The IRS Bleeds
Plus: Ceasefire talks, J.D. Vance as the future of the GOP, the government's war on treehouses, and more...
Audit
Yes, We Should End Taxes on Tips
Taxing tips generates practically no revenue, burdens workers, and fuels pointless IRS audits.
The Pentagon Keeps Losing Equipment and Buying Stuff It Doesn't Need
How the U.S. military busts its budget on wasteful, careless, and unnecessary 'self-licking ice cream cones.'
A University President Accused of Squandering Public Money Resigns in Exchange for a $2 Million Payout
Western New Mexico University's Board of Regents approved the severance package for Joseph Shepard after a state audit highlighted $364,000 in "wasteful" and "improper" spending.
Pentagon Fails 7th Audit in a Row but Hopes To Pass by 2028
Congress required all federal agencies to submit annual financial reports in 1990. The Pentagon finally got around to complying in 2018, and it still hasn't passed an audit.
The White House Lied About Its IRS Funding Only Targeting the Rich
Plus: A listener asks the editors for examples of left-leaning thinkers who also hold libertarian ideas.
How Michigan Lost $1 Million of Liquor
Sadly, not by drinking it—the government just lost a fifth of the state’s inventory.
Promise-Breaking IRS
Plus: Ethan Mollick on AI, Nancy Pelosi's kente cloth, hurricanes may destroy us all, and more...
Pentagon Fails Sixth Audit in a Row
Though federal law has required annual financial reports, the Department of Defense simply did not complete them until 2018. It has since failed each year.
Full Extent of COVID Fraud Will 'Never Be Known With Certainty'
A new GAO report details federal prosecutors' attempts to put the horse back in the barn.
You Can't Fix Him (the IRS)
Plus: Tanks in Gaza, quitting the DSA, Gen Z hates a sex scene, and more...
Is Clarence Thomas Ethically Challenged?
Plus: What the editors hate most about the IRS and tax day
Auditors Asked the IRS To Figure Out Why So Many Taxpayers Make Mistakes. The IRS Said 'No.'
Maybe taxpayers would make fewer mistakes if the federal tax code weren't so hopelessly complex.
IRS Is 48 Days Late To Issue Report Telling American Public How It'll Spend New $80 Billion
The agency’s new report tells us practically nothing of significance.
IRS Plans To Raid Workers' Tip Jars
A coming crackdown on $1.6 billion in unreported tips will continue the IRS' long and ugly history of targeting low-income Americans.
Whatever the Fate of the Fair Tax Act, Congress Should Still Abolish the IRS
Getting rid of the much-despised tax agency would be a good idea. It’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
IRS Sent $1.1 Billion in Child Welfare Payments to the Wrong People
Possibly the federal government's most efficient pandemic spending effort.
IRS Controversially Claims Hiring 87,000 New Agents Won't Mean Higher Audit Rate for the Middle Class
So why do Democrats keep equivocating on the point that households making under $400,000 may be targeted for more audits by an expanded IRS?
IRS Stole Money and Hid the Details for Years
As law enforcement agencies patrol for profit, the secrecy surrounding cash seizures must stop.
The $1.7 Trillion F-35 Fighter Jet Program Is About To Get More Expensive
GAO: Congress has been buying planes that lack crucial parts and haven't undergone full testing, so costly upgrades will eventually be needed.
Lowest-Income Taxpayers Are the Most Likely To Be Audited
Plus: North Carolina rescinds FART license plate, permit-free concealed carry gets OK in Ohio, COVID case counts rising again, and more...
After Toppling Al Qaeda, America Wasted a Staggering Amount of Money in Afghanistan
There will likely never be a full accounting of the war's cost, but as much as $600 billion might have simply vanished due to waste, fraud, and incompetence.
There Has Been a Mind-Boggling Amount of Unemployment Fraud Since the CARES Act Passed
Enhanced unemployment benefits may have helped many Americans weather the pandemic, but they've also attracted the interest of some modern-day Willie Suttons.
Pentagon Fails Another Audit, Will Likely Get Budget Increase From Congress Anyway
Auditors now say the military may be able to pass an audit before the end of the next decade, so at least that's something.
The U.S. Postal Service 'Unsustainable,' Says GAO. And That Was Before COVID-19 Hit.
The USPS has lost $78 billion since 2007, but could lose as much as $13 billion this year as the pandemic has crushed mail volume.
The National Debt Is 'Unsustainable' and the Pentagon's Finances Are a Total Mess, Federal Audit Says
"Absent policy changes, the federal government continues to face an unsustainable long-term fiscal path," America's top auditor warns. But is anyone listening?
America Has Given Up Trying To Define Success in Afghanistan
"Most of the [indicators] of measuring success are now classified, or we don't collect it," the special inspector general for the Afghanistan reconstruction told a Senate committee.
Pentagon's Second Audit Identifies 1,300 New Problems
Despite the failure, Pentagon officials are spinning the audit as a step in the right direction.
How Oakland Cops Gamed the System To Earn $30 Million in Overtime Pay
A new audit reveals how poor oversight and structural problems allowed one Oakland cop to earn $2.5 million in overtime pay in five years.
The Pentagon Fails Its First Comprehensive Audit
According to Deputy Secretary Patrick Shanahan, no one expected it to pass anyway.
Damning Audit Says Pentagon Cannot Account for $800 Million
Meanwhile, Trump and congressional Republicans want to remove spending caps for the Defense Department.
Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Blew $690,000 on Parking Spaces No One Was Using
And another $840,000 subsidizing parking spaces, despite federal rules meant to limit commuting by car as a way to protect the environment.
Head of Arizona's Cosmetology Board Used Public Funds for Food, Holiday Decorations, Gifts, and More
The same board investigated a student for giving free haircuts and a cancer survivor for giving beauty treatments to the terminally ill.
IRS Agents Rented Million-Dollar Townhomes, Spent Hundreds of Nights in Luxury Hotels Last Year
Taxpayers paid for "excessive and inappropriate" lodging and travel costs, including for one employee who managed to travel 381 days of the year.
