Debt-Flicks: The Untouchables

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?

TOP DEM...

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Spending Daily | June 10, 2013

“These Controversies Are About Trust”

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...

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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...

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Spending Daily |June 7, 2013

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...

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Debtflix: Face/Off

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney yesterday said that President Obama’s focus to make government “efficient and effective” a “cornerstone of his administration.” Yet just a few weeks ago the White House was making the opposite argument when former White House advisor David Axelrod said it’s hard for a president to know what’s really going on “because the government is so vast.” After the discovery of egregious spending scandals at the IRS and General�...

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Hamel: Future Insolvency Of Social Security, Medicare Requires Urgent Action

Arlington, Va. – The Social Security and Medicare trustees today released their 2013 annual report, detailing the fiscal condition of two of the most important federal programs for seniors. Medicare added only two years of solvency, with the hospital insurance trust fund due to be exhausted by 2026, and Social Security is still projected to be i...

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Spending Daily | May 31, 2013

“IRS May Have Targeted Conservatives More Broadly”

McClatchy reports, “A group of anti-abortion activists in Iowa had to promise the Internal Revenue Service it wouldn’t picket in front of Planned Parenthood. Catherine Engelbrecht’s family and business in Texas were audited by the government after her voting-rights group sought tax-exempt status from the IRS. Retired military veteran Mark Drabik of Nebraska became active in and donated to conservative cau...

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As The World Turns

Months after dire warnings from the White House, the sequester spending cuts have been left in place, and the world is still turning. But some things never change: The federal government is still growing, taking in record revenue and still wasting billions of it on duplication and inefficiency.  And instead of rooting out the waste, Washington seems intent on maintaining the status quo by making cuts as visible as possible.

AFTER DIRE WARNINGS ON SEQUESTER, SOME LEFT SCRA...

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Spending Daily | May 30, 2013

“Poll: President Obama job approval rating down”

POLITICO reports, “President Barack Obama’s approval rating took a hit amid three controversies surrounding his administration, including an investigation into the IRS unfairly targeting conservative groups seeking nonprofit status, a new poll Thursday showed. Obama has a 45 percent approval rating and a 49 percent disapproval rating — compared with a 48 percent approval, 45 percent disapproval rating from ...

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Spending Daily | May 29, 2013

“The Case For Smaller Government Grows In The Wake Of Scandals”

Gretchen Hamel writes on Bankrupting America, James Madison famously said, “If men were angels, we would need no government.” Days after the IRS and other scandals came to light, it appears that quote needs a re-evaluation. The government has grown well past its original intentions and is wading into the murky waters of targeting those who wish to hold it accountable. The fact is, government is...

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Spending Daily | May 28, 2013

IRS Could Recoup Billions In Unpaid Taxes

The Washington Guardian reports, “The Internal Revenue Service can improve its handling of tax examinations and audits, allowing it to recoup more of the estimated $450 billion annually in unpaid taxes, investigators said. Although not directly tied to the embattled tax-exempt office that has come under fire from lawmakers this week, the report by the Government Accountability Office shows there’s still room for improve...

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How President Obama Learned to Stop Worrying and Live with the Sequester

A little more than a month ago White House Press Secretary Jay Carney warned against “piecemeal fixes” to the sequester, insisting that it was a situation that could not be “finessed.” Yet the Federal Aviation Administration, along with Vice President Joe Biden’s office, meat inspectors—and now the National Park Service—managed to find a few ways to do some finessing and carry on with business. And now it see...

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Spending Daily | May 22, 2013

Star Witness to Plead the Fifth in IRS Hearing

The Associated Press reports, “A House committee taking Congress’ latest look at the Internal Revenue Service’s mistreatment of tea party groups will apparently have to do so without input from the star witness. IRS official Lois Lerner will invoke her constitutional right to not answer questions on Wednesday at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing, her lawyer told the panel in a lett...

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Uncle Buck

This week, the White House admitted that senior aides insulated President Obama from the IRS audit, deciding it was best to keep him “out of the loop.”  While, the president has insisted numerous times that, ultimately, the buck stops with him, Jay Carney said that the president agreed with the decision of senior staff to keep him in the dark.  With top IRS officials pleading ignorance (and the fifth) and given the evolving story from the White House, it’s worth asking: Is a...

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Spending Daily | May 21, 2013

Praying for Oklahoma

Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families in Oklahoma impacted by yesterday’s devastating tornado, and especially for those who lost loved ones.  As first responders and volunteers continue to search for survivors, Bankrupting America will be using our social media outlets to direct people to donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. In addition, NBC News is informing readers of a number of national and local charities ...

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Spending Daily | May 20, 2013

Bankrupting America Launches New Debt Ceiling Resource Center

Bankrupting America, a project of Public Notice, today launched a Debt Ceiling Resource Center to provide facts and the latest news and developments as Congress debates increasing the nation’s debt ceiling this summer.  The resource center will educate Americans about the key drivers of the debt, provide a 10-year projection of future increases and explain why any deal in Congress must include equal t...

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Bye-Bye, Balance

After months of advocating for a “balanced approach” to our debt and deficits, it seems like the administration is pulling a 180 on the debt ceiling. Despite the overwhelming support from Americans (73 percent) to tie a debt ceiling increase to spending cuts, the administration is saying they “will not negotiate.”  A “balanced approach” to raising the debt ceiling would take steps to address our long-term fiscal crisis (as outlined in the latest CBO report).  What...

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Spending Daily | May 17, 2013

“Report: Leader Of IRS Office That Targeted Tea Party Now Runs ObamaCare Office”

The Washington Post, “The woman who ran the office accused of targeting Tea Party groups is now running the office tasked with implementing ObamaCare. ABC News reported Thursday that Sarah Hall Ingram, the former director of the office that oversaw tax-exempt organizations during the alleged targeting of conservative groups, now leads the office in charge of the Affordable Care...

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The Exception Or The Rule?

With the IRS admitting to inappropriately targeting conservative groups – beginning back in 2011 – it’s worth taking another look at how the culture in Washington has been driven by politics even before this latest scandal.  Just a few weeks ago, serious questions were being raised about how federal agencies were implementing the sequester.  The White House repeatedly warned of the dire consequences of a 3 percent spending cut, and some have suggested that the...

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Spending Daily | May 16, 2013

IRS Acting Commissioner Resigns, But Scandal Far From Over

The Associated Press reports, “Don’t look for the outcry over the Internal Revenue Service’s improper targeting of tea party groups to subside with the ouster of the agency’s acting commissioner. Three congressional committees are investigating and the FBI is looking into potential civil rights violations at the IRS, Attorney General Eric Holder said. … President Barack Obama said Trea...

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