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National Debt
Government Waste
- EMERGENCY SESSION! $26 billion Payoff for Unions and Special Interests is an Emergency?
August 17, 2010
The annual August Congressional Recess is one of only a few times a year the American Taxpayer can be sure a bill isn’t being considered to spend billions of dollars we don’t have. However, this August, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and President Obama had different plans.
Full article... - Government Backing Away from Business
July 10, 2009
The government seems eager to be getting out of the business of bailing out banks and other large institutions, many of which have been responsible for the downturn in the global and U.S. economies.
Full article... - Auditing the Fed
July 07, 2009
Rep. Ron Paul (TX), fresh off a dark-horse bid for the presidency, has finally gained traction on accomplishing a task he first attempted 26 years ago: auditing the Federal Reserve.
Full article... - U.S. Needs Exit from Corporate America
June 15, 2009
While many corporations and business entities once clamored for government bailout money at the height of the recent financial collapse, the government's continued presence and influence in decisions being made is having a negative impact on the recovery process.
Full article... - U.S. Tax Dollars Funding Pakistani Nukes?
May 18, 2009
As reported in The New York Times, members of Congress have been briefed on reports that Pakistan, mired in political and religious turmoil, is adding to its nuclear arsenal raising concerns that billions of U.S. Aid dollars are being siphoned off to pay for the new weapons.
Full article... - Secretary of Defense to Congress: Cut the Waste
April 12, 2009
Secretary of Defense (SoD) Robert Gates, an appointee from the Bush administration retained by the Obama administration, released his proposed budget for the Pentagon calling for drastic reforms and a "fundamental overhaul" of programs and procedures designed to cull hundreds of billions of dollars of waste in the form of outdated and unnecessary programs.
Full article... - AIG Bonuses Nothing New
March 18, 2009
The recent bonuses totaling $165 million given out to AIG employees should not have come as a surprise to anyone as they were part of contracts written well over a year ago and are largely the result of legislation passed in the early 1990’s.
Full article... - Waste Inc., Coming Soon
March 12, 2009
CapitolWatch will be introducing a new section to the website in the next few days, Waste Inc., which will keep a running list of stories and events detailing the wasting of U.S. tax dollars by our government.
Full article... - The More Things Change...
February 06, 2009
As is very well detailed in a Washington Post Op-Ed piece, President Obama has become mired in the thick, inescapable mud of Washington and is at risk of defaulting on many of his campaign promises and ideals of "change".
Full article... - Do As We Say, Not As We Do
January 06, 2009
While members of Congress derided the auto industry for lavish expenses (rightfully) and seem to be sounding the alarm of fiscal discipline (also rightfully), they are unceremoniously getting a $4,700 annual pay raise at taxpayer expense (wrongfully).
Full article... - GM Bankruptcy Possible; Due
November 07, 2008
General Motors announced today that they did not have enough money to continue to operate the company through the end of the year a day after meeting with members of the House of Representatives in Washington.
Full article... - More Tax Dollars Down the Drain
November 05, 2008
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated Wednesday that she is working to bring about a second stimulus package to help stimulate the shaky U.S. economy, which asides from being proven not to work, will cost the government tens of billions of dollars that it doesn't have.
Full article... - AIG May Fail Costing Taxpayers $123 Billion
October 24, 2008
News that financially-strapped insurance firm AIG has spent three-quarters of its $123 billion loan from the government paying off bad investments is followed by a statement from the firm's CEO that the $123 billion may not be enough to keep the company from failing.
Full article... - Less Government = Less Waste
October 17, 2008
There was a great report by John Stossel on the television program "20/20" outlining the ineffectiveness of government in actually doing much it sets out to do, and went through a long laundry list of how much taxpayer money is wasted and progress delayed courtesy of the officials we elect to do the exact opposite.
Full article... - Fear and Panic Inappropriate Tactics for Government
September 25, 2008
With the president’s dire forecast for the economic outlook of the nation during his prime time speech to the endless panic emanating from the Federal Reserve, one might think that the sky were falling and that the end of our way of life is at hand.
Full article... - Bank Failures Part of Cycle; Fed, Congress Should Remain Hands-Off
September 19, 2008
The string of major financial institutions failing in recent weeks, from Fannie Mac and Freddie Mae to Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, to those on the verge of collapsing such as AIG and Washington Mutual, are all clear indications that the standard practices of these and many other companies have not been as stringent and well-thought out as their customers and shareholders might have expected.
Full article... - CEO Reform Needed in Light of Failures, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae
September 09, 2008
Reform to the structure and terms of CEO pay have been a long-simmering issue that has gained traction recently, especially as more and more prominent companies are failing while their executives are receiving millions and millions of dollars even as they’re being fired.
Full article... - Corn Subsidies: Good for Politicians, Bad for Everyone Else
June 23, 2008
A favorite hobby of politicians running for office and campaigning in Iowa is to talk about the great value of corn and ethanol subsidies to the hard-working farmers that are the back bone of this great nation of ours.
Full article... - Funding the Oil Companies
June 11, 2008
This week saw the defeat of a Democrat-backed bill that would impose windfall profit taxes on oil companies in light of their continuing record profits (the five biggest U.S. oil companies made $36 billion from January to March of 2008).
Full article... - Money Mismanagement 101 in Washington, DC
March 26, 2008
Leave it to the federal government to bungle one of its most important tasks: managing the tax dollars we as citizens pay.From the "stimulus package" debacle to the calls from Congress to create a bailout fund for people who are unable to pay their mortgages, the onus of responsibility has continued to shift from individuals to the government and in doing so, consume resources that are dwindling in a time when more relevant needs are rising exponentially.
Full article... - Wasted Taxpayer Dollars in Farm Country
December 15, 2007
The Senate approved a farm bill that would provide government subsidies to farmers earning up to $2.5 million after expenses, rejecting an amendment to lower the cutoff amount to $750,000 (in case you were wondering, $750,000 is 15 times the 2006 median household income).
Full article... - Fiscal Responsibility = Lower Taxes
August 07, 2007
For a number of years now this idea has been a key component of the CapitolWatch.org philosophy, but at no time since has it been more obvious and relevant.
Full article... - Rampant Wasting of Taxpayer Dollars in Iraq
February 15, 2007
Through faulty contracts, negligent oversight, and shoddy workmanship, billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars are being wasted on contract projects throughout Iraq; an on-going problem with no end in sight.
Full article... - Criminal Lawmakers Getting YOUR Tax Dollars
January 05, 2007
Lawmakers who have been found guilty of or pleaded guilty to criminal offences while in office are eligible, and are receiving, government pensions paid for directly with your tax dollars.
Full article... - Proposed Legislation Will Fight Government Waste
November 30, 2006
Rep. Henry Waxman (CA), a longtime critic of the current government contracting system, has plans to reform the process and help eliminate the wasting of billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Full article...
FactCheck.org
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of what is being heard and said; you are guaranteed to be surprised."So tonight, to you, the great silent majority of Americans, I ask for your support."
Richard M. Nixon, November 3, 1968
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