Council For Citizens Against Government Waste America's #1 Taxpayer Watchdog

On November 14, 2018, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced that, for the 12th year running, it lost money.  While this annual revelation has become something of a dog bites man story, the new, and more alarming news was that the $3.9 billion loss will outstrip its FY 2017 losses, which were $2.7 billion, and its net “controllable” income went from a $610 million profit to a $8

Broadband overbuild using taxpayer dollars has been an ongoing problem across this country.  Some providers will obtain a grant or loan from a federal agency to build out broadband in rural communities and then use the funding to either deploy or upgrade equipment where broadband already exists rather than spend taxpayer resources on unserved communities where the cost to build networks is much higher.

All the way back at the beginning of the year, a federal energy regulator unanimously repudiated a proposed rule that would have subsidized coal and nuclear powerplants.

On Tuesday, November 6, South Dakota voters will decide whether to approve Initiated Measure 25 (IM 25).  This measure would increase taxes on cigarettes by $1 per pack and increase the wholesale tax on tobacco products from 35 to 55 percent.  The revenue, it is claimed, will be devoted to the state’s four technical schools.  These institutes’ mission is to offer “associate degree, certificate, and diploma programs in the state’s high-need career fields.”