies but did create a new one, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. But now comes a story that, due to the sequester, much of the U.S government…
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