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President Obama recently announced that his proposed fiscal 2011 budget would freeze all non-defense discretionary spending. All, that is, except spending on education, and by default, the department that handles most of the money. It's an exception that casts considerable doubt on both the president's seriousness about killing wasteful spending, and his grasp of federal education reality. Published February 22, 2010
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I was a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union for about seven years. In high school and graduate school, and for a couple of years thereafter, I loaded trucks, moved pallets and honed the fine art of rapidly throwing cans into paper bags. Published February 20, 2010
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You may have noticed a Census Bureau commercial during the Super Bowl. There's certainly plenty to debate about whether that was a wise use of taxpayer money, but the bureau's work - a decennial count of the U.S. population - is a basic constitutional function of our government, something that can't be abolished. Published February 19, 2010
While traffic congestion grows ever worse across the country, Congress continues to divert more than a billion dollars in taxes paid at the gasoline pump to subsidize moneymaking schemes for local governments. This misallocation of resources is a stumbling block not only to our economic prosperity, but also to our freedom. Published February 17, 2010
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Former President Ronald Reagan once lamented that "a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth." But an effort to put a stake into those never-dying programs made some headway last week in the U.S. Senate through a truly unique effort - bipartisanship. Published February 12, 2010
In light of President Obama's stunningly huge, $3.8 trillion budget proposal for next year, it is worth revisiting the porky sorts of things that have polluted federal outlays in the recent past. The Pork Report, distributed semiregularly by Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, shows there's plenty of slop in the trough. The following few examples are representative of an endless stream of waste that characterizes government spending in our age of graft and indiscipline. Published February 11, 2010
Among the most wasteful of the spending increases hidden in President Obama's 2011 budget proposal is his plan to create an army of government-funded community organizers at the shocking price of $1.4 billion. While the economy reels and many taxpayers are looking for ways to trim their personal spending, the president is demanding a whopping 59 percent boost for the Corporation for National and Community Service and its best-known program, AmeriCorps. It's time to pull the plug on both. Published February 10, 2010
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With trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, policymakers need to scour the federal budget for departments to cut and eliminate. They should start with ones that are not just wasteful, but actively damaging to the economy. Top of the list would be the $60 billion Department of Housing and Urban Development. Published February 9, 2010
Members of Congress must feel a bit shortchanged by the amount of playtime they received during childhood. Their ongoing fascination with one of the world's most expensive model-train sets, Amtrak, otherwise defies explanation. Politicians continue to treat the heavily subsidized operation more like a prized toy than a solid business operation. The time has come to stop shoveling money into this runaway choo-choo. Published February 7, 2010
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Voters are disgusted by the reckless spending of politicians in Washington. The backlash is coming, so policymakers are now scrambling to do something, or at least be seen as doing something, about the enormous federal debt. Now is a good time for Congress to abolish government agencies that are outdated, dysfunctional or just unnecessary. Published February 6, 2010
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Given the amount of fiscal tap-dancing by the president and his advisers these days, instead of bringing back former campaign manager David Plouffe, maybe they should have chosen someone like Fred Astaire or Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Published February 4, 2010
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With our country facing enormous budget deficits, it is more important than ever that Congress and President Obama take stock of our nation's budget priorities and use taxpayer money wisely. One big opportunity is to stop federal subsidies that undermine our policy priorities. That way we spend less and government works better. Published February 3, 2010
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At a time of deep partisan and ideological divi -sion in Washington, there aren't many issues that bring together forces from across traditional divides. So when scholars at conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and taxpayer groups such as the National Taxpayers Union agree with environmentalists on something, it's time to sit up and take notice. Published February 3, 2010
If you're using a telephone, you're an enabler for Washington's uncontrolled spending habit. A cryptic line variously labeled as a "Federal Universal Service Fee" or "Universal Connectivity Fee" lurks within the monthly bill for most communications services. This tax feeds nearly $7.7 billion into the Universal Service Fund (USF) every year. It's time to end this tremendous waste of money. Published February 3, 2010
By Ed Feulner
Americans often wonder where all our tax money goes. Well, a good chunk finances a steadily growing government work force. State and local governments spent $1.1 trillion on employee wages and benefits in 2008. That's half of what those governments spent overall. Published February 2, 2010
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A few years ago, while serving as chief of staff to a congressman, I met with three people I likely will never forget. One was an adult male who had become infected by AIDS as a result of behavioral choices. The second was a little boy whose father had injected him with the AIDS virus so that, as a baby, he would die quickly, and the father could obtain the boy's insurance money. The third person in the meeting was the boy's weeping mother. Published February 2, 2010
President Obama made a big deal last week about his purported federal spending freeze, but not enough has been said about how meager the supposed savings actually are. Historical context shows that any savings from this public-relations gimmick will be tiny. Frugality, apparently, is a concept Democrats have a hard time understanding. Published February 1, 2010
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President Obama recently became one of the fastest presidents in history to drop below a majority approval rating, doing so in his 10th month on the job. Polling data strongly indicate that this sharp decline in approval is because of policy, not personality. Specifically, voters are unhappy with policies that involve unprecedented spending without a lot of economic progress. Published February 1, 2010
Congress can save a quick $420 million a year by zeroing out the budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It's a needless drain on the public coffers that has outlived its usefulness. Published January 28, 2010
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The Obama administration has enough bad ideas of its own without holding onto one of the more ill-conceived programs from the George W. Bush years - the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Published January 28, 2010
Illustration by Dana Summers of the Tribune Media Services
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