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NEWS ABOUT: government spending

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States, Cities Gutted Spending in 2011

Medicaid, state jobs, infrastructure hit

(Newser) - The final three months of 2011 saw states, cities, and school districts making their biggest spending cuts in a decade, USA Today reports. Spending dropped 1.6% from the same period the year before, plummeting by $26 billion. The result: States are seeing their smallest shortfalls in years, and in... More »

Congress Dodging Earmark Ban: Watchdogs

Lawmakers attach special funds to budgets to direct cash homeward

(Newser) - Congress' ban on earmarks doesn't seem to be stopping members from channeling money to home-state projects. These days, instead of tacking such projects on to bills, legislators are creating "slush funds" that ultimately serve the same purpose, watchdog groups tell the New York Times . Included in the Army... More »

I Want 20% Less Spending on Swag: Obama

Tasks federal agencies with trimming the fat in four other areas, too

(Newser) - If you happen to be sipping from a promotional coffee cup bestowed on you by a federal agency, hang on to it: You might not be getting a new one anytime soon. As part of his "We Can't Wait" campaign, President Obama will today announce his latest effort:... More »

Oops: $16 Muffin Never Happened

Government auditor apologizes for headline-grabbing error

(Newser) - Remember how impossible it seemed that the government would pay $16 for a single muffin ? Well, apparently it was so impossible that it didn't really happen. The inspector general of the Justice Department apologized yesterday for the original report in September, saying it was all a misunderstanding, reports... More »

Perry's Job Program Claims Wildly Inflated

Wall Street Journal looks at the numbers and isn't impressed

(Newser) - Rick Perry often boasts of his $440 million Texas Enterprise Fund, which he says has created more than 59,000 jobs. But the program’s estimates often appear wildly exaggerated, the Wall Street Journal reports. A $50 million grant to Texas A&M for a new Genomic Institute, for example,... More »

GOP's Government Haters Happy to Work for It

Candidates, like voters, often two-faced on government: Gregg Easterbrook

(Newser) - For a group of people who loudly denounce government, most of the GOP presidential contenders sure have spent a lot of time working for it—as politicians, as an attorney for the IRS, as an Air Force serviceman, and in other ways, observes Gregg Easterbrook at Reuters . People who have... More »

$16 Government Muffins? It's a 'Myth'

Audtiors clearly aren't familiar with conference invoices: Kevin Drum

(Newser) - A recent government audit wagged its finger at the Justice Department for spending $16 on muffins. It's a great story, a classic case of government abuse—and almost certainly not true, writes Kevin Drum at Mother Jones . Yes, the invoices show the department spent $4,200 on 250 muffins... More »

Report Finds $16 Muffins at Justice Dept. Conferences

Budget cuts? What budget cuts?

(Newser) - One possible reason we’re broke: US Justice Department agencies like to spend extravagantly when it comes to conferences, to the tune of providing $16 muffins at one. (No, that is not a typo.) An audit released today found that the “costly meals, refreshments, and themed breaks” provided... More »

Budget Cuts Are 'Bleeding' the Economy

We need to spend to staunch the flow: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - Trying to fix the economy with budget cuts reminds Paul Krugman of an outdated medical practice: bleeding patients. This “economic bloodletting” is supposed to boost confidence, but it's a cure that just makes things worse. "Somehow, businesses and consumers seem much more concerned about the lack of... More »

Shrimp on Treadmill Study Not So Wacky: Irritated Researcher

Lawmakers mocking research are playing politics, scientists say

(Newser) - "Shrimp on a treadmill" has become a byphrase for wasteful government spending. But the scientist behind the study says lawmakers are distorting the facts. The treadmill test—singled out by Sen. Tom Coburn in an attack on National Science Foundation funding —was designed to study shrimp's reaction... More »

Secret Service Pays Biden Rent

Total it has forked over since April: $13K

(Newser) - Joe Biden is the vice president ... and due to a strange arrangement with the Secret Service, he's also a federal contractor. The Secret Service pays Biden to stay in a rental cottage adjacent to his Delaware home. Since April, Biden has collected $13,000 in rent, and he could... More »

Bachmann Slams Funds to Black Farmers

Money should go to flood victims instead, candidate says

(Newser) - Michele Bachmann says money being used to compensate black farmers who charged the federal government with grant and loan discrimination would be better spent helping US flood victims. The candidate, after touring flooded areas along the Missouri River with Republican Rep. Steve King yesterday, pointed to the multi-billion-dollar Pigford settlement... More »

Wrenching Decisions Loom If Debt Ceiling Isn't Raised

Who doesn't get paid: Soldiers, seniors, jobless, or bondholders?

(Newser) - If Washington doesn’t manage to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2, Tim Geithner’s going to have some angry people on his hands. That’s the date the Bipartisan Policy Center predicts the government will run out of money, leaving the US to pay its bills with incoming... More »

Boehner's Betting You Don't Understand Economics

There's no way spending cuts lead to job creation: Felix Salmon

(Newser) - John Boehner reacted to today’s brutal jobs report with a batch of his typical economic nonsense, writes Felix Salmon of Reuters . “Republicans are focused on jobs, and are ready to stop Washington from spending money it doesn’t have,” declared Boehner, calling for more federal spending cuts.... More »

Cantor Bails on Budget Talks

Says Boehner, Obama need to work out tax issue

(Newser) - Eric Cantor has told reporters that he’s not attending today’s Joe Biden-led budget meeting, or any future budget meetings, because the group has reached an impasse over taxes that he thinks can only be bridged by John Boehner and President Obama. “We’ve reached the point where... More »

Congress Running Out of Time for Debt Ceiling Fix

Deadlocked, it's on break 3 of next 6 weeks

(Newser) - Congress has six weeks to raise the debt ceiling before all hell breaks loose—and that’s a lot less time than it sounds like, because one or both chambers is scheduled to be on break for three of those weeks, the Washington Post observes. What’s more, Congress’ last... More »

What Travel Austerity? Congress Globe-Trots in 2011

House lawmakers on track to take 35% more trips in 2011

(Newser) - Just last summer, congressional leaders pledged to spend less on travel—but they're not exactly traveling less. During the first five months of this year, special interest groups have spent more than $1 million on lawmakers’ trips, some 200 of them, nearly double the amount spent during the same... More »

Biden: We've Got $1T in Cuts

...but Republicans want $2T

(Newser) - Budget negotiations between congressional leaders seem to be off to a strong start: The sides have identified at least $1 trillion in possible spending cuts, mediator Joe Biden told reporters yesterday. “If we keep on this pace, we can get to a relatively large number,” he said, adding... More »

Obama Must Call GOP's 'Bluff' on Debt Ceiling

Can't let hostage-holding House run the country: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - Look out, President Obama: House Republicans have created another “hostage situation.” This time, they’re holding the debt ceiling for a ransom of big spending cuts, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . The Republican Party doesn't control the White House or the Senate, so you... More »

59% Will at Least 'Consider' Reelecting Obama

...even though 57% of voters disapprove of his handling of the economy

(Newser) - More than half of voters approve of President Obama’s job performance and would at least consider reelecting him—even though 57% of them disapprove of they way he is handling the economy, a Politico-George Washington University poll finds. Some 52% approve of the president’s work so far, and... More »

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