The WasteWatcher

USPS Wants To Branch Out
The holiday season is upon us; the time of year when the mailbox tends to begin filling up with gift catalogs and greeting cards from friends and family. This is also the time of year when the United States Postal Service (USPS) has traditionally...

Wasted Healthcare Dollars
As the national debt exceeds $12 trillion and the monthly deficit record of $176 billion was set in October, it would behoove officials in Washington to take reports of wasteful spending more seriously. This is especially true in regard to the tens...

Jobs Numbers and White House Propaganda
One of the cornerstones of the stimulus bill was to create jobs and help the economy get back on its feet. The Obama administration estimated that between 3 and 4 million jobs would be created or saved once the bill was enacted.

The 72 Hour Bill: A Struggle to Read Over the Shoulder of Congress
This summer’s tea parties and town hall meetings drew hundreds of thousands across the nation. Although there were many issues of concern including healthcare, cap-and-trade, and the general overspending problems in Washington, citizens were united...

Broadband Boondoggles
Wanted: $4.7 billion for a national broadband grant program. Prior experience not necessary.

Taxpayer Money Flying Out the Door
Even if many Americans don’t think that the stimulus package is working, there is still a desire to ensure that the money is being spent wisely rather than being thrown down a rat hole. But, the news that is trickling out from the states does not...

Healthcare: Everyone Gets a Deal and Taxpayers Get the Tab
No one questions that the nation’s healthcare system is troubled and needs to be fixed. Typically, Congress would propose legislation to fix the heart of the problem and then cut whatever side deals are needed to pass the legislation. The Obama...

Congress Plans to Tap Medicare to Pay for Healthcare Reform
The Senate Finance Committee has reported out S. 1796, its version of a health care reform bill. This was preceded, and indeed made possible, by an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the bill would increase federal government...

Medicare is Afflicted with Chronic Wasting Disease, and its Catchy
All of the healthcare reform bills currently under consideration depend, to a significant degree, upon eradicating waste and abuse from Medicare in order to offset the costs of the new coverage package. Squeezing waste out of Medicare is a laudable...

If It Ain’t Broke, Why “Neutralize” It?
On September 21, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed new rules for broadband providers. The so-called “net neutrality” policy is anything but neutral; it would allow for government regulation and...

Debt Watch
Most mundane procedural actions by Congress are not worthy of a headline or even a WasteWatcher article, but the raising of the debt ceiling will surely cause taxpayers to howl.

Budget Gimmicks Hide the True Costs of Obamacare –
There is a lot of discussion of how much the Obama healthcare plan will cost the federal government. The House bill, if passed, will spend more than $1 trillion over 10 years and the Senate bill would spend more than $800 billion over 10 years. ...