The DSA's Agenda Could Cost More Than $200 Trillion—and You'll Be Picking Up the Tab
The Democratic Socialists of America promise free everything, but its agenda would require confiscation on a scale that would make European welfare states tremble.
Government Spending
Trump Promised To End Foreign Aid. Now He's Giving Christian Groups Nearly $2 Billion.
The administration says faith-based organizations deliver aid more efficiently, but offers no data to support that claim—and its preference for religious providers raises constitutional questions.
D.C. Circuit Upholds Injunction Against Trump's Ballroom
The Constitution assigns control of federal property to Congress, which never approved the president's demolition and replacement of the East Wing.
DOGE Claimed $110 Billion in Spending Cuts That Couldn't Be Verified, Audit Finds
The DOGE project was the second Trump administration's best idea. Unfortunately, it was terribly executed.
Senators Want To Claw Back Trump's Spending Power. They Should Just Pass a Real Budget Instead.
The Senate’s funding bill stops the Trump administration from handing political appointees control over federal grants, but Congress isn’t eager to rein in spending.
Abdul El-Sayed's COVID Radicalism Is a Callback to a More United Party
The pandemic provided a glue that held the Democratic Party together. Without it, they don't know what they believe.
Why Does Trump Want To Give Millions of Dollars to Right-Wing Europeans?
Trump opposes foreign influence in American politics, but his State Department is offering millions of dollars to promote Western identity and opposition to “mass migration” abroad.
American Public Schools Lost 1.4 Million Students Since COVID. Their Budgets Grew by 34% Anyway.
Enrollment is down and so are achievement levels, yet spending is up 34 percent.
Britain's New Prime Minister Andy Burnham Promises 'Stronger Public Control' of Stagnating Economy
Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade inherits weak growth, record-high taxes, and a swelling welfare bill. His proposed cure is an even larger role for the state.
One Federal Agency's Unused Office Space Costs 'Hundreds of Millions of Dollars' Per Year
According to a new report, nearly 90 percent of the Department of Transportation's owned or leased buildings are more than half-empty.
California's Local Governments Want State Taxpayers To Pay More, More, More
California local governments of every size are crying poor as they struggle with budget shortfalls.
Congress Wants To Keep Funding a Pentagon That Won't Account for Its Spending
The only federal agency that has never passed an audit could soon get another $60 billion, even as it buries reports on the spiraling costs of its programs.
A 22% Social Security Cut Is Coming. Will the Senate Act?
Once the trust fund is empty, Social Security can pay out only what it collects. Yet few candidates are talking about this in any serious way.
States Will Soon Face Huge Penalties for Their Food Stamp Mistakes
More than $1 of every $10 in SNAP benefits went to people who didn't qualify in 2025.
How a 700-Year-Old Work of Art Warns America
Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Allegory of Good and Bad Government presents a bustling city where prosperity comes from voluntary cooperation and leaders know their place.
Washington Promised Puerto Rico $14 Billion To Fix Its Grid. Most of the Money Is Still Stuck.
A new GAO report attributes the delays to onerous regulations and poor coordination among government agencies.
The Social Security Fix That Would Send Tax Rates Soaring
There are only a handful of ways to shore up Social Security. Sens. Bernie Moreno and Elizabeth Warren are backing one of the most expensive.
Warren's Plan To 'Fix' Social Security Would Be Largest Tax Increase in Over 40 Years
Her plan is being pitched as a tax on the wealthy, but half the burden would fall on businesses. That would have dire consequences for the economy.
The New Transportation Bill Puts Special Interests Above Safety
Some safety recommendations are treated as essential—while others become negotiable once influential people object.
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Raise Taxes and Give All the Money to Senior Citizens
Her plan to fix Social Security's fiscal flaws would ask workers to cover the full cost. Some Republicans are supporting it too.
ICE Largely Abandons Plan To Turn Warehouses Into Migrant Detention Facilities
The Department of Homeland Security plans to sell or offload seven warehouses it originally purchased to house migrants.
Trump Has Used Taxpayer Money To Purchase Stakes in Dozens of Companies. Congress Is About to Make It Easier.
Lawmakers should be blocking Trump's corporate socialism, not making it a permanent fixture.
Even an AI-Sparked Economic Miracle Will Not Save the Federal Budget
Congress cannot sit by and hope for AI to fix the deficit.
