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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Then: The major holders of the U.S. national debt, from the first time we featured the chart, back in January 2011: Now: Political Calculations’ most recent update of the chart, showing where things stand three and a half years later: The biggest change in the design of the chart is that the Federal Reserve’s…
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We’re always on the lookout for ways to describe gargantuan amount of spending done by government, and we found a neat example created by Kevin Erdmann, who simply graphed both the level of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product per Capita and the total amount of government expenditures at all levels (federal, state, and local)…
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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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