In the latest campaign in the battle over government monopoly health care, what some call “socialized medicine,” one potentially strategic player has been missing in action. That would be Regina M. Benjamin, MD, the 18th Surgeon General of the United States. That office began in 1798 with the U.S. Marine Hospital Service, launched to…
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The U.S. Treasury Department has invested $50 billion in the General Motors bailout and now owns 26.5 percent of GM stock, about 200 million shares and more than one-fourth of the company. GM was happy to get the taxpayer dough but now wants the government to sell its stock. Trouble is, the government won’t…
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On a recent C-SPAN show, Richard Cordray, director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, (CFPB) confirmed that the new federal agency that hasn’t done much in its first 14 months except expand an already bloated and wasteful government during a recession. The CFPB is the result of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform…
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Last year 30 million passengers road Amtrak, which on September 10 announced monthly ridership records for the last 11 months. That should come as no surprise with gasoline above $4 a gallon in much of the country. But Amtrak bosses, doubtless looking for more federal handouts, left out a few realities. Last year Amtrak…
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Electric cars have been around for more than 100 years but now the federal government “incentivizes” them, as politicians like to say. Electric vehicles (EVs) purchased in 2010 or after may be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500. (The credit amount varies based on the capacity of the battery.)…
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On August 31, total U.S. government debt surpassed $16,000,000,000,000—that’s $16 trillion—for the first time, according to the Treasury Department. The exact amount of the debt on August 31 was $16,015,769,788,215.80, a full $25,000,000,000 – that’s $25 billion—more than what it was the day before on August 30. So the debt is now much more…
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On August 23, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) declared that some 40 miles of levees protecting California’s capital of Sacramento and 15 other areas do not meet federal maintenance criteria. Therefore they are not eligible for federal aid if damaged in a storm. Local agencies, however, see contradictions in USACE policy. The…
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“Solyndra’s power solutions offer strong return on investment and make great business sense.” That is a rather strange claim for the website of Solyndra Inc., accessed on August 29, 2012 no less. Some history is in order. Solyndra was the first renewable energy firm to get federal stimulus money and bagged $535 million in…
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National unemployment is more than 8 percent and 10.7 percent in California. In these conditions many baby boomers, especially those whose unemployment benefits have run out, have opted to take Social Security at age 62. They may find themselves facing federally enforced poverty. The Social Security monthly payout at 62 is substantially less than…
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A majority of Americans approves of the Transportation Safety Authority, according to a recent Gallup poll. A full 54 percent of Americans say the TSA is doing an excellent or good job and 30 percent rating the TSA as only “fair.” Only 12 percent of Americans, according to the poll, said the TSA was…
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