This site aggregates Arizona's political blogs. If you would like to have your blog added to the list, contact site administrator Mark B. Evans at mevans@tucsoncitizen.com.
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For a list of all the blogs aggregated, see below.
Though it is off the radar for now, the $17 trillion debt still strangles the private economy and only delays the day of reckoning when the federal government will face bankruptcy.
In a time of attention deficit and lowered expectations, the Congress seems unable to grasp the greatest threat to national security. But the days of denial won’t last.
Shortly the national debt as well as the annual deficit will be back in the headlines. Before the summer is out the Congress will vote on a national...
TIME Poll: “Americans Believe Country Heading In Wrong Direction”
According to TIME, “A majority of Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, according to a new TIME poll, with President Barack Obama’s approval and disapproval ratings essentially tied. Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed said the United States is on the wrong track, with only 33 percent saying it is heading in the right direction. Obama’s approval rating stands at...
A few months ago, the administration insisted there was “no smart way” to avoid the sequester. Soon after, the White House cancelled tours indefinitely, blaming their “staffing reductions” on the spending cuts. However, The Washington Post recently discovered documents detailing the administration’s plans to go on a safari with a counterassault team during their upcoming trip to Africa. Let’s get this straight: the administration can’t find room in the ...
CHCF Center for Health reports, “For many businesses Obamacare is downright intimidating. The requirement to provide coverage to full-time employees or potentially face thousands of dollars in fines is what’s really worrying some large companies. Most employees at large businesses already receive health insurance through their employer. But there are still some exceptions. Barbara Andridge is a sales associate at a W...
Another day, another story (or two) about lavish spending by the federal government on conferences. The latest examples come from the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS), which spent tens of millions of dollars on conferences for employees, some in exotic locations around the world. Our elected officials rarely hesitate to increase taxes on hardworking Americans, yet fight tooth and nail to protect the irresponsible culture of overspending in Washington. Perverse inc...
Senate Investigates $58.7 Million Spent By DOJ On Conferences
The Washington Guardian reports, “The Justice Department spent a whopping $58.7 million last year to send its employees to conferences around the world, a jet-setting junket machine that has a key senator questioning the agency’s commitment to frugality in an era of sequester budget cuts. The department’s expenditures included nearly $500,000 for 30 employees to attend a conference ...
So a bunch of politicians are scratching their heads while deciding what to do about the debt ceiling. It seems as though they have “differing projections” of how bad our budget problems are. It’s odd that after all the dire warnings about the consequences of the debt, there could still be anything other than a consensus. To everyone not in Washington, the writing is already on the wall. We thought we’d help those who are still clueless come up with a solid p...
Hamel: Massive Deficits, Record Revenue Prove Spending Is The Problem
Arlington, Va. – The Treasury Department today released their monthly statement for May 2013, which indicated that Washington is continuing to add to our massive national debt. The statement showed the government ran a $139 billion deficit for the month of May, spending $336 billion and taking in $197 billion in revenue. This deficit is 11 percent higher than what was reported for May 2012.
In advance of today’s Treasury Statement at 2:00pm, Bankrupting America took a look back at how current deficits stack up to past years and previous administrations. The numbers paint a clear picture. It’s not a lack of revenue; Washington has a spending problem.
BACKGROUND FOR THE MAY 2013 MONTHLY TREASURY STATEMENT
Annual Surplus/Deficit:
Compared To The Last Year In Which The Federal Government Ran A Budget Surplus, Real Revenue Will Have Increas...
The Washington Post editorializes, “Information can be efficiency’s best friend. The more that participants in the marketplace know about the true costs and benefits of various goods and services, and about the behavior of other individuals and firms, the easier it is for them to get the most for their money. The U.S. health-care system notoriously lacks transparency, which may be a reason why it produces ...
POLITICO reports, “With Washington consumed by scandals this summer, the White House and GOP congressional leaders are slowly lurching toward a potential debt default or government shutdown this fall. Three months after President Barack Obama began his charm offensive with Senate Republicans, the two sides have yet to even agree on the scope of the spending or deficit problems — let alone what’s needed to solve it...
Problem solved; time to move on. That’s what Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said this weekend about the IRS scandal. But just a couple days earlier Democrat Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) was sounding the alarm that the IRS spending is just “one example of what’s going on in every agency in the country.” So, is the problem really solved, or is Rep. Cummings just eager to move onto the next federal agency wasting millions of tax dollars?
The Associated Press editorializes, “As a candidate, Barack Obama vowed to bring a different, better kind of leadership to the dysfunctional capital. He’d make government more efficient, accountable and transparent. He’d rise above the ‘small-ball’ nature of doing business. And he’d work with Republicans to break Washington paralysis. You can trust me, Obama said back in 2008. And — for a while, a...
Arlington, Va. – At the same time, with below-target GDP growth and millions of Americans still unemployed, the government continues to erect more barriers to job creation. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act in coming months is already adding to the economic uncertainty and discouraging small businesses from hiring.
Public Notice Executive Director Gretchen Hamel issued the following statement:
“Four years after the government injected a massive amount of money into the econom...
Rep. Jackie Speier: “I think the IRS is just one example of what’s going on in every agency in the country …”(House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, “IRS Spending Culture and Conference Abuses” CSPAN 3, 6/6/13)
Today at a House Oversight hearing on IRS spending and conference abuses, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) focused in on the “spend-it-or-lose-it” system in Washington that contributes to a “shopping spree mentality” ...
U.S. Created 175,000 Jobs in May, Unemployment up to 7.6%
MarketWatch reports, “The U.S. created 175,000 jobs in May in a sign that the economy continues to grow at a moderate pace despite higher taxes, federal spending cuts and a weak global economy. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.6% from 7.5%, the Labor Department said Friday, as more people entered the labor force in search of work. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected an increase of 164,000 jobs...
Earlier this week White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that the president has made an “efficient and effective” government a “cornerstone” of his administration and that they take their role as “stewards of the taxpayer dollar very seriously.” But to cut the wasteful spending, you gotta move your muscle. There’s a brand new dance, it’s called the Carney Shuffle.
“Poll: Most say IRS’ targeting was politics-driven” CBS News reports, “Most Americans regardless of party believe political reasons drove the Internal Revenue Service to single out for burdensome and unnecessary scrutiny some conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll out Thursday. The public splits across party lines, though, about whether President Obama and his administration were invo...
Rep. Peter Roskam: Lerner Said Unfair Charges Would Be Dropped in Exchange for Never Running Again for Public Office The Washington Free Beacon reports, “During Tuesdays House Ways and Means Committee Hearing, Rep. Peter Roskam told the story of former business partner Al Salvi. In 1996 while running for United States Senate the Federal Election Commission unjustly targeted Mr. Salvi and the person is charge of enforcement at the time was Lois Lerner, who told Mr....
Did the IRS hire a happiness expert because they felt like they were forced to spend taxpayer money before they lost it? According to an article from The Hill, it appears that might be the case. And after Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel dismissed the idea that increased funding would solve the problems at the IRS during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Rep. Jose Serrano responded, “Are you sure you don’t want any more money?” If this is a glimpse into a...
In a time of attention deficit and lowered expectations, the Congress seems unable to grasp the greatest threat to national security. But the days of denial won’t last.