Terrorists and Criminals Reportedly Got $37.5 Billion From COVID Relief and Other U.K. Aid Programs
Britain has long wasted taxpayer money on frivolous projects. A secret dossier suggests it has now outdone itself.
Social Security Is Going Bankrupt Because Its Benefits Are Too Generous
Social Security's approaching insolvency is usually talked about as a revenue problem. It's actually a spending problem.
The Feds Wasted $186 Billion on 'Improper Payments' Last Year
That total is a low-ball estimate because some federal agencies didn't report their totals to the Government Accountability Office.
D.C.'s Crime Drop Didn't Require a Military Deployment
A new study finds the National Guard deployment to Washington, D.C., cost taxpayers over $300 million and failed to return even $1 for every dollar spent.
After 40 Years, No One Has Produced a Workable Single-Payer Health Care Plan
Vermont passed single-payer legislation in 2011 and abandoned the plan after three years of failure. Why?
Trump Is Reportedly Reconsidering His Politically and Legally Contentious 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'
The Justice Department signals a retreat from defending the blatantly corrupt scheme, which provoked vigorous objections from Republican lawmakers.
Trump's Corrupt 'Settlement' With the IRS Hits Two Judicial Roadblocks
One order temporarily blocks money for the president's "Anti-Weaponization Fund." The other asks whether the agreement is a fraudulent "product of collusion."
How the Billionaire Tax Could Make California Poorer
One upcoming ballot measure would expand the state's taxing power. A lesser-known measure would limit it. Which will win?
Even Republicans Are Rebelling at Trump's Blatantly Corrupt 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'
Using taxpayer money to reward the president’s allies has nothing to do with the president's claims against the IRS.
Abigail Spanberger Vetoes Mandatory Collective Bargaining, Defying Virginia Unions
The surprising move saves taxpayers from a steep bill—for now.
Review: A Sci-Fi War Movie About the Pentagon's Inscrutable Budget
The Pentagon's budget is so vast that a soldier believes the extraterrestrial machine shooting lasers at them might be taxpayer–funded.
Thomas Massie Falls, 'Samurai vs. Squatters,' Jeff Bezos
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi discuss Rep. Thomas Massie's defeat, Jeff Bezos' comments on taxes, and squatters in California.
The $1.776 Billion in Trump's 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' Fits a Pattern of Fanciful Figures
In one lawsuit after another, the president has claimed damages in amounts completely disconnected from reality.
Thomas Massie Loses, Proving That Deficit Hawks and Foreign Policy Doves Aren't Welcome in Trump's GOP
If this is how the Republican Party treats the libertarian-leaning lawmakers in its midst, then libertarians should take note and act accordingly.
Trump's 'Golden Dome' Estimated To Cost $1.2 Trillion, New Report Reveals
The project’s critics have compared it to Reagan’s failed “Star Wars” initiative.
Pete Hegseth Can't Explain Why America Needs a $1.5 Trillion Military Budget
Sen. Mark Kelly says it "feels like that number was just kind of pulled out of thin air."
When Businesspeople Run Government, the Government Doesn't Become a Business
Central planning from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump, and others reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes private markets work.
Gavin Newsom's Free Diaper Disaster
Plus: AOC attacks billionaires, Trump heads into Xi talks weakened by the Iran conflict, and redistricting battles escalate nationwide
How Much Has the Iran War Actually Cost? A Lot More Than $25 Billion.
Direct military costs have exceeded $70 billion by one estimate, and Americans have paid more than $37 billion in higher energy costs since the war began.
California Spent $450 Million on a Failed 911 System. Now, the State Is Restarting the Project.
The state’s attempt to overhaul its antiquated 911 system resulted in delays and lost calls.
Trump's Government-Funded Retirement Plan Misses the Point
The fiscal objection is serious. But the deeper problem is that the proposal misunderstands the saving behavior of the households it aims to help.
Republicans Want To Borrow Every Single Dollar of the $72 Billion Bill To Fund ICE and Trump's Ballroom
The party of fiscal responsibility strikes again.
Canada's New 'Sovereign Wealth Fund' Is Actually a Debt-Fueled Spending Scheme
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is marketing his new Canada Strong Fund as a "sovereign wealth fund," but it is one of many ways the government can waste taxpayer money.
