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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Getting Defensive

Yesterday, the Defense Department announced it would have to furlough over 600,000 workers come July, claiming it “has no choice” because of the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester. Yet, other agencies have been able to find ways to make the required spending cuts without furloughing any employees. Did the Pentagon really try “everything they could” to avoid furloughing workers? A recent GAO report showing that millions were wasted on new camouflage patterns i...

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Spending Daily | May 15, 2013

“Obama’s Dangerous New Narrative”

Alexander Burns and John F. Harris write in POLITICO, “No contemporary American politician has benefited more from the power of good storytelling than Barack Obama. He vaulted from obscurity to the presidency on the power of narrative — invoking his biography and personal values to make a larger point about how he would lead the nation. So presumably no one understands more vividly than Obama and his close aides just ...

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Spending Daily | May 14, 2013

IRS Commissioner: No “political or partisan motivation” in Targeting of Groups

Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller editorializes in USA Today, “The Internal Revenue Service recognizes that we should have done a better job of handling the influx of applications by advocacy organizations. Mistakes were made, but they were in no way due to any political or partisan motivation. We are — and will continue to be — dedicated to reviewing all applications for t...

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Spending Daily | May 13, 2013

IRS Targeted Groups Lobbying to “make America a better place to live”

The Wall Street Journal reports, “The Internal Revenue Service’s scrutiny of conservative groups went beyond those with ‘tea party’ or ‘patriot’ in their names—as the agency admitted Friday—to also include ones worried about government spending, debt or taxes, and even ones that lobbied to ‘make America a better place to live,’ according to new details of a government ...

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IRS-ted Development

As more details emerge about the IRS targeting organizations that focus on government spending and debt, it’s worth noting that the IRS is a repeat offender when it comes to wasteful spending. The service has spent billions of taxpayer dollars on everything from Blackberrys and Aircards to video production. Maybe they should spend more time cutting out their wasteful spending instead of going after the watchdogs.

IRS Targets Spending Watchdogs: “The Internal Reve...

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No Smart Way?
Project Runaway Spending 

RHETORIC: President Obama: “No Smart Way” To Cut $85 Billion: “The problem is, when you’re cutting $85 billion in seven months … there’s no smart way to do that. There’s no smart way to do that.” (“Obama on Sequester Cuts: ‘There’s No Smart Way To Do That,’” Real Clear Politics, 2/26/13)

REALITY: U.S. Military Camouflage An “Expensive Case Study In Federal Duplication”: “In 2002, the U.S. military had just two kinds ...

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Spending Daily | May 10, 2013

“On Jobs Tour In Texas, Obama Offers Little New Hope For Jobs Progress In Washington”

TIME reports, “President Barack Obama’s campaign-style, jobs-focused swing through the Texas technology core on Thursday was notable mainly for what it left out—any plan for putting his proposals into law. … Ostensibly Obama flew to a Democratic enclave in the deep-red state to pitch his previously announced plan for 15 nationwide manufacturing innovation institutes an...

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Spending Daily | May 9, 2013 

“[WATCH] Video compares government overspending to kids stealing all of their parents’ cash”

Red Alert Politics reports, “You wouldn’t give a kid $1 trillion, so why are we giving politicians in Washington that much money to play with? That’s the question the group Bankrupting America evokes in their newest video ‘Krunk with Kash.’ ‘Last year Washington overspent by $1,000,000,000,000,” a caption on the screen reads. ‘Now politicians claim...

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Spending Daily | May 7, 2013

“Promises, Promises: When Obama’s Promises Conflict”

The Associated Press reports, “Absent a magic potion or explosive economic growth, it was all but inevitable President Barack Obama would have to break some of his campaign promises to keep others. If there’s one thing that distinguished them besides their ambition, it was their incompatibility. Cut a staggering $4 trillion from deficits while protecting big benefit programs, subsidizing more hea...

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No Smart Way?
“Number Crunchers” Edition

White House “number crunchers” have now identified nearly $5 billion they can avoid cutting through recalculations and “arcane budget rules.” So cutting three cents on the dollar was impossible, but when it comes to finding new spending, the White House rolls out the number crunchers.  Meanwhile, the headlines on wasteful spending continue to pile up, much like our $16 trillion-plus national debt.

WHITE HOUSE FINDS WAY TO AVOID CUTTIN...

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Spending Daily | May 6, 2013 

No More Tax-Free Online Shopping?

The Associated Press reports, “Attention online shoppers: The days of tax-free shopping on the Internet may soon end for many of you. The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday on a bill that would empower states to collect sales taxes for purchases made over the Internet. The measure is expected to pass because it has already survived three procedural votes. But it faces opposition in the House, where some Republicans regard it as ...

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Getting Glitch-y Wit It

This past Tuesday President Obama told reporters that there will most likely be some ‘bumps’ and ‘glitches’ in the rollout of the Affordable Health Care Act legislation. But some in his party have another word for it: “train wreck.” While businesses, investors and individuals are expressing fears about changes to the law, Congress is trying to jump the tracks with its own exemption. With the law’s supporters even bracing for impact, it seems implementing ...

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Spending Daily | May 3, 2013

US Economy Adds 165,000 jobs in April

Market Watch reports, “The U.S. created a net 165,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department said Friday. The increase surpassed the 135,000 forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch. What’s more, the economy created an additional 124,000 jobs in March and February than previously reported. The number of new jobs created in March was revised up to 138,000 from 88,000, the Labor Department said, while February’s figure was...

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No Smart Way?
Vacancy Edition

RHETORIC: President Obama: “No Smart Way” To Cut $85 Billion: “The problem is, when you’re cutting $85 billion in seven months … there’s no smart way to do that. There’s no smart way to do that.” (“Obama on Sequester Cuts: ‘There’s No Smart Way To Do That,’” Real Clear Politics, 2/26/13)

REALITY: Vacant Office Government Buildings Cost Taxpayers $1.7 Billion Annually: According to a report by the Government Accountability Office,...

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Spending Daily | May 2, 2013 

SHOCK: White House Can’t Avoid Furloughs

Bloomberg reports, “President Barack Obama began experiencing first-hand the effects of across-the-board federal spending cuts as the first wave of White House furloughs kicked in yesterday. The $85 billion in cuts known as sequestration hit White House staffers with day-long furloughs scattered throughout the next two weeks. All staff classified as non-commissioned will miss one work day without salary during May�...

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No Smart Way?
Oh, Behave…

The blame game in Washington reached a new low yesterday when President Obama said that he shouldn’t have to tell Congress how to “behave” when it comes to the sequester.  In light of the comments, Bankrupting America decided to take a look back at how the White House has been behaving when faced with cutting three cents on the dollar in government spending.

IDEA OF SEQUESTER ORIGINATED FROM WHITE HOUSE

Some Say Sequester Was Obama’s Idea.
Chris Wallace, ...

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